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Looking for a quick and tasty vegetable dish? This choy sum recipe is a perfect choice! With its crisp, tender greens and savory shrimp in a delicious white sauce, it's easy to whip up in just 15 minutes.
Choy Sum Recipe
Vegetables are undeniably healthy and beneficial, yet some find them dull and challenging to prepare compared to protein-rich options like meat or fish. Unlike protein sources, vegetables often lack inherent flavor. In Chinese culinary tradition, the art of preparing vegetable dishes hinges on skillfully integrating complementary ingredients and sauces to enhance their taste and texture.
Chinese cuisine celebrates a variety of leafy Chinese greens such as choy sum, bok choy, and gai choy, which are staples in everyday meals, serving as a perfect complement to main dishes.
In Chinese or Cantonese dining, vegetable dishes are typically presented in two main styles: savory brown stir fry sauce, often infused with oyster sauce, and a lighter white sauce — a method I’m excited to share with you today. For this recipe, the white sauce offers a delightful variation.
What Is Choy Sum
Choy sum, also known as “Chinese flowering cabbage” or “Chinese mustard greens,” is a leafy green vegetable widely enjoyed in Chinese cuisine. Known by its Chinese name 菜心/油菜心, it is often labeled as yu choy sum or you choy sum in Asian markets across the United States and Western countries. This vegetable has tender stems and vibrant green leaves, boasting a mild, slightly sweet flavor that makes it a popular choice for stir-fries and soups.
This Chinese vegetable is nutritious, with many health benefits. It’s rich in vitamins and minerals that support overall health, and it’s low in calories, making it a great choice for those looking to maintain a healthy weight. This leafy green is also high in fiber. Its mild and slightly sweet flavor makes it versatile for cooking in various dishes, adding both nutrition and taste to your meals.
Including this vegetable in your meals can help support digestion and overall health while adding delicious variety to your diet.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick and easy: This recipe comes together in just 15 minutes with only 3 simple steps, making it perfect for a fast weeknight dinner and beginner-friendly.
- Nutrient-rich: Packed with vegetables and protein, this recipe is not only tasty but also a nutritious choice for a healthy meal.
- One-pan wonder: Everything cooks together in one wok or skillet, minimizing cleanup and making it a practical choice for busy cooks.
- Versatile recipe: You can make this dish with any vegetables you like, such as broccoli, kale, celery, or any leafy greens of your choice!
Recipe Ingredients
- Choy sum – Choose those with bright green leaves and crisp stems. Skip any that look wilted or have yellowing leaves.
- Mushroom – I used canned button mushrooms for this recipe.
- Shrimp – Use fresh shrimp as it has a firmer texture and better flavor.
- Ginger – Gives the dish a lovely, aromatic kick with a hint of spice.
- Cornstarch – Helps thicken the sauce so it sticks to the veggies and shrimp just right.
- Sesame oil – Adds a nutty flavor and aroma that makes the sauce richer.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Cook Choy Sum
Step 1: Rinse the choy sum with water and allow it to drain. Trim off the stem ends. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the White Sauce. Stir well to mix, then set aside.
Step 2: Heat a wok and add cooking oil. Stir-fry the ginger until it turns light brown and becomes aromatic. Add the shrimp, mushrooms, and carrots, and stir-fry quickly until the shrimp turns pink and opaque.
Step 3: Add the choy sum to the wok and stir quickly. Pour the white sauce mixture into the wok and continue stir-frying until the sauce thickens. By this time, the vegetables should be perfectly cooked but not overdone. Dish out and serve immediately.
Cooking Tips For Home Cooks
- Get your wok nice and hot before adding the oil. This helps everything get a good sear and keeps the veggies and shrimp cooking evenly.
- Don’t stop moving the ingredients around. Stir-fry quickly to keep things from burning and to make sure everything cooks evenly.
- Get everything chopped and measured before you start. Stir-frying goes fast, so having all your ingredients ready makes it a lot easier.
- If things start cooking too quickly or look like they might burn, turn down the heat a bit. You want a good char without overcooking.
- If you’re making a big batch, cook it in parts. Overloading the wok can lead to steaming instead of stir-frying, which isn’t as tasty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can chop the vegetables and prepare the white sauce in advance. Just keep them in separate airtight containers in the fridge until you’re ready to cook.
If you don’t have a wok, no problem! Just use a large skillet or saute pan. Make sure it’s big enough so you can stir-fry everything evenly.
