Blanched Choy Sum

Trim the tough ends, then weigh 350 g choy sum. Wash, drain and remove yellow leaves. Slit thick stalks lengthwise, keeping the greens whole. Mince 5 garlic cloves.

Mix 20 ml light soy sauce, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp sugar and 60 ml water. For a vegetarian version, replace the regular oyster sauce with vegetarian oyster sauce, starting with 1 tsp.

Bring 2 L water to a boil over high heat. Add ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp cooking oil. Blanch all the choy sum for about 1 minute, until bright green with cooked but crisp stems; continue briefly if still raw and hard. Drain well and arrange on a plate without cooling in water.

Discard the blanching water and dry the wok. Add the remaining 2 tsp cooking oil and gently fry all the garlic over low heat until fragrant and pale gold, without browning deeply.

Pour in all the sauce from Step 2. Simmer over low heat until it bubbles throughout and the sugar dissolves, then turn off the heat while the sauce is still fluid.

Pour the hot garlic sauce evenly over the drained, plated choy sum and serve immediately.