Stir-Fried Greens with Garlic
Ninety seconds of actual cooking. The trick is a dry pan, dry greens, and not stirring as much as you think.
- Prep
- 10m
- Cook
- 4m
- Total
- 14m
- Serves
- 4 as a side
- Effort
- Easy
Scale
Units
Method
| 2 tbsp | 1 Fry the aromatics in the hot oil, 20 seconds 2m | 2 Add the greens and leave still for 30 seconds before tossing 3m Letting them sit builds char. Constant stirring just steams them. | 4 Toss with the sauce and serve at once 1m Greens go from bright to drab in about a minute. Serve straight from the pan. | |
| 4 cloves | ||||
| 1 | ||||
| 500 g | ||||
| 1 tbsp | 3 Stir together 2m | |||
| 1 tbsp | ||||
| 1 tsp | ||||
| 1 tbsp | ||||
- 1
Fry the aromatics in the hot oil, 20 seconds
2m- neutral oil 2 tbsp
- garlic 4 cloves
- dried chilli (optional) 1
- 2
Add the greens and leave still for 30 seconds before tossing
3m- from 1 Fry the aromatics in the hot oil, 20 seconds
- leafy greens 500 g
Letting them sit builds char. Constant stirring just steams them.
- 3
Stir together
2m- light soy sauce 1 tbsp
- oyster or mushroom sauce 1 tbsp
- toasted sesame oil 1 tsp
- water 1 tbsp
- 4
Toss with the sauce and serve at once
1m- from 2 Add the greens and leave still for 30 seconds before tossing
- from 3 Stir together
Greens go from bright to drab in about a minute. Serve straight from the pan.
Dry greens, hot pan
Water is the enemy of a stir-fry: every drop has to boil off before the pan can get back above browning temperature, and while it does, the greens stew. Spin them dry, or dry them on a towel, and get the pan hotter than feels sensible before anything goes in.
Notes
- Stems first, leaves after, if the two differ much in thickness.
- Do not crowd it. Half a wok of greens cooks; a full one boils.
- Mix the sauce in a cup beforehand — there is no time to measure mid-cook.