How to Make Gai Lan Oyster Sauce Stir Fry

Here's a bird's eye view of all the steps. If this is your first time, I recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success!

1. Slice thicker gai lan stems on a sharp diagonal. For thinner stems, cut into 1-2 inch pieces.
2. Cut the leaves into roughly 2" chunks, dividing wider leaves in half if needed, keep the leaves and stems separated.
3. Combine the oyster sauce, soy sauce, water and sugar; stir to dissolve the sugar completely.
4. Pound the garlic until broken into chunks, alternately smash them with the side of your knife and roughly chop.

5. In a wok, cook the garlic over medium low heat until smallest bits turn golden.
6. Add the stems and cook for about a minute.
7. Add the leaves, the sauce mixture and the white pepper and turn the heat up to high. Toss for about 30 seconds or just until the leaves are wilted.
8. Once the leaves look wilted but not totally collapsed, turn off the heat and plate immediately. Do not overcook as the leaves can become chewy; you want the leaves to still have some freshness and volume to them when you turn off the heat as they will continue to wilt on the plate.

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Recipe Card

Gai Lan Oyster Sauce Stir-Fry (Chinese Broccoli)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 27 reviews

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 3-4 servings
• Cuisine: Thai

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Ingredients

• 300 g gai lan, aka Chinese broccoli, preferably smaller stems
• 6-7 cloves garlic
• Optional: 1-2 Thai chilies, if you want it spicy
• 1½ Tbsp oyster sauce 
• ½ Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp water
• ½ tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp ground white or black pepper, or to taste
• Jasmine rice for serving

Ingredients and Kitchen Tools I Use

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Instructions

1. Cut thick gailan stems on a sharp bias into thin slices. Thinner stems can be chopped into 2-inch pieces. Once you get to the leaves, cut them into bite-sized chunks. Keep the stems and leaves separated.
2. Then add garlic and pound just until they look "shredded" (see video for visual). You can also smash the garlic with the side of your knife and roughly chop. If using chilies, pound them along with the garlic or roughly chop.
3. In a small bowl, combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and water; stir until the sugar is dissolved.
4. In a wok, fry the garlic in a little oil over medium-low heat for a minute or so until light golden. Don't use high heat as you want the garlic to have time to soften and infuse the flavour into the oil.
5. Add gai lan stems, turn heat up to medium and cook for about 30-45 seconds.
6. Turn the heat up to high, then immediately add gai lan leaves, the sauce, white or black pepper, and cook for only about 30-45 seconds. Remove from heat immediately once the leaves look wilted but not completely collapsed. Do not overcook, the residual heat will wilt the leaves further, and the leaves also get chewy when cooked too much. 
7. Serve immediately with jasmine rice. Enjoy!

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Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

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What is pad pak ruam?

Pad means "stir-fry," pak means "vegetables," and ruam means "mixed," so it's very straight-forward! Though you often see pad pak ruam on menus of Thai restaurants overseas, in Thailand, this is very much home cooking.

Because Thai people eat family style, every meal is made up of multiple dishes, so no one dish needs to be "complete." So we have a lot of dishes that are mostly meat, and others, like this one, that is mostly veggies, and things balance each other out. Learn more about how Thai people eat here.

The vegetables can be flexible, and indeed I often use this dish as a "fridge cleanout," so the veggies in the recipe are just suggestions. I included several kinds in my version to give you ideas about things that work well, you can make this dish with just 2-3 veggies, no problem!

Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe and important notes about them. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.

Sauce

You can use this sauce to stir fry just about anything, and indeed it's very similar to my universal stir fry sauce recipe!

• Oyster sauce. The queen of Thai stir fry sauce. Read more about how to choose good oyster sauce here.
• Soy sauce, any kind will do, but best if you have Thai soy sauce and my preference is Healthy Boy Mushroom Soy Sauce.
• Golden Mountain sauce, is another kind of soy sauce that has a slightly different flavour. You can substitute Maggi Seasoning or fish sauce instead, or simply use more soy sauce. Here are types of soy sauces explained.
• Water
• Sugar. Just a wee bit to balance the salt.

