ICED GAI LAN
2 min readI was taken aback a bit when i first saw this on cafe menus across Hong Kong.It is basically blanched gai lan served in a bowl of ice cubes with wasabi-infused soy sauce.Initially，this sounds odd，right？However，just look at the number of fancy Western restaurants today serving salads with granitas，jellies and gels of regetables.The ice-cold gai lan stems have an amazingly refreshing crunch to them，and the wasabi soy sauce delivers a rocket of mustardy fire to cleanse your sinuses.The one problem I always had with this dish，though，was that in 38CHong Kong heat，it didn’t take long for it to transform into ice-cold gai lan swimming in a pond of water.Wateriness is never a good result，so we gave the dish a little facelift by creating a sweet and sour granita to accompany the regetables.In the restaurant，we serve it with pickled bitter melon as well as goji berries to complete the health food treatment
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS
200g gai lan（Chinese broccoli）
dried goji berries，to garnish
For the rice vinegar granita
250ml rice vinegar
150ml water
125g sugar
For the wasabi soy sauce
50ml light soy sauce
1 teaspoon wasabi paste
1 teaspoon sesame oil
I teaspoon sugar
1.For the rice vinegar granita，mix the ingredients together until the sugar has dissolved，then place in a sturdy plastic container with a lid and freeze overnight until solid
2.Remove the granita from the freezer and，using a fork scrape the surface to create a slush，then refreeze until ready to use
3.Bring a wok filled with water to the boil，add the gai lan and cook for 1-3 minutes to your desired firmness
4.Drain the gai lan and refresh in iced water，then drain again and set aside
5.For the wasabi soy sauce，mix the ingredients together in a bowl
6.To assemble，lay the gai lan on a plate and spoon over the sauce Finish by placing little piles of the granita around and scattering with goji berries to garnish
CHEFS TIP
You won，’t need all the granita that you have prepared，so the remainder can be stored in the freezer for next time
