Stir-fried bok choy with garlic (Suanrong qingcai)

1. Trim the base of the bok choy, separate the leaves, wash thoroughly and drain well; halve the larger hearts lengthways.

2. Thinly slice or roughly chop the garlic.

3. Heat the oil in the wok over high heat and fry the garlic for 20-30 seconds until fragrant but not yet brown.

4. Add the bok choy and toss over high heat for 1 minute.

5. Pour the Shaoxing rice wine and water down the side of the wok, sprinkle with the salt and sugar and stir-fry for another 1-2 minutes until the leaves wilt but the stems stay crisp.

6. Serve immediately with the little liquid collected in the wok.

Tip: The simplest side dish of Chinese home cooking – a bowl of greens goes with almost every meal. You can make it the same way with spinach, Chinese cabbage or pak choi; the secret is high heat and a short time.