The Stir Fry

Again I repeat: these veggies are just suggestions and ideas. You do not need all of these vegetables, just a few kinds will do, but ideally you want a good mix of colours and textures.

• Carrots, "roll cut" for some cool shapes (you can see the video for technique), or simply cut them into thin sticks. Don't make them big, remember with stir fries you only have a few minutes in the pan.
• Cauliflower, SMALL florets. Again they won't have much time to cook in the wok so these should smaller than what you imagine a "floret" normally is.
• Green cabbage, bite-sized pieces. I prefer Asian cabbage (the squat ones) as they're sweeter and more delicate, but regular cabbage is fine.
• Chinese broccoli (gai lan), stems thinly sliced on a diagonal, leaves roughly torn into chunks
• Sugar snap peas, strings removed, which is done by snapping off the stem-end and pulling downward, and the strings on the sides of the pea should come away (see pic below). I like to then cut them in half on a sharp diagonal as allows the sauce to penetrate the otherwise impenetrable pods, making them more flavourful.
• Shiitake mushrooms, fresh, cut into slices. You can use any other kinds of mushrooms here.
• Garlic, roughly chopped
• Thai chilies, optional, only if you want to make it spicy. Most of the time this dish is done with no chilies in Thailand, but I wanted to include it here to give you the option. I like to just crushed the chilies with the side of a knife just until broken and the heat will gently infuse into the sauce so it's not overwhelmingly spicy.

How to Make Mixed Vegetable Stir-Fry ผัดผักรวม Pad Pak Ruam

Here's a bird's eye view of the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success!

1. Organize your vegetables in order they are added to the pan: Bowl 1 with firm veggies: carrots and cauliflower in this case. Bowl 2 with softer veggies: Cabbage, snap peas, gai lan stems, and mushrooms. Bowl 3 with anything leafy, like gai lan leaves.
2. In a small bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
3. In a wok or a large saute pan on medium high heat, add a little vegetable oil, garlic and chilies and saute until small bits of garlic turns golden.
4. Add the firm veg in bowl 1 and a splash of water, and stir for 1-2 minutes or until they're about halfway cooked. Adding more water as needed.

5. Add bowl 2 of vegetables and the sauce and toss until the vegetables are done to your liking, 1-2 minutes.
6. Add gai lan leaves or anything leafy.
7. Toss just until the leaves are wilted, 20-30 seconds, and off heat.
8. Enjoy with jasmine rice!

Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.

Thai Peanut Dressing

• Large, mild dried chilies, such as puya or guajillo peppers, but anything that's not too spicy will work. You can find these at Latin American stores.
• Shallots
• Garlic
• Ground coriander, I like to grind coriander from seeds because store bought pre-ground coriander tends to be stale and lacks aroma.
• Coconut milk, check out the post on how to choose good coconut milk.
• Water
• Roasted peanuts. It’s best to buy raw peanuts and roast them yourself because the flavour is so much better than using pre-roasted peanuts which can often be stale. I'm including roasting instructions below.
• Tamarind paste. You can buy tamarind paste for cooking, also labeled as "tamarind concentrate" but always make sure it is tamarind from Thailand! Indian tamarind paste is different and cannot be used in the same way. You can also make it from pulp using this homemade tamarind paste recipe.
• Palm sugar, finely chopped. You can also sub light brown sugar. Read more about palm sugar here.
• Salt or fish sauce. If you don't need this to be vegetarian, I recommend using fish sauce for extra umami.

Salad Components

Note: These are all classic components of a salad kaeg, but feel free to change things up! My only tip is that because the dressing is rich, make sure you have some sturdy veggies in the mix as delicate leafy greens will be easily overwhelmed by the dressing.

