Simply Cooking: Stir fry Kai Lan (Chinese broccoli) with waxed meat

Not every Chinese loves Chinese broccoli aka Kailan. Chinese broccoli is reputed for its bitter after taste and strong greenish smell. However, if you cook Chinese broccoli right, you will love it like there is no tomorrow. I used to hate Chinese broccoli because my mom did a rather lousy job in cooking when I was about 5 or 6. However, as I grew older, her cooking skills improved as well - thanks to our dining experiences and the amount of cooking programmes that she watch.

She learnt the art of stir frying Chinese broccoli and handed over the book of tricks to me. Now, I shall share it with all of you because good food ought to be shared.

Well, there are three important ingredients when it comes to cooking good Chinese broccoli:
-Finely chopped ginger (Preferably young ones)
-Chinese rice wine
-Raw sugar

Yes, it is as simple as that. Yet, this round, I added a bit of waxed meat to provide a bit of colour and add a subtle taste to this simple, homely dish.

Recipe: Stir Fry Kai Lan (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

-2 drops of sesame oil
-1 stick of waxed meat, rinsed with boiling water and sliced
-2-3cm young ginger, skin peeled off, chopped finely
-1 bunch of Kai Lan, dried up stalks chopped off. Kai Lan must be further cut into half
-A dash of Chinese rice wine (around 1.5 tablespoons)
-1 teaspoon of dark raw sugar
-A pinch of ground white pepper

Instructions:

1. Heat up a deep pan on medium gas. Place waxed meat and sesame oil. Fat will be rendered out from the waxed meat so there is no need to add any more oil.
2. If the pan appears oily, add in ginger pieces. Stir for 1 minute. Add in the kai lan.
3. Stir kai lan for 2 minutes and add in Ch! inese ri ce wine and sugar. Stir for another 3 minutes.
4. Finish off with a pinch of ground white pepper. Serve with rice and another meat dish.




Cooking vegetables is only easy if you know the tricks to preparing it. Otherwise, you will end up with the worst tasting vegetables ever! This is one of the reasons for the love towards meat. Have you ever went wrong with cooking meat? Overcook it, it still tastes meaty and just a little tough. Undercook it, you can treat it as rare (Provided its not white meat!). Vegetables, when undercook tastes absolutely disgusting for some people. Overcook it, it looks unsavory.

It's so easy for vegetables go wrong and easier to hate it. Yet, vegetables are as important as meat. Without meat, you get no zinc and protein. Without vegetables, you get no vitamin C and other essential vitamins.

I hope this message gets across. Oh, in case you're wondering about my skin. I am not traumatized by the way it looks. I'm more worried about my skin's health.