Tender green vegetables with an abundance of fresh, savory flavor.
Seasonal vegetables are the star of this dish, as Cantonese cuisine emphasizes eating produce in its prime. A thick, glossy oyster sauce gravy is made with straw mushrooms or other fresh mushrooms, then "poured over" the seasonal vegetables, resulting in a refreshing, light, and nutritious dish.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
Fresh vegetables and fresh mushrooms, to taste
Here we use bok choy, but Chinese broccoli or lettuce can also be used. Fresh mushrooms are best, and straw mushrooms or cremini mushrooms can be substituted as desired.
Seasonings
light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, cornstarch, dark soy sauce, and sesame oil, each to taste
This dish is simply seasoned to highlight a savory flavor, and you can adjust the amount of seasonings to your taste.
Instructions
Instructions
Preparation
Step 1: Trim and wash the bok choy; remove the stems from the fresh mushrooms, wash them, and score the tops with a small cross pattern (Figure 2).
*When washing whole baby bok choy, be sure to rub the base thoroughly, as dirt can get trapped between the layers of the inner leaves.
Blanch in boiling water
Step 2: Bring a pot of water to a boil, blanch the bok choy and drain (Image 3). Keep the water, then blanch the fresh mushrooms for a bit longer and drain (Image 4). While the mushrooms are blanching, drain the bok choy well and arrange it on a serving plate (Image 5).
*After placing the bok choy in boiling water, cook for half a minute once the water returns to a boil.
*After blanching, be sure to press the bok choy well to remove excess water before arranging on the plate, otherwise the plate will end up full of water.
*When blanching mushrooms, they release a lot of residue, so always blanch the bok choy first and then the mushrooms to save water and energy; the mushrooms need a slightly longer blanching time.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, blanch the fresh mushrooms until tender, then drain and set aside.
③ Rinse the wok clean, add an appropriate amount of clean water, then pour in light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar, along with a few drops of dark soy sauce for color (Image 6). Add the fresh mushrooms to the broth and bring to a boil (Image 7).
*If time permits, you can prepare the sauce in advance, bring it to a boil, then add the blanched mushrooms and let them soak for a while—this will make the mushrooms more flavorful.
Thickening the sauce with a cornstarch slurry
④ Use starch mixed with water to make a thick slurry, add a few drops of sesame oil and remove from heat (Image 8), then pour over the bok choy and serve.
*The key to this dish is the sauce thickening. First, the sauce must be thick but still pourable. Second, control the heat carefully—since home stoves have lower heat, turn it up higher. Third, don't add all the slurry at once; add it in 2 or 3 small batches. Fourth, once the slurry is in the pan, stir in one direction consistently.
