Stir-fry Royale Chives & Beansprouts

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This stir-fry royale chives & beansprouts is a classic combination of ingredients on a Chinese menu. I have been on a royale chives (qing long cai 青龙菜) cooking spree for the past few weeks. This is mainly due to the novelty factor, since I was only recently acquainted with this vegetable. Even my mum also cooked this vegetable weekly after I introduced it to her. Another reason is because of its ease of preparation; simply cut the chives to uniform sections (no stems and leaves to separate). Also this vegetable cooks very fast in the wok.

More Royale Chives Version:

• Stir-fry Royale Chives in Garlic Recipe
• Stir-fry Royale Chives & Hon Shimeji Recipe

See Also:

• Loofah Clam Soup Recipe
• Easy Stir-frying Recipes

But one little “complaint” I have about royale chives is this: one packet is usually insufficient even for two persons as we always love a big plate of greens. I can easily finish a whole packet on my own. So adding beansprouts (or mushrooms) is a win-win as it adds volume and variety to the stir-fry.

STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS

Royal chives. Cut the chives to 6 equal sections, wash thoroughly to rid the soil, then spin dry.

Beansprouts. I prepare the beansprouts by removing the tail (pictured above) as they taste a bit better this way. It is perfectly all right to use the beansprouts as they are though. Some people also remove both the head & tail from each beansprout, but that’s too time-consuming for me, so I never do that unless I buy a bag of pre-plucked beansprouts from the supermarket.

Step 1. Heat oil in wok & add diced salted fish.

Step 2. When the salted fish is golden crisp (pictured above), add ginger and garlic. Stir-fry briskly until aromatic.

Step 3. Add beansprouts …

.. and stir-fry briskly just to coat them in the oil.

Step 4: Add the prepared royal chives (pictured above), mushroom powder and Chinese wine. Stir-fry until the chives are just cooked.

Note: After this, I stopped taking stove photos as doing so usually result in overcooked chives. The heat should be high and the cooking time short, so that the chives are fresh, green and crisp after cooking.

Dish out and serve.