Stir-fry Choy Sum & Fish Cake

This stir-fry choy sum & fish cake is a homely vegetable side dish that goes best with rice, as it is very savoury. Choy sum (can xin/菜心) is cheap local veg, so this is one simple & affordable home-style dish (家常菜) that one can cook anytime.

More everyday home-style dishes:

• Fish Cake Omelette
• Claypot Yong Tau Foo in Taucheo Chilli
• Potato and Pork Stir-fry
• Loofah Clam Soup
• Tofu with Minced Meat
• Ginger and Scallions Chicken

MAIN INGREDIENTS

• Choy sum (can xin/菜心) – separate the stems from the leaves. Cut the stems to equal sections. Cut the bigger leaves into halves.
• Fish cake – cut them to thin slices.
• Sauce – a simple sauce made with oyster + light soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, water and white pepper powder.
• Aromatics – finely chopped ginger & garlic.

STEP-BY-STEP

• Brown the fish cake in the pan for added flavour & colour. You can skip this step if you are busy.
• Fry garlic, ginger and choy sum in the same pan. To make up for my lack of wok hei skill, I let the choy sum steam for 1-2 minutes instead of stir-frying.
• Pour the sauce over the cooked choy sum. Mix well – the sauce will bubble and quickly thicken in the pan.
• Return the fish cakes back to the cooked greens either as a topping or mixed together.
• I personally prefer to use the sauce to cook the choy sum first, as the fish cakes are already salty & well-seasoned on their own.

Print

Stir-fry Choy Sum & Fish Cake Recipe

The sauce is intended to coat the choy sum first first. After that, the already well-seasoned fish cakes are then added to the wokpan.

Check out the ingredients and step-by-step photos on the previous page.

Serves: 2-3

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 packet (about 220g) choy sum (cai xin/菜心)
• 1/2 tbsp + 1 tsp cooking oil divided
• 75g fish cake sliced thinly
• 2 slices ginger finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 2 tbsp water

(A) Sauce (mix well with a spatula)

• 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp sake (or rice wine)
• 1/4 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp water
• a light dash white pepper powder

 

Directions:

1. Prepare choy sum by separating the stems from the leaves. Cut the stems to 5-cm (2-inch) sections. Cut the bigger leaves to halves.
2. Pan-fry fish cakes. Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a large pan, spread out the fish cakes and brown them on both sides. Set aside on a plate.
3. Make the dish (cook choy sum). Add remaining oil to the same pan. Fry ginger and garlic until fragrant, then add the choy sum stems. Stir fry for a minute. Add the choy sum leaves and water. Cover with lid and steam for about 2 minutes. Pour sauce over the cooked choy sum and mix well. Cook briskly until the sauce is thickened and bubbly.
4. To serve, transfer cooked choy sum to a serving plate and garnish with the pan-fried fish cakes.

Cooking Note(s):

1. The sliced fish cakes are browned in the pan for added flavour & colour. You can skip this step if you are busy.
2. Steaming the choy sum is a good hack for noob cooks as it made up for the lack of wok hei skill with good results.
3. Instead pf using the pan-fried fish cake as a topping, you can also mix them in together with the cooked greens.

Ingredients Used: choy sum • cornstarch • fish cake • garlic • ginger • oyster sauce • sake • soy sauce (light) • sugar • white pepper powder