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Cooked spears of Chinese broccoli on a oval white plate with a white bowl of dipping sauce
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Make Ahead Chilled Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan) with Oyster Sauce

Often found rolling around alongside dumplings on a dim sum cart, this leafy green with a thick stem is a staple Chinese dish that can easily be made ahead and in under 15 minutes.
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Diet Low Fat, Low Lactose
Keyword broccoli, dim sum
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 98kcal
Author Agile Test Kitchen

Equipment

  • 1 pot to cook the Chinese broccoli at least 4 qt in size

Ingredients

  • 1 lb chinese broccoli See Note 1 for substitutes

Oyster Sauce Dressing

  • 2 Tb oyster sauce See Note 2 for vegetarian substitutes
  • ¼ c olive oil or oil of your choice such as avocado or coconut
  • 1 Tb hot water to help thin out and emulsify the sauce
  • 1 TB sweet soy sauce See Note 3 for details, or omit if you don't have it on hand

Instructions

  • Bring at least 2 qt of water to a boil.
  • While you're waiting for the water to boil, trim off the tips of the Chinese broccoli spears. Make the oyster sauce dressing.
  • Drop the Chinese broccoli in the boiling water. Blanch for 2-4 minutes, just until the the thickest part of the stem is cooked but still crunchy.
    It should not be completely soft but can be pierced with a paring knife with some ease.
  • Drain the Chinese broccoli and run under cold water. (Alternatively, you can drain and serve the spears warm.)
  • Shake off excess water from the broccoli spears. Arrange on a serving plate.
  • Drizzle over the oyster sauce dressing, or serve in a separate bowl for each to dip their own.

Oyster Sauce Dressing

  • For the dressing, gradually whisk in olive oil into the oyster sauce.  Add dark soy sauce and hot water to thin out the sauce to a more pourable consistency.
  • This dressing is strong, so use sparingly. However, it's not as salty as straight oyster sauce this dish is usually served with in restaurants.

Notes

  1. Instead of Chinese broccoli, you could use broccolini, broccoli rabe (or rapini) which has a slight bitter taste), or regular broccoli florets. 
  2. Instead of oyster sauce, you could use vegetarian oyster sauce, vegetarian mushroom stir fry sauce, or hoisin sauce. (Omit the sweet soy sauce if using hoisin sauce, since it is quite sweet already). 
  3. Sweet soy sauce mostly adds color, so it looks more like straight oyster sauce. However, you can omit this ingredient if you don't have it. The Indonesian version is called kecap manis, while the Chinese versions will just say 'Sweet Soy Sauce' on the label. 
  4. Remove as much water as you can after the Chinese broccoli is cooked, so it doesn't leave wet puddle on the serving plate. 
  5. You can plate, cover, and refrigerate the broccoli ahead of time. Drizzle on the sauce before serving. 
  6. If you make the sauce ahead of time, the oil will eventually separate from the oyster sauce. Use a little hot water to whisk it back into an emulsion.
  7. To make this extra fancy, serve the chilled broccoli on a bed of ice, so they stay extra cold on the table. (This is how it is served in fine Chinese restaurants.) 
  8. Leftover oyster sauce dressing can be used as a stir fry sauce for an easy vegetable side dish!

Nutrition

Serving: 0.2lb | Calories: 98kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 201mg | Potassium: 225mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 2973IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 124mg | Iron: 2mg