If I asked my mom to choose some of her favorite dishes for daily meals, this super-easy Chinese greens recipe would rank in the top three. Since she learned the method from a friend many years ago, she has been using it several times a week to add a delicious side dish to our dinner table.
The easiest Chinese greens recipe
All you need is four ingredients – green leafy vegetables, peanut oil (any other neutral oil works as well), garlic, and soy sauce. To cook the dish: The blanched greens will be quickly cooked by the hot oil, creating a richer flavor. The crispy garlic and soy sauce pair so well and give the green veggies just enough seasoning, so that their true taste shines.
A versatile recipe
The best part of this easy Chinese greens recipe is, you can use this method for many types of vegetables. My mom uses this method to prepare many types of Chinese greens, such as: If you cannot easily find Chinese greens, many other types of vegetables work great as well: When you use the same method to prepare those vegetables, they will turn out tasty yet with different flavor profiles. That’s why my mom will grab a few types of Chinese greens and cook this dish a few times during the week.
Cooking notes
A few things to help you prepare better Chinese greens: This will help the vegetables stay very green because the oil will coat the vegetables to protect them from oxidation. This method helps a lot, especially when you need to prepare the vegetables ahead of time for a party and serve them later. But it is totally fine if you skip this step. The blanched vegetables will be logged with water. It’s important to gently squeeze out the excess water and let them sit in a colander to dry before plating them. You can even use paper towels to speed up the drying process. Do not skip this step, or else your dish will be diluted. The garlic will turn golden very quickly in the hot oil. It’s important to stir the oil constantly so the garlic browns relatively evenly. Although you might be tempted to get all the garlic golden, it’s totally fine if it cooks slightly unevenly. Once the garlic turns golden brown, it will be cooked further by the residual heat even after you turn off the heat, and it might overcook and turn bitter.
How to serve
Now that you’ve learned the essence of this Chinese greens recipe, you can pair it with all kinds of meals because the flavors pair easily with many types of cuisine. The easiest way to prepare a full Chinese dinner is to serve this dish on the side, along with your main dish, a soup, and some rice. You can prepare the greens ahead of time and set them aside. Then prepare your main and any other dishes you want to serve. Then finish it up with the hot oil at the end and serve the greens with the rest of your dinner. You can tweak this recipe slightly, if you like, by using olive oil. Then you can serve it with a Western-style main dish such as roast chicken or beef. To add a bit more kick, you can add some peppers (either dried, sliced fresh peppers, or pepper flakes) into the hot oil to spice things up. It is a wonderful way to add some greens as part of a very simple dinner with foods such as bread, roast potatoes, and rice and beans.
Afterthoughts
Many years ago when I still lived with my parents, my mom always told me to learn a few staple recipes so I would be able to whip up a quick dinner at any time. I was impatient and told her that I always preferred to try my hand at something new. These days, I seem to appreciate the simple things more than before. A humble Chinese greens recipe not only reminds me of my mom’s cooking, but it truly comes in handy when I have a fridge full of leafy greens and I do not want to do a half-hour of internet research to come up with dinner ideas. This dish is just so versatile and easy to that my my cooks it all the time and we never get tired of it. And now it’s my turn.
More delicious vegetable sides
Chinese Broccoli with Oyster SauceStir Fried Bok Choy with Fried TofuChinese 4-Ingredient Fried CabbageGarlic Spinach in Chicken Broth (上汤菠菜)Cabbage Glass Noodles Stir Fry
