This easy Yu Choy Sum recipe is healthy, delicious, and ready in just a few minutes. It's stir-fried with garlic and oyster sauce to create an addicting, aromatic side dish.
Pair this with my Chicken Mapo Tofu or Chinese Roast Duck for a delicious and balanced meal!
Yu choy (also known as choy sum in Cantonese) is a leafy green vegetable commonly used in Chinese cuisine. Its name translates to "heart of the vegetable." It's known for its sweet and tender stalks and leaves. When cooked properly, it has a vibrant green color and crisp texture.
In this recipe, we stir fry Chinese veggies in a piping hot, well-seasoned wok to give them a smoky, charred flavor, also known as wok hei. Then we add oyster sauce and dark soy sauce to create an addictive and crave-worthy sauce. This vegetable dish is flavorful, healthy, and super easy to make; I make it at least once a week!
Try pairing this with my Taiwanese Scallion Pancakes for a simple vegetarian lunch.
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🧂 Ingredients
Chinese vegetable stir-fries are simple and only require a small number of ingredients. Typically there’s a featured vegetable and just a couple of seasonings to complement its flavor.
- Yu choy - a leafy green vegetable with tender stalks and leaves. Choose bright green colored bunches with firm stems with flowers in bud or just opening rather than in full bloom. They should not be wilted or have yellow or brown leaves.
- Garlic - minced and added to the stir fry to add a garlicky aroma to the Chinese greens.
- Dark soy sauce - is sweeter and less salty than light soy sauce. It has a slightly smoky aroma and adds a complex flavor when caramelized in the wok.
- Oyster sauce - is aromatic and adds a salty and deeply savory flavor to the sauce.
- Sugar - balances the saltiness from the other condiments dark and complements the natural sweetness of the Chinese veggies.
- Salt - just a little bit to enhance all the flavors in the dish
- White pepper - adds an earthy and spicy flavor profile.
- Toasted sesame oil - adds a nutty fragrance to the dish. Added at the end for the best flavor.
🔪 Instructions
Step 1. Make sauce
In a small bowl, mix dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, salt, and white pepper, and set aside.
Step 2. Blanch veggies
In a medium pot, bring water and 2 teaspoons of salt to a boil over high heat. Add yu choy and cook for 45 seconds until vibrant green and tender.
Immediately drain the water, and re-fill with cold water to stop the veggies from overcooking. Pull out the veggies, shake off excess water, and transfer to a plate.
💭 Tip
Use a salad spinner to dry the veggies after soaking them in cold water. I have an OXO brand salad spinner that I use all the time. It's perfect for drying all kinds of ingredients like Chinese greens, herbs, berries, etc.
Step 3. Stir fry
Heat a well-seasoned wok over high heat until smoking. Add oil and swirl to coat the sides of the wok.
Add minced garlic, then immediately add blanched veggies and stir fry for 1 minute. Lower the heat to medium and add the sauce mixture. Stir fry until the sauce is evenly incorporated, about 45 seconds. Transfer to a dish and serve. Enjoy!
📋 Note
When the sauce is added, it'll slowly draw out moisture from the veggies and produce a pool of liquid at the bottom of the wok. Don't throw it out - it's extremely tasty. You can pour it into the serving dish with the veggies. Adding a spoon of it on top of rice is delicious.
💭 Top Tips
- Choose yu choy with a vibrant green color, firm stems with young yellow flowers, and no wilting or discolored leaves.
- Use a salad spinner to dry the veggies after soaking them in cold water.
- Ensure the wok is very hot at the start of cooking to immediately add a smoky, charred flavor to the Chinese veggies. The heat should be turned down before adding the sauce so it doesn't burn.
👨🏻🍳 Variations
- Vegetarian - Replace oyster sauce with vegetarian oyster sauce and add ⅛ teaspoon of MSG to the sauce mixture.
- Extra fragrant - Use scallion oil instead of neutral oil, sauté 3 slices of ginger for 10 seconds before adding the garlic, and double the garlic.
👩🏻🍳 Substitutions
If you can't find yu choy, you can substitute it with another Chinese veggie like bok choy or Chinese broccoli. Chinese broccoli has thicker stems, so you'll need to blanch for an additional 15 seconds.
🥡 Storage & Leftovers
Storing: Store leftover Yu choy in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheating: Reheat leftovers by stir-frying in a nonstick pan over medium heat until heated through. Or, eat it as a cold side dish.
📖 Recipe FAQs
Yu choy has a mild, slightly bitter flavor that is similar to broccoli but with a hint of sweetness. The flavor of its leaves is often compared to baby spinach.
Yu choy and Chinese broccoli (gai lan) are two different vegetables, but they are often confused because they are both used in Chinese cooking. Yu choy has long, thin stalks and small, tender leaves, while Chinese broccoli has thicker stalks and larger, broader leaves. Chinese broccoli has a slightly more bitter taste.
Yes, but it won't be as easy as using a wok. A wok has a unique shape with high, sloping sides that allow ingredients to be easily tossed and stirred without spilling over the sides. Whereas a cast-iron skillet has short, straight sides.
Woks are typically made of carbon steel which is a good heat conductor. They heat up quickly and distribute heat evenly throughout the cooking surface, allowing for ingredients to be cooked quickly and evenly. On the other hand, cast iron skillets take longer to heat up and retain their heat for much longer, making it hard to adjust the heat at a moment's notice, which is very important for stir-frying.
🍽 Serving suggestions
Did you enjoy this recipe? Please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below and consider leaving a comment. I'd love to hear your feedback!
📋 Recipe
Easy Yu Choy with Garlic
Equipment
- 1 deep fryer, dutch oven, wok, or high-walled pot
Ingredients
Sauce
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
Yu choy
- 2 liters water
- 2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 pound yu choy (choy sum)
- 2 tablespoon neutral oil
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Make sauce: In a small bowl, mix dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, salt, and white pepper.
- Blanch veggies: In a medium pot, bring water and 2 teaspoons of salt to a boil over high heat. Add yu choy and cook for 45 seconds until vibrant green and tender. Immediately drain the water, and re-fill with cold water to stop the veggies from overcooking. Pull out the veggies, shake off excess water, and transfer to a plate.
- Stir fry: Heat a well-seasoned wok over high heat until smoking. Add oil and swirl to coat the sides of the wok. Add minced garlic, then immediately add blanched veggies and stir fry for 1 minute. Lower the heat to medium and add the sauce mixture. Stir fry until the sauce is evenly incorporated, about 45 seconds. Transfer to a dish and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Choose yu choy that has a vibrant green color, firm stems with young yellow flowers, and no wilting or discolored leaves.
- Use a salad spinner to dry the veggies after soaking them in cold water.
- Ensure the wok is very hot at the start of cooking to immediately add a smoky, charred flavor to the Chinese veggies. The heat should be turned down before adding the sauce so it doesn't burn.
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