Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce (Houyau gaai laan)

1. Trim the woody ends of the gai lan stems and halve the thicker stems lengthways; wash thoroughly.

2. Bring the water to the boil with the salt and a teaspoon of oil; add the gai lan and cook for 2-3 minutes until bright green with the stems still crunchy.

3. Drain and lay on a platter.

4. Finely chop the garlic and fry gently in the remaining oil for 30 seconds.

5. Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar and water, bring to the boil and stir in the sesame oil.

6. Pour the hot sauce over the greens and serve immediately.

Tip: The constant vegetable of Cantonese meals and dim sum tables. The oil in the cooking water makes the stems glossy and bright green; if you can't find gai lan, use tenderstem broccoli.