Blanched choy sum

Ingredientsserves 4

Method

1. Wash the choy sum and cut the stalks so the whole vegetable is even; the stem is the point of the dish, so keep it.
2. Bring two litres of water to a rolling boil with the salt, a tablespoon of oil and the ginger; Hong Kong cooks say the oil and salt keep the green bright and season the vegetable from inside.
3. Put the stalks in first, count sixty to ninety seconds, then the leaves for thirty seconds more; it is done when the stalk bends but still snaps.
4. Lift out, drain hard, and lay in a line on the plate, stalks one way.
5. Warm the soy with the sugar and a tablespoon of water and pour it over.
6. Heat two tablespoons of oil with the garlic (or ginger shreds) until it sizzles and pour it over the top. Serve at once.

Take care

• The soy contains soy and wheat; oyster sauce, if used, contains mollusc (oyster).

The story

The plainest dish on the Cantonese table and the one every Hong Kong meal has on it: a plate of green, blanched, with soy and hot oil. Blanching means the vegetable is tasted, not sauced, and choy sum is the vegetable Hong Kong families judge a stall by. The oil and salt in the water is the one thing every source agrees on.

Same technique

Lettuce in oyster sauceAmaranth in stock with century and salted eggPoached chicken with ginger and spring onion

Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.