• Greens: any kind you like, but I recommend including sturdy leaves such as iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce. Delicate greens alone will not hold up well under the rich dressing.
• Cucumber, sliced
• Tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, cut in wedges, or cut cherry tomatoes in half.
• Carrots, cut into thin sticks or juliennes. Using a julienne peeler makes easy work out of this
• Boiled eggs. The doneness is up to you, but for this I personally like boiling for 9 minutes for large size eggs which will get you doneness as per the photo above.
• Fried firm tofu. Deep fried tofu is traditional and it gives them a nice chewy texture, but you don't need to fry the tofu if you prefer then fresh. You can also pan fry them in a little oil just until browned on both sides, or toss the tofu in oil and air fry them at 400°F (200°C) until browned.
• Potato chips or fried potato sticks. Totally optional but they add a super nice crunch!
• Fried shallots. You can buy fried shallots from Asian grocery stores, but making your own is also an option. I also like to bake store bought fried shallots to refresh them and get them crispier. See more details in my fried shallots recipe here.

How to Make Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing

Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.

To roast peanuts:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Place peanuts on a baking sheet and spread them out into one layer and roast for 15-20 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir the peanuts around. Check them often once they are close to finish, they burn fast!
2. Remove from oven after they have turned golden brown. Once they are cool, grind them into a coarse meal (not peanut butter!) in a mortar and pestle or a food processor.

Note: If you have extra roasted peanuts, store them in the fridge to prevent them from going rancid. For even longer storage, put them in the freezer.

Make the curry paste:

1. Cut the dried chilies into chunks with scissors and remove all the seeds.
2. Add them to a coffee grinder along with the coriander seeds and grind into a powder.
3. In a mortar and pestle, pound together shallots, garlic, ground chilies and coriander into a paste (does not have to be super fine).
4. Bring ¼ cup of the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it is reduced and thick.

5. Once it is thick, continue to cook the paste for one more minute, adding a splash of coconut milk if it is sticking to the bottom.
6. Add the remaining coconut milk and stir to dissolve the paste.
7. Add the water, ground roasted peanuts, tamarind, palm sugar, and salt. Simmer the dressing for 20-30 minutes over low heat, until thickened to the desired consistency, scraping the bottom frequently to prevent it from scorching.
8. I like the dressing to be on the thicker side, but if you prefer a lightly dressed salad you can make it thinner by adding a splash of water. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, making sure it's got a strong flavour since it will be served with lots of veggies. Let it cool a bit before drizzling over your salad!

What are wing beans?

Before we get into the recipe, for those unfamiliar, here are some wing bean basics. Wing beans, or tua pu in Thai are like green beans with 4 little "wings" extending around them. So when you slice them, the look like little 4-point stars ✨! The middle are crunchy, with a relatively neutral, slightly nutty flavour, very much like green beans.

You can buy wing beans from some Asian grocery stores. Here in Vancouver I see them occasionally at various stores, but not all the time, so when I do see them, this is 100% the dish I make to celebrate the find!

Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe and some important notes about them. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.

• Wing beans or green beans. You can find wing beans at many Asian grocery stores.
• Chicken breast
• Shrimp, this is traditionally added but it is optional. You can stick with just the chicken, or conversely, use only shrimp.
• Shredded coconut, unsweetened, toasted. You can toast the coconut simply by adding it to a dry skillet and stirring it over medium high heat constantly until they are deep brown. (see video for desired colour.)
• Roasted peanuts, finely crushed. If possible buy raw peanuts and roast them yourself in the oven and they'll taste much better!
• Shallots, thinly sliced
• Eggs, for making boiled eggs. Though technically optional, this is a classic accompaniment to yum tua pu and they are so good together! The dressing soaks into the egg yolks and it's just uber tasty, so I recommend not skipping it!
• Mint leaves.

