Stir-Fried Choi Sum

Stir-fried Choi-sum is a very popular dish in my household when growing up.  Its a good complement for any other dishes, especially with the Lemon sole i got fresh from fishmonger with my mum. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 If you ask me what is my favourite vegetable ever, then Choi sum is THE one.  I love it so much as a kid that my parents will buy it every week from the chinese supermarket.  Its that type of dish where i keep my eyes on until i see the last stalk is eaten,  or even stir in the oyster sauce from the veg on to the rice. Think this is also one of the first things my mum taught me to stir-fry when i was 7yrs old, and i was pretty happy to help her give the wok a stir when choi-sum is in it ;)

One day, when i was around 16yrs old, i asked my mum not to buy it, because she was cooking it literally everyday for 2 months, both my mum & dad was really surprised, and thought i was coming down with a bug or flu.  When i said,  i just need a little rest, coz it doesnt taste as good.  Then a day later, i overheard my dad speaking on the phone to his friend, about the quality of the veg you get in supermarket, and heard him say, 'my daughter love choi sum and can eat it everyday since a baby (toddler), and few days ago she told my wife not to buy it, if she think it doesnt taste good, it must be really bad.' haha i felt soo bad,  for causing soo much hoohaa.... 

Well these days, price of choisum is very expensive, my mum call it gold veg.... so if i get it - it is really a superb treat, and whenever my dad orders it at restaurant, it makes my meal taste better. 

Ingredients:
Choi Sum
2Tbspn Veg Oil
Salt
drizzle of sesame oil
Oyster sauce (can be left out)

Preparation

Wash the vegetables and use your own judgement to break into mouthful pieces(usually 3-4 inches long). All fresh Chinese vegetables (like choi sum, pak chop, gai lan, chinese spinach) should be crisp and tender and should snap easily. Its best to buy younger choi sum but if your choi sum is large - you might want to peel away some of the outer skin near the root - this is usually tough. Choi Sum stands for vegetable heart so you can bet that the best bit is the heart of the choi sum. :)


Cooking

1)First heat up your wok until its very hot. Add the oil and even out over the surface of the wok by tilting it. There should be a loud sound as you add the choi sum, like thunder due to water on oil.
2)Stir-fry for around 5 minutes. Drizzle the sesame oil and sprinkle of salt. Then after 10 seconds, its ready to serve. If you want you can stir-fry in the oyster sauce, or drizzle it when served on the plate.


Tip:
This dish is best cooked last because it is so quick to make.
To make the dish smell more fragant, can add some crushed garlic whilst stirfry.
Can cook exactly the same with other veg i.e pak choi, chinese spinach, broccoli, Gai-lan.

Happy Cooking!