Easy Chinese Yu Choy Sum

Chinese yu choy is one of the sweetest-tasting Chinese leafy green vegetables available, especially when they are picked when young and tender. You may have seen this vegetable lightly blanched and served with oyster sauce at dim sum houses, though it’s less common than the Chinese Broccoli with oyster sauce that we find more often. Yu choy (sometimes called choy sum in Cantonese, or you cai in Mandarin) has a fresher, sweeter taste than Chinese broccoli, or gai lan. For more explanation, visit our Chinese Leafy Green vegetables page, where you can read more about this vegetable and others! For us, after eating and seeing all the dim sum noodles, meats, buns, and dumplings on the restaurant floor, the cart with plates of neatly cut and stacked greens drizzled with oyster sauce is always a welcome sight. Not only is it palate-cleansing, but the knowledge that you ate something healthy helps to clear your conscience when leaving the restaurant with a full belly! All that said, this dish is ridiculously easy to make and enjoy at home for any meal. Often, we’ll have a protein planned for dinner, and instead of the usual broccoli or peas, we’ll wash up some yu choy, boil some water, and, in minutes, have a healthy, delicious green vegetable side dish. Perfect timing for everyone’s New Year’s resolutions!

Choy Sum Recipe Instructions

First, wash your yu choy (AKA choy sum). We recommend that yu choy and all leafy green vegetables be washed three times to rid the leaves and stems of hidden dirt and sand. See our Chinese leafy green vegetables page for more detailed steps. Once the veggies are cleaned and draining in a colander, bring a large pot of water to a boil. While that’s happening, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a small saucepan over low heat for 30 seconds. Stir in the oyster sauce (or vegetarian oyster sauce), light soy sauce, sesame oil, and white pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then immediately turn off the heat and set aside. Once the water is boiled, add 1 tablespoon of oil to the boiling water. Add in the yu choy and stir gently. The yu choy sum will turn dark green in color. The blanching process takes only 30 seconds, but if your yu choy has thick stems, or if you like your vegetables to be more tender, you may want to cook them a little longer—up to a minute or so. Feel free to fish out a piece to taste (like you’d do when cooking pasta) if you’re unsure. Once they are ready, use a pair of tongs or chopsticks to remove them from the pot and arrange on a dish lengthwise. After you have plated the hot vegetables, some water may have drained off onto your platter. Be sure to carefully pour this off, or your sauce may be watery. If the veggies are long, feel free to take kitchen scissors and cut them in half. But you can also leave them as is. Pour the warm sauce over the veggies and serve!