Kailan (Chinese Broccoli) with Garlic Infused Oyster Sauce

Steamed Kailan with Oyster Sauce is a popular dish at dim sum restaurants. It is one of the few vegetable dishes available during dim sum hour.  Your conscious tells you to get some veggies in your diet, so sure enough you order it. You soon realize that it is exactly how they describe it, steamed kalian drizzled with oyster sauce.  Sorry, but how boring is that?  This Kailan with Garlic Infused Oyster Sauce recipe is one that takes it to the next level.

What is Kailan?

Kailan or gailan (also known as Chinese broccoli, Chinese kale, jie lan or gai lan) is a leafy green vegetable that is packed with nutrients and is relatively inexpensive. It consists of three distinct parts, all of which are edible. The stem offers a crunchy texture, similar to that of asparagus, with a mild sweetness. The leaves are flavorful with a mild bitterness; think of a muted collard green. If you're lucky and find stalks that are flowering, the florets are quite tasty, comparable to broccolini.

Just about every Asian grocery store carries kailan. I've purchased it many times at American grocery stores as well. I prefer to buy young or baby kailan since the stems are thinner and more tender.  When kailan is older, the stems are thick and tend to be tougher.  If you can only find older kalian, you can use a vegetable peeler to remove the tough skin off the lower part of the stem. Then cut the kalian lengthwise down the stem. This makes it more tender and helps it cook more evenly.

For this Kailan with Garlic Infused Oyster Sauce recipe, I recommend using brown sugar if you have it. White granulated sugar will work fine but the molasses in brown sugar adds depth and makes it a richer, more complex sauce. However, the key to this gai lan recipe is the garlic infused oil made by frying minced garlic over medium heat.  Adding it to the oyster sauce mixture and topping kalian with crispy fried garlic, makes this dish better than that of any dim sum restaurant.