Braised Chinese Cabbage

Chinese cabbage is now widely available both in America and Europe and is sometimes known as Chinese leaves or Bok choy. One species has light green leaves with a long white stem and it forms a fairly tight and compact head on maturity. Another species has a shorter and fatter head with curlier, pale yellow leaves. One of the advantages of Chinese cabbage is that it will keep fresh for a long time and its texture will retain its crunchiness even after lengthy cooking.

1 lb (450g) Chinese cabbage
1 spring onion
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt

Wash the cabbage in cold water and discard any tough, tired or dry-looking outer leaves, then slice it into small pieces about the size of a matchbox. Finely chop the spring onion.

Place a wok or large frying panover high heat, and when it is hot pour in the oil and swirl it about. When it starts to smoke, throw in the spring onion. Don’t let it go brown, but throw in the cabbage and stir until all the pieces are covered with oil. Add salt and continue stirring; there should be enough natural juice to keep it from burning for at least 2 minutes or so. Again, do not overcook, and never cover the pan with a lid while cooking.

© Deh-Ta Hsiung and reproduced with his kind permission.