Stir-fry Royale Chives & Beansprouts

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:
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Stir-fry Royale Chives & Beansprouts Recipe
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

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

Beansprouts
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.

Stir-fry Royale Chives & Beansprouts Recipe (Step 1)
Step 1. Heat oil in wok & add diced salted fish.

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

Stir-fry Royale Chives & Beansprouts Recipe (Step 3)

Step 3. Add beansprouts …

Stir-fry Royale Chives & Beansprouts Recipe (Step 3B)

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

Stir-fry Royale Chives & Beansprouts Recipe (Step 4)

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.

Stir-fry Royale Chives & Beansprouts Recipe
Dish out and serve.

Stir-fry Royale Chives & Beansprouts Recipe

There is quite a bit of dirt in these royale chives, so be sure to wash them in a few changes of water & ensure all the soil is thoroughly removed.

Once the chives are added, stir-fry them briskly at high heat so that they are crisp, green & fresh. Overcooked chives will become mushy and soggy.

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

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Prepare royale chives by cutting them to six uniform sections. Wash the chives thoroughly to get rid of the excess dirt and spin dry.
  2. Fry salted fish. Heat oil in a wokpan. Add diced salted fish and fry until golden.
  3. Fry aromatics & beansprouts. Add garlic and ginger. Cook briskly until aromatic. Add beansprouts and stir fry quickly to coat them in the oil.
  4. Add prepared chives, mushroom powder and drizzle Chinese wine along the walls of the wok. Stir-fry on high heat until the royale chives are just cooked and still green.

Cooking Note(s):

  1. Ways of preparing beansprouts for this dish. The beansprouts can be used as they are, but it will taste better if you remove the tail (as in this recipe) or both head & tail (very time-consuming though).
  2. If you don’t want to use salted fish, add a bit more seasoning to taste.
  3. I used mushroom seasoning powder as a delicious MSG-free seasoning for all my vegetable stir-fries. You can substitute it with appropriate amount of salt, soy sauce or fish sauce.
  4. Variations suggestions. You can double up the beansprouts OR use a mix of beansprouts & hon shimeji OR cook a version with hon shimeji mushrooms.
  5. If your stir-fry is too dry, add 1 tbsp water when cooking the chives. I prefer not to add water since the royale chives tend to exude some water after cooking.