(repost from August 2015)

Sichuanese cuisine is renowned for its complex and often fiery hot sauces; but at the same time they treat vegetables very simply, often with no more accompaniment than a bit of fried garlic, which allows the flavors of the vegetables to shine.  And sometimes it’s a refreshing change not to have the flavor of soy sauce.

One slight frustration with Chinese vegetables is figuring out what they’re called.  Bok choy, yu choy, ong choy…..I finally learned that “choy” just means “vegetable,” so that’s not particularly helpful.  The innertubes can be both your friend and enemy here.

This very basic recipe works for any leafy greens.  The only distinction in the cooking method is that some (Napa cabbage, rapeseed/yu choy, Chinese broccoli/gai-lan) have stems that you might want to cook first, whereas others with tiny stems like purple amaranth or water spinach/ong choy can just be chopped and stir-fried.  I’m using mustard greens, which do need their stems separated, in this example.

Ingredients:

1.  1-1/2 lb. leaf vegetables

2.  2 Tbsps oil or fat of your choice (I use chicken fat if I have it for an added punch of flavor)

3.  2 cloves garlic, minced

4.  (Optional) 2 Tbsps seasoning of your choice*

Method:

1.  If needed, wash and dry the greens (salad spinner or between layers of paper/kitchen towels).

2.  Cut the stems away from the leaves, cutting the stems on the diagonal, which will make them cook faster.  Now you’ll have two piles:

3. Heat the fat or oil over medium heat and stir-fry the garlic for 30 seconds.

4. Add the stems, turn the heat up to high, and stir-fry for two minutes.  Add 1/4 cup water, cover and steam for one minute.  Taste.  If the stems are still tough, repeat, adding water and steaming as needed, until they’re just shy of tender.  They should look like this:

5.  Add the leaves, pushing them down with a spatula or spoon into the pan.  It will only take about a minute or two for them to cook:

6.  Add the seasoning (if any) and stir-fry for an additional minute.

7.  Enjoy!

Cheers,

-R

*In this case, because mustard greens have a bold flavor, I used fermented bean curd.  Sometimes called “the cheese of China,” I call it “the anchovy of China.”  Both are highly stinky when you first open the container, but are completely transformed in cooking and add a depth of flavor.  You can mash just the bean curd, or add some of the juice, which is hot and salty.  Any of the bazillion or so varieties of bean-based sauce would also work well.