Kailan (chinese broccoli) in oyster sauce

Hello breadwinners and househusbands!

This week's entry is not a really big cost saving dish, but it is a great dish to have up you sleeve if you want a delicious restaurant style vegetable dish to eat at home.

I've tried many versions of this dish and i normally eat it as a side to a plate of hainanese chicken rice. A fair bit of warning though, this dish is slightly on the salty side, so you need to be a bit careful with the measurements and not go over the top with seasonings.

Kai-lan or chinese broccoli is a great vegetable for its nutritional value and flavor. It is slightly on the bitter side, so you'd normally see it paired with salty components like salted fish or oyster sauce. The malays (or thai) often cooks it with salted preserved mackerel (tenggiri masin) but i prefer this version better.

Begin by preparing your ingredients as follows:-

A bunch of kailan

Oyster sauce ( i use adabi)

1 large clove of garlic sliced thinly

1 teaspoon of roasted garlic flakes (optional but makes a big difference in flavour)

1. Cut off the stems of the kailan and peel away the tough outer layer (about 1-2 mm). Cut them into bite size pieces. I usually leave the leaves whole unless they're too big. If you are cooking the hong kong kailan variety (pricey) then the stems are tender enough to be left whole.

2. In a wok, heat up some water and add a pinch of sugar and a few drops of oil. Begin by cooking the stems in hot water until they are tender. Then drop in the leaves and cook them for about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and arrange on a plate.

3. Heat some vegetable oil on low heat and fry the garlic slices. Keep an eye on them because they burn quick.

4. Add the oyster sauce. Depending on how much kailan you have, i would say 4-5 tbs should do it. You're not making a sauce, more like a dressing. Add some water (about quarter cup) and allow the mixture to thicken

5. Add about 2 tbsp of sesame oil and the garlic flakes to the mixture and turn off the heat

6. Pour the mixture onto the begetables and serve immediately for awesomeness

That's it! Easy right? Now this dish can go between RM10-15 for this amount of veg. I reckon i spent less than RM4 on the whole thing, even accounting for the pantry stuff. So if you're looking for a great and fresh veg dish, you can't go wrong with this one!