Frying aromatics over a high flame, by contrast, can take the oil past 190°C — sometimes you can see white smoke coming off the edge of the pan, which is the smoke point. Oil in that state has started to break down, and oil that has broken down is not something you want to be eating.
At home we mostly cook with pork lard, so these notes are written around it: it stands up to heat, it smells good and it is stable. It is high in saturated fat, but saturated fat is not easily oxidised into peroxides, which counts in its favour.
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This Chinese kale came from my father’s patch. Retirement has not slowed him down; he is happiest out there.
Ingredients:
Chinese kale about 350 g
Shallot sauce 2 tbsp
Chilli bean paste 1 tbsp
Water 6 tbsp
Dried shrimp 1 tbsp
Method:
1. Rinse the kale and cut into short lengths. Rinse the dried shrimp and drain.
2. Put the shallot sauce, chilli bean paste, water and dried shrimp in a wok and bring to the boil together.
3. Add the kale and cook through over a medium-low heat. That is all there is to it.
A simple, fragrant, very good plate of Chinese kale.