A delicious Gai Lan recipe with Oyster Sauce, a simple recipe with just a few ingredients. Chinese Broccoli, or gai lan in Chinese, is one of the most popular Chinese vegetable dishes!
What you’ll learn in this recipe
- How to tell if the Chinese broccoli is fresh
- Learn how to infuse the dish with ginger and garlic, without overpowering broccoli
- You can use oyster sauce or a vegetarian substitute
Ingredients
- Chinese broccoli (gai lan)
- Cooking oil
- Garlic cloves
- Vegetable stock
- Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
- Ginger
- Oyster sauce
- Sesame oil
How To Make Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli)
- To wash the Chinese Broccoli, trim 1-inch from the ends of stalk and discard. In large wok or pan (large enough to hold all stalks), heat just 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil over medium heat. When the oil is just starting to get hot (the garlic should sizzle upon contact) add the whole garlic cloves and let them fry until golden brown on all sides. Be careful not to burn the garlic, you just want to toast them – if the garlic starts turning dark brown, turn the heat to low. Toasting the garlic should take about 2 minutes. While the garlic is toasting, in a small bowl mix the stock and Chinese rice wine (optional) and set aside.
- Turn the heat to high and add the ginger, fry for 30 seconds. Add the Chinese Broccoli stalks and use your spatula to scoop up the oil so that every stalk has been bathed with the ginger/garlic-infused oil for 30 seconds.
- Pour the stock mixture into the wok and immediately cover the wok with a tight fitting lid. Turn the heat to medium and let the vegetable steam for 3-4 minutes, until stalks can be easily pierced with a paring knife or fork.
- Remove the gai lan to a plate, leaving any remaining stock mixture in the wok. To the wok, add the oyster sauce and sesame oil and bubble and thicken on high for 1 minute. Pour the sauce mixture over the gai lan and serve.
How to buy Chinese Broccoli/Gai Lan
Old Chinese broccoli is very bitter and stringy. It’s easy to tell whether or not the Chinese Broccoli is fresh and tender. Select a bunch, look at the ends of the stalk. If they are dry, crusted and shriveled, skip it!
The middle of the stalk should ideally be one color – a creamy, translucent color. If you see a solid white circle in the middle of the stalk, it may mean the Chinese Broccoli is a little old.
It still could be good – look at the leaves and the buds for more clues to how fresh it is.
Most Gai Lan have white flowers, though there are varieties that include both white and yellow flowers (probably a cross between gai lan and a Chinese leafy greens called yu choy) The flower buds should be tight and compact – there should be buds not open flowers. Lots and lots of open flowers means the stalk is older and past its prime for eating and it will be more bitter and chewy.
Ginger and Garlic for Gai Lan Recipe
As with many Chinese stir-fry dishes, the ginger in this dish is cut into 1/8″ coins – the large pieces gently infuse the cooking oil and aren’t necessarily meant for eating. When we cook family-style, my Mom just leaves the ginger coins in the finished dish, and we just push them out of the way when we eat. Of course, you can remove them prior to serving if you’d like.
The whole garlic also infuses the cooking oil and after toasting, it becomes soft and wonderfully sweet.
For this Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce recipe, we use both ginger coins and gently toasted garlic cloves.
My Favorite Oyster Sauce Brand For This Gai Lan Recipe
My favorite brand of oyster sauce that can be easily found is Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Sauce.
Lee Kum Kee makes many different oyster sauces, so it’s important to look at the table. The label on the bottle shows a woman and a boy on a boat.
Oyster sauce is savory, sweet, thick, and caramely. The premium brand is made with real oyster essence.
The lower quality brands are made with corn syrup, artificial colors and MSG.
Top Tips For This Gai Lan Recipe
- Old Chinese broccoli is very bitter and stringy. It’s very easy to tell whether or not the gai lan is too old!
- If you think that broccolini resembles Chinese Broccoli, you are right! Broccolini is actually a cross between gai lan and broccoli. If you can’t find Chinese Broccoli at the store, substitute with broccolini. TIP: Broccolini stalks are thinner than Chinese Broccoli. Shave 30 seconds off your cooking time!
- If you’re vegetarian, a great substitute for oyster sauce is Lee Kum Kee Vegetable Stir Fry Sauce.
- Sometimes, I double the amount of garlic cloves because I just love eating the cloves of garlic!
Check Out These Other Delicious Sides
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberry Pistachio Pesto
- Roasted Tofu and Vegetables
- Green Bean and Shiitake Mushroom Stir Fry
- Warm Bacon Potato Salad
Have you tried this Gai Lan recipe? Feel free to leave a star rating and I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce Recipe
A delicious Chinese Broccoli recipe with Oyster Sauce, a simple recipe with just a few ingredients. Chinese Broccoli, or gai lan in Chinese, is one of the most popular Chinese vegetable dishes!