Dressing:

• Lime juice, fresh lime juice is best for this recipe.
• Fish sauce. See my guide on how to choose good quality fish sauce.
• Thai chili paste, also called nam prik pao. This is a key flavour in yum tua pu. You can buy nam prik pao at Asian stores, or make your own using my Thai chili paste recipe (it's not hard!)
• Coconut milk, read more about how to choose good coconut milk here.
• Garlic, grated or minced
• Thai chilies, finely chopped
• Sugar. Be prepared to adjust this amount as the Thai chili paste's sweetness can vary between brands.

How to Make Wing Bean Salad

Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.

Prep The Proteins - Chicken, shrimp and eggs:

*We typically poach our chicken and shrimp, but you can also cook them however you like - grill, bake, etc.They just need to be cooked one way or another. You can also use leftover roast chicken for this.

1. For the eggs: Slowly add the eggs into a pot of boiling water and boil them for 8 minutes - this gets you medium-cooked eggs. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the eggs (cuz you'll need to water so don't drain it) and put them in cold water to cool.
2. For the chicken: Turn the temperature of the water down to about medium or medium low so the water is rapidly steaming, but not bubbling (this should be 165-175°F). Cut a chicken breast in half lengthwise (you only need half for this recipe). Salt the water until the water tastes like a well-seasoned soup, then add the chicken and poach until the chicken is fully cooked, about 7 minutes. Remove the chicken (keep the water) and once cool enough, pull into shreds with your hands.
3. For the shrimp: In the same pot you used to cook the chicken, bring the water to a boil and add the shrimp and poach them until done; 30 sec-1 min. Remove from water and cool.

For the Salad

1. Blanch the wing beans in a large pot of boiling salted water for 1 minute, then remove from water and immediately add them to a big bowl of ice water.
2. Drain well and slice beans into ¼-inch slices crosswise. If using green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces on a bias.
3. Toast the dried coconut in a dry pan over medium high heat until it's got a deep brown colour; immediately remove from the pan.
4. Grate the garlic with a microplane into the bowl, then add finely minced chilies.

5. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, Thai chili paste and stir until the chili paste is dissolved. Add the coconut milk and stir to mix.
6. Add wing beans, shallots, and peanuts; toss to mix well.
7. Add the chicken, shrimp and toasted coconut and mix well.
8. Transfer onto a serving plate and serve alongside halved medium-boiled eggs. Serve with jasmine rice.

Wing Bean Salad (Yum Tua Pu)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: Serves 3-4

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Description

One of the most interesting and unique Thai salads, and also one of my favourites! Crunchy wing beans are tossed in a dressing enriched with coconut milk and Thai chili paste. With shredded chicken and poached eggs, it's filling enough to be a meal! You can sub green beans if wing beans are not available. 

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Ingredients

• 175g wing beans or green beans
• ½ chicken breast*
• 6-8 shrimp*
• 3 Tbsp shredded coconut, toasted (see video for how to toast coconut on the stove)
• 1 Tbsp roasted peanuts, finely crushed
• ½ head shallots, thinly sliced
• 3 eggs (estimate about 1 egg per person)
• ⅓ cup mint leaves

Dressing:

• 3 Tbsp lime juice
• 1.5 Tbsp fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp Thai chili paste
• 3 Tbsp coconut milk
• 1 clove garlic, grated or minced
• 2-3 Thai chilies, finely chopped
• 1 tsp sugar

Note: I'm providing instructions for poaching the chicken and the shrimp; however, you can cook them using whatever methods you wish (grill, bake, steam, sauté, etc.).

Ingredients and Kitchen Tools I Use

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Instructions

Poaching chicken and shrimp: Heat a pot of water until 165 degrees Fahrenheit (water is steaming heavily but isn’t simmering yet), salt the water until the water tastes like a well-seasoned soup, then add chicken and poach until done, about 7 minutes or longer if poaching a whole breast. If you have a thermometer, the internal temperature of the chicken should reach 165 F. Remove chicken and cool. Add shrimp and poach them until done; remove from water and cool.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, pull the meat into shreds.

