Step 1

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and several drops of vegetable oil so that the blanched vegetables will look greener (optional), stir to mix well.

Step 2

Add the vegetables. Blanch until just cooked through and still crisp. It takes 1 minute or so to cook tender vegetables such as spinach, baby bok choy, yu choy, chard, and choy sum. It takes 2 to 3 minutes for Chinese broccoli, broccoli, and broccolini.

Step 3

Once the vegetables are done, immediately rinse them with cold tap water to stop cooking. Stop once the vegetables have cooled to a warm temperature and not completely cold. Drain, gently squeezing out as much water as you can, then set aside in a strainer to dry further. If you plan to serve them immediately, you can use paper towels to pat the vegetables dry.

Step 4

When you’re ready to serve, plate the blanched vegetables with minimal overlapping. (*Footnote 2)

Step 5

Heat the oil in a small saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the garlic, stirring constantly until the edges of the garlic turns golden (*Footnote 3). Then immediately pour the hot oil with the garlic over the plated vegetables.

Step 6

Drizzle soy sauce on top of vegetables and serve immediately as a side dish.