Ingredients
- 1 pounds Chinese broccoli (Gai Lan)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil canola or vegetable oil
- 5 garlic cloves peeled and gently smashed but left intact
- 1/4 cup vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry (optional)
- 1 inch fresh ginger cut into 1/8" coins and smashed with side of cleaver
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- To wash the Chinese Broccoli, trim 1-inch from the ends of stalk and discard. In large wok or pan (large enough to hold all stalks), heat just 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil over medium heat. When the oil is just starting to get hot (the garlic should sizzle upon contact) add the whole garlic cloves and let them fry until golden brown on all sides. Be careful not to burn the garlic, you just want to toast them - if the garlic starts turning dark brown, turn the heat to low. Toasting the garlic should take about 2 minutes. While the garlic is toasting, in a small bowl mix the stock and Chinese rice wine (optional) and set aside.
- Turn the heat to high and add the ginger, fry for 30 seconds. Add the Chinese Broccoli stalks and use your spatula to scoop up the oil so that every stalk has been bathed with the ginger/garlic-infused oil for 30 seconds.
- Pour the stock mixture into the wok and immediately cover the wok with a tight fitting lid. Turn the heat to medium and let the vegetable steam for 3-4 minutes, until stalks can be easily pierced with a paring knife or fork.
- Remove the gai lan to a plate, leaving any remaining stock mixture in the wok. To the wok, add the oyster sauce and sesame oil and bubble and thicken on high for 1 minute. Pour the sauce mixture over the gai lan and serve.
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
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I’ve made this recipe many times now. It’s my favorite for Chinese broccoli, which is also one of my favorite vegetables. Thank you for sharing!
Hey Jaden, thanks for sharing this recipe. I really loved this new version of making broccoli. Everyone loved it.
That oyster sauce has about 3% oyster extract. Look for something above 40%. But I guess you are promoting it.
This is an awesome recipe. I love Oyster sauce and how it goes well with Gai lan – thanks!
This is awesome. Great explanation clear and cut of the detailed description. Thanks for such a impressive article.
You’re a star Jaden! Thank you for the great recipes! I am going to try them.
It becomes more delicious if add more Ginjer to it.
This sounds and looks delicious!
Hi Jaden,
I have been looking for some healthy new side dishes to try, and this sounds so delicious! I make regular broccoli all the time, so it’ll be interesting to try this unique version. Thank you so much for sharing this easy recipe! 🙂
used regular broccoli as I am in rural Newfoundland. It was fabulous. Thanks for the recipe! (the garlic was delicious and I ate the ginger slices too)
Looks simple dish, will try soon. Thanks for sharing
This turned out great. I added yellow onions, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts to make it a full meal.
Do I use toasted sesame oil or plain sesame oil? Â Thank you!
@Kelly: Use toasted sesame oil. I prefer the brand Kadoya.
Delicious! Made as written. And you’re right, the garlic cloves are so delicious. Thank you!
Looks Delicious
Looks DeliciousÂ
So awesome and easy! I love using Gai Lan and oyster. Mince pork, some shiitake mushrooms and Gai Lan with oyster sauce is one of my go to recipes.Â
freaking delicious, thanks a ton! made me feel closer to home
Awww thanks so mcuh Chelle! jaden
Tried this recipe and so far the best way to cook the gai lan.  I’ve been trying several recipes and the taste of this is very close to my favorite restaurant in SF.  The use of garlic ginger shiaoxing wine sesame oil stock make for an intricate flavor on the vegetable. Most recipes are predominantly oyster sauce and that can be overpowering.  I’m going to make this with green beans next time.  This and a bowl of steamed white rice makes for a great plant based dinner night.Â
I’ve been looking for this recipe for weeks! We were in New York and had basically the same thing at a tiny restaurant in the city – it was fantastic. Thank you for helping me solve the mystery!
Kids loved it. very good and easy recipe, i tried it last night
Looks delicious, can’t wait to make this as an appetizer!
Did it and was awesome, very tasty with crunchy broccoli,onions and carrots.
Thanks so much Taras!
Great recipe. Thanks!
Cooked with Bok Choi and taste was fantastic…would recommend!
Recipe calls for 1.5 Tbsp oil, but the actual recipe only uses 1 Tbsp oil.
Hi there! Sorry about that – fixed!
WOW!! Look Yummy
I’ll give it a try SOON 🙂
Wow this was really good ! Thanks for the Recipie
This was incredible! We made our own vegan oyster sauce and was delish. Wonderful flavors and heavenly gai lan…thanks!
We are making this recipe right now and noticed your comment. We buy a vegan oyster sauce but would love to make our own. Is there a link that might be shared?