Blanching beans: Bring a large pot of water to a full boil and add enough salt until the water tastes like a well-seasoned soup. Add the wing beans and cook for 1 minute—it's important to use a large pot of water so that the water temperature doesn't drop drastically; if not using a large pot, cook in batches. Remove from water and immediately add them to a big bowl of ice water. Drain well and slice beans into ¼-inch slices crosswise. If using green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces on a diagonal.

Make medium-boiled eggs: Bring water to a full boil, gently lower eggs into the water and boil for 8 minutes. Remove from pot and immediately submerge them in a bowl of cold water. Peel them once cool enough to handle.

Assembly: Combine all dressing ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until the chili paste is dissolved. Add wing beans, chicken, shrimp, shallots, toasted coconut, peanuts and mint; toss to mix well. Transfer onto a serving plate and serve alongside halved medium-boiled eggs.

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What is Faktong Pad Kai?

Faktong pad kai ฟักทองผัดไข่ is a stir fry of creamy sweet squash with eggs and Thai basil. Sometimes it's called pad faktong which simply means "stir fried pumpkins," which theoretically can mean any kind of stir fried pumpkin, but this egg and Thai basil version is the most common.

It is one of the most rustic Thai dishes that people often make at home, but it's also a common dish in raan khao gaeng, places that sell curries, stir fries, and other dishes all ready-made, and all you have to do is point to what you want the they will scoop it over a plate of rice.

In Thailand we typically use Thai pumpkins for this dish, but here I use kabocha squash which have a flavour and texture that's basically the same as Thai pumpkins. Thai pumpkins are much larger, so they're often sold pre-cut in smaller wedges, and unlike kabocha, the skins need to be peeled.

Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success.

Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients you'll need and important notes about them. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.

• Kabocha squash, cut into bite-sized, ¼" thick slices. It is easiest to first cut into 1-inch thick wedge, then slide the wedge crosswise into ¼-inch thick pieces. Kabocha squash skin does not need to be peeled, however, if you see woody blemishes on the skin, remove those. Having said that, some people prefer peeling at least some of the skin off for a smoother texture.
• Garlic, roughly chopped
• Oyster sauce. To make this vegetarian, you can use vegetarian oyster sauce or see my vegetarian sauce modification below.
• Soy sauce
• Fish sauce. This is optional, you can simply use more soy sauce, or use the vegetarian modification below.
• Sugar
• Ground white pepper, or black pepper
• Eggs, for vegans you can substitute crumbled firm tofu or omit the eggs altogether and increase the amount of squash slightly.
• Thai basil or regular Italian basil works beautifully. If you wanna keep it a simple side dish, it'll also be delicious without any basil!

How to Make Kabocha Squash Stir-Fry

Here's a bird's eye view of how to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success. The technique involved might be a bit unusual, so it's one of those recipes that's easier understood visually!

1. Heat a little oil in a wok over medium heat and add chopped garlic, stir until the garlic starts to turn golden.
2. Add squash and toss in the oil. Add the water,
3. Then add all of the seasoning sauces, sugar, and white pepper.
4. Cover and let it cook for about 4 minutes if the squash is cut the same size as shown (¼-inch thick). At this point the squash should be a little firmer than ideal. Check the doneness of the squash by poking a piece with a fork and it should go through with a slight resistance.

1. Push the squash to the side and add the eggs and break the yolks with your spatula and then let the eggs set without stirring, and you can put the squash on top of the eggs.
2. Once the the eggs cook until it's about 70% set, then toss gently to mix the egg and the squash and to let the eggs cook completely. Be gentle to keep the eggs in chunks.
3. Turn off the heat and stir in Thai basil just to wilt.
4. Serve with jasmine rice or as a side dish to your dinner! This is also a great recipe to serve with some prik nam pla condiment on the side!

Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients you need and important notes about them. For the amounts, see the full recipe card below.

