What every professional kitchen needs to know about kai-lan: origin, flavour, preparation and storage.
Kai-lan (芥兰), also known as gai lan or Chinese broccoli, is one of the most widely used leafy vegetables in Cantonese cuisine. The plant has firm, dark-green stems with broad leaves and small yellow flowers. Botanically it belongs to the crucifer family (Brassicaceae).
The most striking difference from Western broccoli: kai-lan does not have a thick floret head but instead has long, fleshy stems with loose leaves. Those stems are at their best when cooked just short of fully done.
gai lanChinese broccoli芥兰kairamKai-lan originates from the southern Chinese provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. From that region, its cultivation has spread along trade routes throughout Southeast Asia for centuries. Today kai-lan is grown on a large scale in China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand.
In Cantonese cuisine, kai-lan with oyster sauce is an absolute classic side dish. At dim sum, steamed kai-lan is a standing order on every restaurant menu.
The flavour is robust and slightly bitter, with a pronounced umami character that benefits greatly from high heat. In a very hot wok, kai-lan develops a light smoky char that tempers the bitterness and rounds out the flavour. Overcooking makes the stems tough and the leaves grey.
In Cantonese cuisine, kai-lan is the classic side dish alongside Peking duck and char siu. In Thai cuisine it is called kana (กะน้ำ) and pad kana with oyster sauce is a popular street meal. In Japanese cuisine, kai-lan (芥蘭) is served in Japanese-Chinese restaurants (chuka ryori) as a stir-fried side dish. In Indonesian cuisine, kailan is a regular vegetable in Indonesian-Chinese kitchens — standard in bakmi and Chinese eateries. In Vietnamese cuisine, cải làn is stir-fried or blanched as a side dish. In Korean cuisine it is prepared as namul-banchan with sesame oil and garlic.
Store kai-lan cold at 2 to 4°C, loosely wrapped in paper or in an open plastic bag. The stems are robust but the leaves wilt quickly.
Use within 3 to 4 days of delivery. Yellowing leaves or limp stems are signs of ageing. Flavour starts to decline before any visible changes appear.
Cut the stems diagonally into equal pieces so they cook evenly. Add the leaves only in the last 45 seconds. This keeps the stems crisp and the leaves bright in colour.
A pinch of sugar in the boiling water when blanching helps maintain a more intense green colour.
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