This isn’t something you’d likely find on the menu at a Chinese restaurant. It’s too simple, too rustic, too every day. It’s the sort of thing families cook at home, but not the sort of thing they’d whip up to impress paying guests because it’s decidedly not all that impressive.
All the more pity because then fewer people would think of making this when it comes to cooking Chinese food at home, and it’s so easy. This dish doesn’t even involve a wok or a clay pot, and there’s only one potentially “weird” ingredient that you may have trouble finding at a regular grocery store (and even that ingredient is optional, though you really should try to find it. Like, really.)
(REALLY.)
I make this for dinner myself on the regular. Though this is poached in soy sauce, which sounds like it’d be a salt bomb, the soy sauce is actually pretty watered down and further tempered with a bit of sugar. It just infuses the otherwise plain boiled eggs with a savory, salty flavor, and let’s face it, boiled chicken runs the risk of being blander than packing foam, so the soy sauce simmering gives it a much-needed flavor boost.
Now, on to the second part of this dish: the Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce. This is, in my opinion, the perfect accompaniment to the slightly salty eggs and chicken.
Chinese broccoli, or gai lan, doesn’t look like regular broccoli at all, so I’m not sure where that name came from. It doesn’t really taste like regular broccoli, either. The overall flavor is slightly bitter, which is why it’s mostly served with a sweeter sauce, like this one here.
I happen to love Chinese broccoli, and will rarely leave a trip to the Asian market without a bundle. When shopping for Chinese broccoli, the main things you want to look for are intact leaves that aren’t full of holes, tears, or other battle wounds. Then check the bottoms of the stems — they should look neat and fresh. Avoid any that look dried out or ragged because that means the stems are too tough, like old asparagus.
The preparation I’ll show you is what you’d find at most dim sum places, and it makes a great companion to the soy sauce poached chicken and eggs I posted a few weeks ago. Or, you know, you can just make a bowl of it and eat it all in one sitting, not that I’ve done that before or anything, cough.
Soy Sauce Poached Chicken and Eggs
Yield: Serves 2-3 people
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
- 5 large eggs, boiled and peeled
- 1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces (my parents usually make this with beef, so you can definitely go with that because it is still very good, but I personally prefer chicken)
- 6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- scant 1/4 tsp dashi powder*
- 3-4 cups water
Boil your eggs using your preferred method. I put mine in a small saucepan, fill with just enough water to submerge the eggs, and then bring it to a boil over high heat. Then I shut off the heat and cover the saucepan with a lid and let it rest there for 10 minutes, after which they will be cooked through and with no infuriating cracks in the shell.
While your eggs are cooling, bring 3-4 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the cubed chicken and simmer it for about 10 minutes, stirring a few times initially so they don’t all clump together.
Add the eggs and garlic into the water, then pour in the soy sauce and give everything another good stir. Simmer for 15 minutes, then add in the sugar and dashi, and stir it all again. Simmer until the sauce is reduced by a third, which should be another 15-20 minutes.
Serve with plain white Jasmine rice and side of your favorite leafy greens.
*Dashi powder is a Japanese ingredient, and made up of bonito and kelp. From what I can tell, this is common in Asian markets in the seasoning/soup aisle, but less readily available in American grocery stores. It gives the dish a savory depth of flavor, but is totally optional, so feel free to omit (though I wouldn’t, hinthint, nudgenudge). Be warned, though, that the flavor of powdered dashi is potent, so a scant ¼ tsp is really all you need to make this meal sing. Anything more and you risk tasting nothing but dashi.
Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce
Yield: Serves 2-3 people
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
- 1 bundle of Chinese broccoli, about 1 pound
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/4 tsp white pepper powder or fresh ground multicolored peppercorn
- Pinch of sugar
- Drizzle of vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
Trim the woody ends off of the Chinese broccoli. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and dump the broccoli in. Simmer for about 4 minutes until cooked and bright green. Drain and blanche in cold water to stop the cooking process, drain again, and set aside.
In a small sauce pan, combine the oyster sauce, water, pepper powder, and sugar. Simmer on low-medium heat until the mixture thickens. If it becomes too thick, just add a bit of water. Pour over the Chinese broccoli and toss to coat.
Wipe out the saucepan and heat a drizzle of olive oil on low-medium heat. Add in the garlic and cook to scent the oil. Don’t let the garlic brown too much — pull it from the heat before it does.
Plate the Chinese broccoli, then pour the garlic oil over it just as you’re about to serve.
*Pictured here served with Jasmine rice with dashi topping and Chinese pickled cucumber.
1 Comment
Ridiculously tasty, Amy! I used leftover chicken breasts so I just skipped the first ten minute boil and added them with the eggs and garlic. I was worried I might be missing out on chicken fat water so I threw in some of that squeezable ginger and some dried shiitake for extra flavor. I intended on making this for work lunches but it smelled so great I had to have a bit for dessert…. New go-to! (Also, my cat got super keyed up on that dashi:)
May 8, 2017 at 9:47 pm