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Gai lan, also known as Chinese broccoli or cabbage, has large leaves and small flower buds. When choosing, look for uniform dark green color, clean white flower petals, and no insect damage or signs of spoilage. Smaller stalks are often more tender and easier to cook.
Gai lan is a Chinese vegetable also called kai lan, gailan, gai lan fa, Chinese broccoli and Chinese cabbage. It looks very similar to western broccoli but with much larger leaves and smaller clusters of flower buds. A stem of gai lan begins as a single branching stem, with the additional stems ending in large, dark green leaves. Towards the top of the stem are small clusters of flower buds which may be open or closed. To choose the best gai lan, inspect the stems and leaves and look for signs of aging, spoilage, or insect damage.
Choosing the best gai lan means checking the color and general condition of the stems and leaves, neither of which should show any signs of wrinkling or deterioration. All parts of the vegetable, except the open flower buds and the inner pulp that is visible at the cut end, should be a relatively uniform medium from dark green. The flower petals should be clean and white, with no hint of brown or gray, which are signs of spoilage. The inside flesh of the stem should be light green.
The cut bottoms of the stems should not have any brown spots or edges; these indicate that the stem is old and starting to dry out. Wrinkled, cracked stems are also undesirable. Minor flex is fine, especially in thinner branches, but overall the main stem and all branches should be relatively firm.
Insect damage to leaves is common. It may be difficult to avoid all insect damage, which usually takes the form of holes in leaves, but the less damage, the better. The leaves should be dark green with smooth edges and should appear clean, with no dark spots.
The veins in the leaves are normally visible and are not a sign of age or quality. The leaves should be well formed and not mushy. Yellowing leaves and flower buds are a sign that the gai lan is very old and almost ready to spoil.
The main stem doesn’t have to be very large for gai lan to be tasty. In fact, very large diameter stalks can be more difficult to cut and cook, with thick, tough skins. Cooks can still peel them and save much of the stem, but this can add more work than cooks might want to do. Most of the gailan available in the markets tend to be about 2.54cm in diameter or less. The smaller stalks cook faster and are often more tender.
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