Hi Joan,
I’ve never made my own vegan oyster sauce! Try this recipe: http://omnivorescookbook.com/homemade-vegetarian-oyster-sauce/
Thank you Jaden. I will give this a try. It looks really good and I have everything required in my pantry.Â
If gai lan not available what other green can you use?
Hi Anna – you can use “yu choy” which looks very similar to gai lan. It’s a Chinese spinach with long stems. Same recipe can be used with Broccolini or Rapini.
Yummy! so delicious and easy. we’re from NYC so we;e used to great asian food. found gai lan at the grocery store (in the middle of nowhere where we now live…) and tried this recipe. delicious. will make again and again.
I tried Chinese broccoli at one Chinese restaurant, it was so good and I want to try out myself. Thank you for your recipe, but can I use vegetable oil instead of sesame oil?
Asian sesame oil is for flavoring. If you don’t have it – you can leave it out.
Very well written recipe, clear and straight forward. Personally, I believe no other stir fries are as delicious as stir fried Gai Lan. This dish that took my heart away 20 years ago as someone new in Hong Kong and new to its culture is still my most favourite food of all time. I would even go as far as to say that it’s one of the foods among some other great chinese foods that made me love Hong Kong when i first came here from India. I enjoy eating this wonderfully delicious heart-warming dish all year round in Hong Kong.
this was my first try at cooking veggies…and it was delish…
thank you so much…will do again and again…
I used to live in Boston with my cousin and his wife (who is from China) and she opened up my eyes (and stomach) to a whole new world of asian cuisine (something that I’m forever grateful for). I completely fell in love with chinese broccoli when she took me to a dumpling house and I haven’t been able to find that taste again. I’m so excited to try this! Thanks for posting!!!
I tried this recipe with broccoli rabe and added toasted sesame seeds as a topping. The bitter rabe with the savory sweet sauce played well together. Thanks for the tasty idea.
I made this and it was so good. Thks for the recipe
Mmmmm, kailan is tasty and crunchy….love it all the time
This post is from a while back but still comes up on Google, so…
I just wanted to add I have done WAY too much research and prepared gai lan with oyster sauce at least 4 different ways – and this one is by far my favorite. Thanks for the great recipe!
Dear Jaden,
Beautifully written article about your Mom and her love. You Mom must be so proud of you now.
The way that you cook your Gai Lan is the way that I cook mine. My husband cooked Gai Lan for me for a whole month when I was recovering from C-section after the birth of my 3 rd child. I never got tired of eating it.
YUM! ham yu! I’m hungry now.
yes yes yes, and chinese po-po also pick up the food in a lil’ chinese spoon, slowly blow the heat off the food, gently spoon tt into our mouths, such lovely passionate gesture 🙂 oo..I want some of tt gailan with crispy “ham yu” (salted fish) 🙂
SimCooks- I’m going to try it with Fried Dace & Black Beans next time…
I have to scrape of the outer skin of the Gailan then cut them on the bias before I stir fry else the Gailan I get is very fibrous.
Sometimes I add shrimp and scallops to my Gailan stir fry. I have the recipe in my blog 🙂
Thank you Passionate Eater! Our generation is has evolved – we Asian bloggers revel in communication and expression. I remember as kids, saying “I love you” to parents was an awkward thing. Now, my kids say “I love you” 5 times a day – 4 of those times are because they want something….like chocolate!
What an amazing post. When I first went to college, I attended a conference for Asian-Americans. Growing up as one of of the only Asian families in my state, I wasn’t sure I would relate to the experiences of other Asian-Americans. At the conference, the speaker told a story about how his parents never attended his baseball games, and when they finally did, they did not embrace or high-five him like how the other Caucasian parents did to their kids, but they said, “Why did you miss the ball? We are ashamed.” However, later in life, he looked backward and realized how hard his parents worked (often late nights) to put him through college (unlike other Caucasian parents) and how they gave him the best things they had, at their own expense.
The Asian culture shows love in a beautiful way, although differently from the majority culture in America. Thank you for sharing your story, it made me reflect on the differences and appreciate them.
Let’s not group all “Caucasian parents” together. Â My parents worked very hard to send us to private schools etc. And they weren’t asian
I just put in a call to Mom and left msg about the mysterious yellow flower Gai Lan….
I haven’t tried Tagu Choy – taste same as Bok Choy?
HK noodles coming soon!
Recently I’ve got myself some Yu Choy, and the yellow flowers look exactly like the Gailan here. Another “cross pollination” I’ve seen is on bok choy and baby boy choi-the resultant is Tagu Choy! I’ll try to take some pictures and post them in my blog.
And yes, Gailan with Oyster sauce is such a classic! Love this.
Where’s my plate of Hong Kong noodles ?