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5 from 1 vote
Chinese Greens Stir-fry
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
10 mins
 

My Chinese Greens Stir-fry is made of Chinese mustard greens and strips of aburaage. Instead of adding garlic and ginger, which are used in most Chinese stir-fry, I use a very small amount of dashi-based seasoning, which gives this dish a more authentic Japanese flavour.

Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.

Recipe Type: Side
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: chinese mustard greens recipe, Chinese stir-fry, gai choy recipe, Japanese stir-fry, stir-fry recipe
Serves: 2
Author: Yumiko
Ingredients (tbsp=15ml, cup=250ml)
  • 250g/8.9oz Chinese mustard greens (gai choy, note 1)
  • 2 sheets aburaage
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 2 tsp shiro dashi (note 2)
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce (or normal soy sauce)
Instructions
  1. Remove the leaves from each stem of the Chinese mustard greens, leaving the innermost small leaf attached to the short stem. If the stem is thick, halve it vertically.

  2. Cut each leaf into 5-7cm/2-2¾" long, grouping the thin leaf portions and the thick stalk portions separately.

  3. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over aburaage to remove excess oil, then squeeze water out. Cut aburaage crosswise into 1cm/⅜" wide strips.

  4. Add oil to a frying pan over high heat and stir-fry the stalks of the Chinese mustard greens for about 1 minute until the outside of the leaves starts browning.

  5. Add the leaves to the pan and continue to stir-fry until about half of the leaves start wilting.

  6. Add aburaage strips to the pan and stir.

  7. When all the leaves are wilted, turn the heat off.

  8. Add shiro dashi and soy sauce to the pan and mix well quickly (note 3).

  9. Serve in a large plate to share or individually.

Recipe Notes

1. Gai choy has a peppery, pungent taste, but not as strong as mustard greens. The taste of young gai choi is even milder.

You can substitute gai choy with other Chinese greens, such as choy sum, that do not have a strong flavour. If the ingredient has a dominant flavour, the seasoning of today’s stir-fry may be lost.

2. If you are a vegetarian, you can use vegetarian shiro dashi if you can buy it (I haven’t seen it yet where I live).

Alternatively, you can buy a konbu tsuyu that is more accessible (see the photo in the post). Konbu tsuyu is a vegetarian version of condensed Japanese noodle soup base. If your konbu tsuyu is very sweet (which is often the case) you have to replace 2 teaspoons of shiro dashi with 1 teaspoon konbu tsuyu and increase the soy sauce to 2 teaspoons.

3. Even if the heat is turned off, the seasoning liquid evaporates very quickly because the quantity is so small and the frying pan is still quite hot. If you don’t mix well, the flavour will not be evenly spread.

4. Nutrition per serving.

serving: 163g calories: 174kcal fat: 13g (20%) saturated fat: 1.3g (7%) trans fat: 0.1g polyunsaturated fat: 4.5g monounsaturated fat: 6.4g cholesterol: 0mg (0%) sodium: 211mg (9%) potassium: 533mg (15%) carbohydrates: 8.5g (3%) dietary fibre: 5.1g (20%) sugar: 2.4g protein: 9.1g vitamin a: 76% vitamin c: 146% calcium: 119% iron: 19%