Super easy and healthy Chinese green (Yu Choy) stir fry with garlic. 蒜蓉菜心
Yu Choy has become one of my favorite Chinese evergreen vegetables. Chinese greens like boy choy, gan lian, Yu Choy and cabbage appears on almost typical Chinese meals. I cook this Yu Choy at least twice a week. The Chinese name of Yu Choy is 菜心 in Chinese, literally means “vegetable heart”. We have lots of vegetable hearts in China. For example Hubei style vegetable heart has purple and red skins. This Yu Choy is popular in Guangdong province. So we call it as Cantonese vegetable hearts.
Yu Choy looks quite similar to Chinese broccoli. So the two are confused frequently. Chinese broccoli tastes slightly bitter and has darker green leaves and white flowers. However Yu Choy is more tender and sweeter. And the flower of Yu Choy is yellow. You can choose smaller stalks but I just like the stalk so usually I choose middle size ones and peel the tough skins off.
Other Chinese vegetable stir fry
Yu Choy Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 300 g Yu Choy also known as Yu Chai , tough skin removed and cut into stalks if necessary
- 1 tbsp. cooking oil
- 4 garlic cloves , finely chopped or mashed
- 1 small Pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp. water , optional
- 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix water, salt with oyster sauce.
- Heat oil in wok until hot. Slow down the fire and add minced garlic to fry until aroma. Place in the mixed sauce in the first step.
- In a large pot, bring enough water to boil. Add around ⅛ teaspoon of salt and several drops of sesame oil after boiling. Place the Yu Choy in. Heat until the water boils again.
- Transfer out and place in serving plate.
- Pour the hot garlic oyster mixture on top of the vegetables. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Kim | Mom, Can I Have That?
Oh, I love this. I always order it when we go out for Chinese food - actually I am not sure if it is yu choy or Chinese broccoli that I order because they look similar to me. I just know it is garlicky and great! So glad to have the recipe!
-Kim
Elaine Luo
Haha Kim, yes Chinese broccoli and yu Choy are very similar but they taste slightly different. I love both and they are super healthy.
Elizabeth
I would like to know if yu choy and choy sum are the same vegetable?
Sometimes I see the vegetable listed as
"Yu choy sum".
Elaine
Yes, it is sometimes named as Yu Choy Sum too.
Bea
Wow, this looks delicious! I lived in China last year, and now that I am back in America, I miss the food so much. The recipes you have on this site look fantastic, and I am excited to try them out! I also love the pictures you include with the recipes. I will be sure to visit your site often. Thank you!
Elaine Luo
Thanks so much for your kind word Bea! Glad to know you here.
Magnus
Hey there,
Love your site and the recipes, and especially the thorough explanations of ingredients (that are, unfortunately, often very hard to find).
I was hoping you could write a post about oils, however. Sometimes you refer to cooking oil, other times to vegetable oil - but which oils are they specifically? I would like to use oils that are as healthy as possible, but at the same time gives the right flavor. Would, for example, rapeseed oil be a good choice all-round?
Elaine Luo
Thanks Magnus for your suggestion. Traditionally Chinese people eat lard. However now peanut oil, corn oil, rapeseed oil, flaxseed oil olive oil are used in daily Chinese cooking. If you are trying to avoid lard or animal fat, rapeseed oil is an excellent choice for most of the Chinese dishes. I use rapeseed oil, flaxseed oil, olive oil and animal fat myself.
Magnus
..and a follow up: when your recipes call for sesame oil, is this the dark, toasted variety?
Elaine Luo
Yes Magnus, mostly the sesame oil are made from roasted sesame seeds.