Kale: Stir Fry Kale with Garlic (Chinese Style)

I should be ashamed of myself that despite living in the US of A for more than 2 years, I have not tried KALE. What is that? Nothing fascinating, ok. Just green leafy vegetables that I would have never thought of putting into my grocery basket. Well, they are really not that popular, I remember. I did not recall them being as extensively used as compared to celery, fennel, lettuce in most of the cooking shows I have watched. And even if I have seen or heard about kale, this vegetable has registered as being a "tough" one - difficult to cook.


Stir Fry Kale with Garlic (Chinese Style)
Ingredients: bunch of kale, leaves only; garlic gloves, finely minced; salt, white pepper
Directions: In a heated pan, add some canola oil. Then add in garlic and fry till fragrant. Add in kale leaves and stir fry quickly, mixing well. Add 3-4 tbsps of water , cover the pan and allow kale to simmer (so that leaves soften and cook). When leaves softened, add a pinch of salt to taste, then add in some white pepper, stir briskly.

Kale leaves take a longer time to turn tender compared to most of the Chinese vegetables such as Bok Choy, Choy Sum and Gai Lan. To some, kale might be an acquired taste (as they may taste somewhat bitter and strong). But as the Chinese saying goes - 苦口良药, which means "bitter is good medicine" and in fact, kale is super- healthy: its bitter taste because of iron content; and it has load of good vitamins.

This was my first attempt at kale and what lies ahead is more exploration into this nutritious green. The more I experiment with this vegetable, I find better ways to cook it. Stir-frying is not one of the easiest. So, what is ?

My first attempt at kale is going to Weekend Herb Blogging host of the week, Winnie of Healthy Green Kitchen. For recaps and round-ups, check out Cook Almost Anything.

Tag: kale, stir fry, vegetable