• Cauliflower florets (about one medium head)
• Vegetable oil, anything neutral flavoured is fine.
• Salt, since this recipe calls for "one head" of cauliflower, if your cauliflower is on the small side, reduce the amount of salt slightly. You can always add more later if needed but you can't fix it if it's too salty!
• Ground white pepper
• Sugar
• Five spice powder, store-bought or homemade using my five-spice powder recipe.
• Garlic
• Soy sauce
• Green onions, chopped
• Spicy dried chilies (optional), such as arbol chilies. Break the chilies in half and pour out the seeds. We use whole chilies for garnish as it makes the dish look much prettier, but if you just want the heat you can also just put some chili flakes into the spice mix itself.

How to Make Five-Spice Roasted Cauliflower

Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F/230°C. You can also preheat the air fryer to 400°F (200°C).
2. Toss cauliflower thoroughly with the vegetable oil until thoroughly coated.
3. If there is oil pooling at the bottom of the bowl, spoon the cauliflower out of the bowl, leaving behind excess oil, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet or the air fryer basket. Spread the florets out so they are not touching - you will need to do this in batches if using the air fryer.
4. Roast the cauliflower for about 10 minutes, then stir the florets to promote even browning and roast for another 4-5 minutes until they have browned nicely. Air fryers will take less time, so keep an eye on them and remove once they have browned around the edges but are still firm.
5. Remove from oven and leave to cool slightly on the pan until ready to use.
6. In a small bowl, stir together salt, sugar, white pepper and five spice powder until well combined.
7. In a wok, add chopped garlic and then add just enough veg oil to almost cover the garlic. Fry gently on medium low heat until the garlic is thoroughly golden, but not brown.
8. Pour the garlic through a metal sieve without scraping the wok as we want the garlic oil that's stuck on the pan. Reserve the excess oil for another use. Return the wok to medium high heat.
9. Add dried chilies to the wok and toast until darkened slightly and smells smokey, this will take less than a minute. Add the roasted cauliflower and sprinkle the dry seasoning evenly over them, then pour the soy sauce in around the edges of the wok and immediately toss to distribute the seasoning.
10. Turn the heat off, add half of the fried garlic and chopped green onion and toss to combine.
11. Plate, and sprinkle with the remaining fried garlic and green onions. Serve immediately on its own as an appetizer or as a side dish.

Recipe

Roasted Cauliflower with Five-Spice

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 5 reviews

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Yield: Serves 2

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Ingredients

• 500 g cauliflower florets (about one medium head)
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil plus more for frying garlic
• ½ tsp salt (see note)
• ⅛ tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp five spice powder, store-bought or homemade
• 3-5 dried Thai chilies, break in half and remove seeds
• 8 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1-2 green onions, chopped

Note: If your cauliflower is on the small side, reduce the amount of salt slightly.

Ingredients and Kitchen Tools I Use

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450°F/230°C.

Toss cauliflower thoroughly in 3 tablespoon of vegetable oil until thoroughly coated. Lift cauliflower out of the bowl, leaving behind any excess oil, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread the florets out so they are not touching. 

Roast the cauliflower for 10 minutes, then stir the florets to promote even browning and roast for another 4-5 minutes until they have browned nicely. Remove from oven and leave to cool slightly on the pan until ready to use.

In a small bowl, stir together salt, sugar, white pepper and five spice powder until well combined.

In a wok, add chopped garlic and then add just enough veg oil to almost cover the garlic. Fry gently on medium low heat until golden. Pour the garlic through a strainer, reserving the garlic oil for another use. Return the wok to medium high heat without cleaning it; we want the garlic oil that’s left on the wok.

Add dried chilies to the wok and toast until darkened slightly and smells smokey. Add roasted cauliflower, sprinkle the dry seasoning evenly over the cauliflower, and pour the soy sauce in around the edges of the wok. Toss quickly until the cauliflower is thoroughly coated. Turn the heat off, add half of the fried garlic and chopped green onion and toss to combine. Plate, and sprinkle with the remaining fried garlic and green onions. Serve immediately on its own as an appetizer or as a side dish.

