Sprout tops share a luxury of growth and strong flavor with many of the Asian greens. One cold day in November I married them to an impromptu sauce of essentially Chinese ingredients. It worked. The tricky bit was working out what, in future, they needed to share a plate with. A slice of ham steak; a piece of lamb’s liver; a fillet of mackerel, its skin crisped on the grill; a pile of sticky rice with some finely sliced air-dried sausages; a grilled mushroom the size of a saucer. All will work. Eminently.

　　

Ingredients

enough for 4 as a side dish

　　garlic – 2 cloves

　　ginger – a 2-ounce (60g) knob

　　peanut oil – 2 tablespoons

　　oyster sauce – 3 tablespoons

　　rice wine – 3 tablespoons

　　soy sauce – 1 tablespoon

　　sugar – a pinch

　　sprout tops – a large handful

　　sesame seeds – 1 teaspoon

　　

Step 1

Peel the garlic, then slice it very thinly; I try to get it as thin as paper. Peel the ginger and slice thinly, then cut each slice into fine matchsticks. Warm the oil in a small pan, stir in the garlic and ginger, and let soften for a couple of minutes. They should color lightly.

　　

Step 2

Stir in the oyster sauce, rice wine, soy sauce, and the pinch of sugar. Make it a big one. Decrease the heat to low, so that the mixture bubbles only very gently for about five minutes.

　　

Step 3

Meanwhile, wash the sprout tops thoroughly, then put into a deep pan, the water still clinging to their leaves. Cover tightly with a lid and let steam for two or three minutes, until bright and wilted. Toast the sesame seeds in a nonstick pan till they smell warm and nutty.

　　

Step 4

Drain any liquid from the pan of sprout tops, then pour in the sauce. Toss the greens around gently until they are glossy, scatter with the toasted sesame seeds, and serve immediately. This is one of those dishes that needs to be served as hot as you can.

　　Tender