Chinese Broccoli Radish Stir Fry with Vegan Oyster Sauce ~ Oil-Free Recipe

An easy colorful side dish with a salty sweet umami base and layers of fragrant flavor from fresh garlic and ginger.

WHY I LOVE IT

This stir fry is a fast and fun way for me to get a large dose of leafy greens. Chinese broccoli is one of my all time favorite veggies and the cooked sliced radishes make for a lovely contrast. Also known as Gai lan, Chinese broccoli is an easy to grow leafy cruciferous vegetable that should have already gone mainstream. But here in Seattle I can only find it at Asian grocery stores. In any case, the nice thing about this recipe is that it works just as well with a number of other vegetables like broccolini, broccoli rabe, collard greens or even regular broccoli florets. The vegan oyster sauce is not as easy to substitute. If you are vegan and you enjoy Asian food, you need to try vegan oyster sauce. The umami impact of this sweet tangy sauce comes from mushrooms and something about its complex balance of flavors makes it particularly good for bringing out the best in green vegetables. Vegan oyster sauce hasn’t exactly changed my life, but it has been a game changer for many of my stir fries. An open bottle can be stored in the fridge for a very long time—not indefinitely, but close—making it a great staple.

WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT CHINESE BROCCOLI?

This is sort of a trick question because Chinese broccoli has a flavor and texture largely reminiscent of other leafy cruciferous vegetables that are also in the brassica family like kale or collard greens. The taste is familiar rather than unusual. To me the flavor of Chinese broccoli is more subtle, sweeter, and a bit less bitter than its counterparts, while its texture is less fibrous and more delicate. Although it mainly consists of large leaves and tender stems (much like broccoli rabe and broccolini*), Chinese broccoli does have some florets, but they are small and sparse. Like all other dark green leafy cruciferous vegetables, it is a nutritional powerhouse.

*Fun fact: broccolini is actually a cross between regular broccoli and Chinese broccoli.

PREPPING CHINESE BROCCOLI MY WAY

The way I like to prep Chinese broccoli for stir frying is traditional in some ways and not so traditional in others. Blanching is essential for maximizing tenderness while minimizing bitterness, so I do blanch. But while many cooks salt the water used for blanching vegetables because salt can lock in nutrients and make green vegetables greener, I prefer unsalted water because the sauce for this recipe is already quite salty. As in most traditional recipes, I also slice the broccoli stems lengthwise so that they cook evenly. What’s different with my method is that I chop everything into bite size pieces before blanching. Many traditional recipes are meant to be plated with these beautiful, but long and unwieldy, pieces. That’s just way too inconvenient for my taste. I like my stir fry all chopped up and easily picked up with chopsticks.

First I remove the leaves and cut them into manageable pieces, approximately 3 x 3 inches. I slice the stems lengthwise so that most pieces are about a half an inch wide. Then I cut the sliced stems into smaller pieces, about 3 inches as well.

The chopped leaves and stems are blanched in boiling water for about 2 minutes, strained, dried in a towel and set aside. No need for a cold water rinse or ice water bath for this recipe. The reason I like to dry the Chinese broccoli before adding it to the stir fry is that the extra water trapped between the leaves can water down the sauce.

SIMPLE SAUCE PREP

The sauce for this stir fry is super simple. You can use vegetable stock or water for the liquid and sugar or agave syrup can be used instead of maple syrup. I prefer to use low sodium soy sauce most of the time, but especially in this recipe where the vegan oyster sauce is already making things quite salty. As always, you can use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. For the cornstarch to be evenly distributed in the sauce, create a slurry with it by mixing it with one teaspoon of water before blending with the other ingredients.

EASY PEASY OIL-FREE SAUTÉING

If you’re not interested in oil-free cooking then go ahead and use oil. But this is a whole food plant-based no oil recipe and sautéing without oil is actually pretty easy. Wanting to use oil just for flavor is understandable, but then I’d recommend adding a little bit of sesame oil after everything is already cooked.

In this recipe the ingredients being sautéd are the radishes, garlic and ginger. You will need a quarter cup of vegetable stock close at hand and a large skillet or wok. Heat the skillet over medium high heat and add about one tablespoon of liquid (water or vegetable stock). When the water is piping hot, add the sliced radishes and sauté for about two minutes. Add little bits of liquid if the radish slices are sticking. Then add the minced garlic and ginger and sauté for another two minutes until fragrant. You will need to add little bits of liquid as you go along to keep everything from sticking but you probably won’t need the entire cup of liquid.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Once the garlic and ginger are fragrant, add the sauce mixture to the pan. The sauce will quickly start to bubble and thicken after about a minute or two. At this point you can turn off the heat, add the pre-blanched Chinese broccoli, toss everything together, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

VARIATIONS

• SWITCH OUT THE CHINESE BROCCOLI: Use another green cruciferous vegetable instead of Chinese broccoli. Kale, collard greens, broccolini, broccoli rabe or broccoli florets would all work well and you can use the same quick blanching technique for prep.

• SWITCH OUT THE RADISHES: Use a different kind of radish like daikon, for example. Or go a different route and use another type of vegetable altogether. Carrots or red bell pepper would create an appealing color and texture contrast.

• BOOZE IT UP: Instead of using just water or vegetable stock for the sauce, use a half and half combination of water or vegetable stock and dry sherry, white wine, sake or mirin.

• ADD SLICED GREEN ONIONS: For an extra layer of fresh pungent flavor, add a handful of thinly sliced green onions just before sprinkling with sesame seeds

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