To keep your veggies nice and crisp, stir-fry them quickly over high heat and don’t overcook them. If you see too much liquid, just drain it off while cooking.
You can store the white sauce in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Just keep it in an airtight container and give it a good stir before using.
Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
This recipe is only 125 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
Serve this Chinese vegetable dish with steamed rice, fried rice, or rice noodle soup. For a homemade Chinese meal and easy weeknight dinner, you can pair it with any or all of the dishes below:
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Recipes You Might Like
Choy Sum Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz (225g) choy sum (yu choy sum/you choy sum)
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 inch (2.5cm) ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
- 6 medium-sized shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/4 cup sliced button mushrooms
- 1/4 cup sliced carrots
White Sauce:
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/3 cup (6 tablespoons) water
Instructions
- Rinse the choy sum with water and allow it to drain. Trim off the stem ends. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the White Sauce. Stir well to mix, then set aside.
- Heat a wok and add cooking oil. Stir-fry the ginger until it turns light brown and becomes aromatic. Add the shrimp, mushrooms, and carrots, and stir-fry quickly until the shrimp turns pink and opaque.
- Add the choy sum to the wok and stir quickly. Pour the white sauce mixture into the wok and continue stir-frying until the sauce thickens. By this time, the vegetables should be perfectly cooked but not overdone. Dish out and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Get your wok nice and hot before adding the oil. This helps everything get a good sear and keeps the veggies and shrimp cooking evenly.
- Don’t stop moving the ingredients around. Stir-fry quickly to keep things from burning and to make sure everything cooks evenly.
- Get everything chopped and measured before you start. Stir-frying goes fast, so having all your ingredients ready makes it a lot easier.
- If things start cooking too quickly or look like they might burn, turn down the heat a bit. You want a good char without overcooking.
- If you’re making a big batch, cook it in parts. Overloading the wok can lead to steaming instead of stir-frying, which isn’t as tasty.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
100% on the money. Add some MSG for that extra come-back-for-more-ishness. Mix with whatever veg you like, zucchini particularly great.
Hi Dan thanks. Please try more recipes on my site: https://www.666630.xyz/recipe-index-gallery/
100% on the money. Add some MSG for that extra come-back-for-more-ishness. Mix with whatever veg you like, zucchini particularly great.
I made this tonight and it’s AMAZING!. I didn’t use ginger and it still takes like the China Wok take out veges that I LOVE. I also used green beans and broccoli. I don’t have a wok, so i just used a ceraminc frying pan. So, obviously i added the carrots and green beans to let them cook for a bit before adding all the other veges and shrimp. I’m so excited. Now I have to search up your receipe for seasame chicken!
Awesome please try more recipes on my site: https://www.666630.xyz/recipe-index-gallery/
Like most Asian Americans in Oakland, CA, I spent most of my time in Chinatown. Now, Chinatown is gone (just a place where white kids play anime dress-up because Japan=China=Fantasy Cartoon Elf Land). I left for SoCal because of gentrification (which started here a year later), and there used to be a vegetables-in-white-sauce dish I used to get whenever I ate there. Those and Cantonese-style BAKED pork buns are the foods I miss the most.
I forgot to get fish sauce, but I just made the dish sans that. I’ll add fish sauce to the leftovers tomorrow. It was incredible, and I thank you for the recipie.
I see some comments about wanting vegetarian or variation in ingredients. The Chinatown Oakland dish has choy sam, western broccoli, carrots, snow peas, mushrooms. I don’t think cornstarch was used in the sauce–I originally thought it was a broth.
I’m not familiar with how to substitute for fish sauce (I grew up on Japanese and Italian cooking, tonight was my first time using fish sauce in a recipie).
Hi Chiaki, I am so happy you enjoyed my choy sum recipe. :)
Just finished cooking this and it was fabulous. Very authentic flavour, pretty too. I know I’ll make this over and over again.
Awesome! I am glad you love this Chinese vegetables recipe. :)
Wow. It looks delicious. I love vegetable side dishes. So, I will try to make these very soon. Your recipe will help me. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Hi there, is there a reason you omitted smashed or minced garlic here?
Absolutely love your work in your tremendous blog! Thanks for sharing your recipes with all of us.
I cooked this today and it was very good. I didn’t have the wine so I skipped and our store only had Napa cabbage ( not sure if it is a Chinese vegetable) will make this again!
Thanks for the recipe! I’ve been looking for a recipe with the white sauce.
Is this recipe for 1 serving? Can’t wait to try it!