Cantonese Cuisine · FFET10260
Bai zhuo cai xin (blanched choy sum)
Choy sum blanched quickly in boiling water, plated, then dressed with oyster sauce or with hot oil and a soy dressing.
A round white porcelain plate holds green choy sum coated in a glossy brown soy dressing, topped with yellow ginger, red fresh chili, scallion whites and pale garlic, with wooden chopsticks resting beside the plate.
The regional cooking of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, prized for live, fresh ingredients and light flavours.
Bai zhuo cai xin is choy sum cooked briefly in boiling water or stock, plated, and seasoned afterward. A traditional Cantonese method blanches it for about 1 minute in salted water, pours hot oil over ginger, chili, scallion whites and garlic on the plate, and adds a soy-water dressing. Another method blanches it for 15 seconds per batch in chicken stock and dresses it with cooled peanut oil and oyster sauce. Choy sum is grown mainly in Guangdong and is often blanched or stir-fried and eaten with oyster sauce; no dated text was found for this dish.
What
Bai zhuo cai xin is choy sum cooked quickly in boiling water or stock until just done, plated, and dressed with oyster sauce, or with hot oil and then a soy-water dressing.2,3
Where
Choy sum is grown mainly in Guangdong and is native to southern China. This blanching method is traditional Cantonese, and the dish can also be served with oyster sauce. The available information does not establish where the dish began.1,2,3
How
Blanch about 230 g of choy sum in batches for about 1 minute in boiling water with salt and 1 teaspoon of oil. Plate, top with ginger, chili, scallion whites and garlic, pour over smoking hot oil, then add a dressing of soy sauce, water, sugar and white pepper. Alternatively, cook 1 bunch in batches for 15 seconds each in 3 to 4 cups of boiling chicken stock, then dress with peanut oil that was heated and cooled, and 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce.2,3
Why
Both methods use a short blanching time and add seasoning after cooking: hot oil and a soy dressing in one, cooled peanut oil and oyster sauce in the other. The available information does not explain the reason.2,3
Impact and influence
Blanching and serving with oyster sauce is a common way to eat choy sum.1
No tale about this food has been found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
This is how I make blanched choy sum at home, with a hot-oil and soy dressing poured over the cooked vegetable. The amount of choy sum, the proportions of the dressing and the oil follow one recipe by a named author; that recipe gives no amounts for the ginger, chili, scallion whites and garlic, so those are my own choices. A second recipe by another named author blanches in chicken stock and dresses with peanut oil and oyster sauce; I did not follow it and mention it just in the tips. The two recipes differ a lot in blanching time, about a minute in one and fifteen seconds in the other, so I do not copy either and decide by looking at the stems.
Ingredients
- Choy sum 230 g, washed
- Ginger 3 thin slices, shredded (my choice)
- Fresh chili 1/2, sliced into rings (my choice)
- Scallion whites from 2 scallions, shredded (my choice)
- Garlic 2 cloves, minced (my choice)
- Soy sauce 1 tablespoon
- Water (for the dressing) 1 tablespoon
- Sugar 1/4 teaspoon
- White pepper 1/8 teaspoon
- Vegetable oil 1 tablespoon for pouring over, plus 1 teaspoon for the blanching water
- Salt a pinch, for the blanching water
Steps
- Wash the choy sum, trim off the dry base and drain it.
- Stir the soy sauce, water, sugar and white pepper together in a small bowl.
- Mix the ginger, chili, scallion whites and garlic and set them aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil with the pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon of oil.
- Cook the choy sum in batches. I judge the time by the stems: lift one out and press it, and when it has just softened but still has a little bite, take the batch out, drain it and arrange it on a plate.
- Spread the ginger, chili, scallion whites and garlic over the choy sum.
- Heat the 1 tablespoon of oil in a small pan until it just starts to smoke, pour it carefully over the top, then spoon on the soy dressing and serve hot.
Tips
- The hot oil spatters when it hits the plate, so I stand back and use a heat-safe plate.
- For the oyster-sauce version, look to the other recipe: cook each batch for fifteen seconds in boiling chicken stock and dress with cooled peanut oil and two tablespoons of oyster sauce; that version brings peanut and shellfish allergens.
Allergens: soy, wheat