Editor's note:
The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Grace Young's book The Breath of a Wok.
Young also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page.
For Young's article on Cantonese cooking, click here.
Chef Lee Wan Ching of Yee Hen restaurant on Lantau Island, Hong Kong, taught me this recipe. Traditionally ginger is always cooked with broccoli — its warmth balances the coolness of yin vegetables such as broccoli. Just a small amount of ginger juice intensifies the flavor of the vegetables. To make ginger juice, grate a small amount of ginger and then squeeze it with your fingers to extract the juice.
·Also known as Chinese kale or gai lum, Chinese broccoli has crunchy stalks with tiny pale green buds and large, dark green leaves. Avoid stalks with dried ends, open flowers, or yellow leaves, all signs of age. Regular broccoli can be substituted, if desired. Cut the stalks into 1/4-inch-thick pieces and cook for 1 minute before adding florets.
·For grating ginger, look for the newer microplane-style graters, which make this task a snap.
·Click here for a recipe for homemade chicken stock from Gourmet. If you'd rather buy it, Young recommends the organic brand Pacific, sold in cartons.
