New green
Thursday, 28 February 2008
Thanks JCB for the photo….
Several times we’ve enjoyed a sauteed green at Chinese restaurants. We don’t know what it’s called, and generally stumble around in a discussion with a well-meaning waitron, ending with happy nods all around, and a few minutes later we’re brought a steaming platter of these greens with a light oil and garlic sauce. Yum.
So, when I saw some pretty fresh fine looking raw ones displayed at Your DFM (dumb page; I refuse to link to it), I nabbed two bunches. The sign called them something like gailan broccoli in English and something else in something else.
I could feel a fine sand all over the leaves and stems, so carefully washed them—they’re draining here. Then I trimmed the bases and split the thick parts of the stems in quarters. I threw some garlic in the butter and then sauteed them. I think I used far less fat so they weren’t quite as tasty as the restaurant version, but, there ya go, that’s how it is the first time you cook something—and on your own, too!
Gross physiology suggests it’s in the Brassica family with broccoli and kolrabi, and sure enough, here it is, one of several forms of Brassica oleracea. Click on Gai Lan/Jie Lan for the best picture of what I’ve eaten, and you can buy seeds to boot!
I did all this googling for this blahg entry, and not, oddly, prior to my cooking adventure….