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Choosing Brussel Sprouts

If possible, always choose small/medium Brussel sprouts and avoid really large ones, because the bigger they are, the more bitter they tend to be.

Inevitably you're going to get a variety of sizes of sprouts, but if you see a few that are just double the size of other ones, be sure to cut them into quarters so they will cook with everyone else.

Customizing Doneness: No more mushy sprouts!

I've provided two different ways of preparing this recipe. If you like brussel sprouts that are still a little firm in the center (which I prefer), use the stove-top pan-sear method shown in the video. Not to mention it's the quicker method that doesn't require oven real estate! However, it is a little more hands-on than the oven method.

If you prefer Brussel sprouts that are tender all throughout, or you're cooking a large amount, roast them in the oven. This takes longer but at least you can set it and let it go. You won't get as dark of a char, and do check the doneness early to avoid over cooking them into mush!

Tips for Making This Dish in Advance

For the holiday meal, you want to make as much in advance as possible. See my guide for stress-free holiday cooking here for some more tips. Specifically for this dish, you can:

• Make the dressing a day in advance and keep in the fridge.
• Cook brussel sprouts a few hours before serving as they serve well at room temp. However, keep in mind that you shouldn't let cooked food sit out for too long for food safety reasons (max of 4 hours according to official guidelines). So if you expect your dinner to go on for a long time, with food left out on the table, take that time into consideration too.
• Toss the Brussel sprouts with the dressing up to an hour in advance, but put the peanuts and cilantro leaves on in the last minute. Be sure to re-toss the sprouts before serving, and 1-2 times while it sits, to redistribute the dressing. Again, keep food safety considerations mentioned above in mind.

Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!

Can I Use Another Squash?

Yes. While kabocha is my favourite as it tends to be the sweetest AND you don't have to peel it since the skin is edible, any other creamy-fleshed squash will work: acorn, butternut, kuri, or even sweet potatoes. But keep in mind that some types of squash, like butternut, have to be peeled.

Also, different squashes vary in cooking time, so be prepared to adjust as you go.

Modification: Fish Sauce Caramel, Miso Caramel, and Butter

Originally I did this recipe using fish sauce, but I wanted to explore the possibility of making this vegan. Turns out not only does soy sauce taste delicious, it creates a darker glaze that looks scrumptious, AND it doesn't make your house smell like fish for a period of time!

The fish sauce caramel version, however, was also quite tasty. So you can give it a go if you wish, using the same proportions and method as the soy sauce version.

Miso caramel would also be fantastic. But you'll need few modifications though as miso is a dry chunky paste. So after caramelizing the sugar, I would add WATER to dissolve the caramel, then stir in about 1 tablespoon of miso paste once the sizzling has subsided.

To enrich the dish, you can also add butter! Butter is such an integral part of the holidays, isn't it? Brush some melted butter right when the squash comes out of the oven. Butter burns easily so it's best to add it at the end (despite me suggesting adding it to the glaze in the video!).

1. Saute garlic chunks and remove from the oil.
2. Caramelize palm sugar in the garlic oil
3. Add soy sauce to dissolve the caramel and turn off the heat.
4. Brush squash with the glaze
5. Roast the squash and the garlic (meanwhile make the basil oil)
6. Glaze the sqaush again halfway through.
7. Drizzle with basil oil
8. Enjoy!

Can I Make This Even Simpler?

Yes! There are so many things going on when cooking for the holidays, so here are a few ideas for making this go faster.

• Skip the caramelizing sugar. Palm sugar is flavourful to start so it'll still be delicious. Once the sugar is melted, off the heat and add your sauce right away. It will take less time, it won't splatter much, and you won't need to thin out the glaze.
• Use store-bought pesto instead of making basil oil. Don't skip the basil because it's really important to the overall flavour of the dish. But store-bought pesto will do in a pinch.* This recipe is nut- and dairy-free, but most store bought pesto contains cheese and nuts.