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Food

Charred Yu Choy Recipe

For this recipe I used young yu choy, but you can also use baby bok choy or baby mustard greens. You can also substitute in a regular hard boiled egg and store-bought mayo to cut back on prep time.
Charred Yu Choy Recipe
Photo by Angela Dimayuga

"This gets a little fancy."

Servings: 2
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

for the pickled beet egg:
1 large egg (or more as desired, up to 8)
1 cup vinegar of choice (apple cider vinegar works nicely)
1 (15-ounce) can sliced or whole beets, liquid reserved
1 teaspoon each assorted pickling spices (mustard seeds, coriander seeds, whole cloves, red pepper flakes, etc.) as desired
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt

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for the chili-pickled long beans:
1 small bunch Chinese long beans, sliced into coins
1-2 cups soy sauce
1-2 fresh chili peppers, thinly sliced

for the aonori mayo:
1 large egg yolk
½ lemon
1 drizzle white soy sauce, or shiro shoyu (about 2 tablespoons)
1 slow drizzle neutral vegetable oil of choice (about 3 tablespoons)
1 pinch kosher salt
2 tablespoons aonori (available at Asian markets)

for the charred yu choy:
½ bunch yu choy or baby bok choy
¼ cup high-quality olive oil, plus more as needed
salt, to taste
2 tablespoons aonori mayo
1 pickled beet egg (or regular boiled egg)
pinches of fresh herbs (such as dill, chives, Chinese chives, garlic shoots, chervil)
1 tablespoon chili pickled long beans
½ lemon

Directions

  1. To make pickled beet eggs, drop egg(s) in boiling salted water for 9 minutes. While eggs are cooking, add vinegar, beets (and some liquid), spices, sugar and salt to a medium or large jar. Remove eggs from water, chill in an ice bath or bowl of cold water until cold to the touch, and peel. Add eggs to jar with pickling liquid and leave for 2-3 days. The longer the eggs remain in the pickling liquid, the more intensely pink they will become. (A regular hard boiled egg can also be used for this recipe if desired.)

  1. To make the chili pickled long beans, in a medium bowl, add sliced long beans. Pour soy sauce over beans until covered and add chilies to liquid. Leave out 2-3 days at room temperature or until beans reached desired flavor and spiciness.

  1. To make the aonori mayo, into a food processor, add egg yolk and a small squeeze of lemon. With food processor running, add white soy sauce and a slow drizzle of oil until mayonnaise reaches desired consistency. (I like to keep it fairly loose). If you don't have a food processor, you can also use a generous squeeze of kewpie or Hellman's mayonnaise in place of homemade mayo. Mix your homemade mayo, kewpie, or Hellman's with salt, aonori, and another squeeze of juice from the lemon half.

  1. Drizzle yu choy or greens with oil and sprinkle with salt. Place on a pan and throw in a wood oven or on a hot grill or very hot pan for 1 to 2 minutes, or until a nice char forms. Greens should stay crunchy and juicy. Put greens on a plate in a loose pile.

  1. To assemble dish, spoon roughly 2 tablespoons of aonori mayo on top of greens. Using a microplane or sieve, grate pickled beet egg in a nice fluffy cloud over the greens. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and add a generous spoonful of chili-pickled long beans. Season with a final squeeze of lemon, another sprinkle of salt, and a drizzle of your favorite olive oil on top.

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