Chinese Broccoli

Chinese Broccoli

[Chinese Broccoli, Chinese Kale, Kai-lan (China), B. oleracea Group Alboglabra]

While it looks a lot like Rapini, Chinese Broccoli is related to European broccoli and cabbages while Rapini is a turnip green. It is different in form from European broccoli having thinner more tender stems, tiny flower heads and a lot of large leaves. The stems are always used and open flowers, generally white, do not become bitter and are also included with the rest of the plant when cooking. Separate leaves from stems and give the stems a head start when cooking. This is a very important vegetable in the cooking of China and Southeast Asia but only begining to show up in U.S. supermarkets.

Buying & Storage: Find this in Asian groceries and in farmer's markets which include one or more Asian vegetable grower. Look for fresh looking leaves and avoid those starting to turn yellow. Flower heads are fine including those with open flowers. Store in the refrigerator loosly wrapped in plastic and use within a couple of days - once you see yellowing of the outer leaves flavor and appearance degrade rapidly.

Cooking: The entire stalk is used in recipes calling for this vegetable. It is best to separate the leaves and tender flower tips from the stems so the stems can be started cooking a few minutes before the leaves go in. I often slice the stems diagonally into lengths starting about 3/4 inch at the largest ends and grading up to 1-1/2 inches at the thin end.