芥蓝 (gàilán) · Chinese broccoli, gai lan, Chinese kale

Measure Word

一把芥蓝 bǎ

Meanings

1 Chinese broccoli
2 gai lan
3 Chinese kale

About the ingredient

蔬菜 Vegetables

Thick, smooth green stems with a few broad, waxy blue-green leaves, crunchy and slightly bitter. A Cantonese standard, stir-fried with ginger and garlic, or blanched and topped with oyster sauce.

Also called 芥兰

Characters

芥

gài

mustard plant (read gài here)

蓝

lán

brassica (the cabbage family)

Examples

HSK 6

妈妈炒了一盘芥蓝。

Māma chǎo le yì pán gàilán.

Mum stir-fried a plate of Chinese broccoli.

HSK 7-9

广东人吃芥蓝，通常先焯一下水，再淋上蚝油。

Guǎngdōng rén chī gàilán, tōngcháng xiān chāo yíxià shuǐ, zài línshàng háoyóu.

In Guangdong, people usually blanch Chinese broccoli briefly and then pour oyster sauce over it.

Tips

mistakes

芥 is read gài here, though jièlán is also heard. In 芥末 'mustard' and 芥菜 'mustard greens' it is jiè. The English name gai lan comes from the Cantonese pronunciation of 芥蓝.