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A New Love: Jacques Pépin's Fast Food
Talking Him Into It - Feeding The Guy
Another Change, and Two Summer Shortcakes
« Review: Blackberry Peach Cobbler | Main | Stretching the Drinks »
Going back to the subject of making really good vegetables:
All cultures have great vegetable recipes (Insalata Caprese, steamed edamame and these wonderful broiled tomatoes from Sept-Quinze in Paris come to mind). But some of the most wonderful and widely appealing vegetables are made in China. The combination of salt and MSG are definitely part of the reason they're so appealing, but even without these additives, the basic principles used by this fast, easy recipe make dark leafy greens taste really good.
Take a very large handful of spinach, baby bok choy, or Chinese watercress and wash well. Slice or mince 2-3 cloves of garlic. Put 2-3 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom of a pan or wok and heat over very high heat. When the oil is hot, put the garlic in and let it cook for a few seconds (until the aroma reaches your nose) then throw the vegetables in and toss in the oil and garlic for a minute, until they're covered and have just started cooking. Add some chicken or vegetable broth (or any liquid -- white wine might work in some cases if you take the pan off the heat first, and even water will do in a pinch, but make sure to add salt and pepper for flavor). There should be just enough liquid to put a small layer on the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and let simmer until the vegetables have shrunk and started to wilt, usually 1-2 minutes. (What you're doing here is steaming the vegetables in the broth.) Take off the cover and continue to stir-fry the veggies until you reach the desired level of tenderness (this takes longer for bok choy than spinach). There's a bit of trial and error in this recipe, but like the Caesar salad recipe from last week, even a bad batch still tastes good.
Posted by georgia to Kitchen and Cooking on September 19, 2005 02:20 AM | permalink | Email this post
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oh yes! Beijing style, absolutely =) I am so happy that you are still much into Chinese food =))
Ting
Posted by: Ting at September 22, 2005 07:24 AM
