If you can't control the heat when stir-frying, not only will the smoke be damaging to your skin, but it also increases the risk of lung cancer, and cleaning the kitchen is a hassle. In comparison, boiling vegetables is much simpler. At 100°C, the water temperature won't get any higher, and no carcinogens are produced. However, when most people hear the words "boiled vegetables," they find it hard to swallow.
Let me introduce you to my various methods for "oil-boiled dishes," which are delicious and healthy. I'm sure you'll all love them.
First, put a small bowl of water (200-250g) to boil, add a spoonful of sesame oil (8g), then put in the leafy green vegetables (300g) and cook for two to three minutes. After cooking, add some seasonings. The water should not submerge the vegetables, but since they only need to be stirred a couple of times to be heated through and they release their own water, you don't need much water.
While cooking, you can add things like shiitake mushrooms, mushrooms, or dried shrimp, or you can add sliced meat, meatballs, shrimp balls, or ham to enhance the umami flavor. For those who don't have these ingredients but still love a savory taste, you can skip the salt and add chicken powder equivalent to your usual amount of salt.
The advantage of this method is that you don't need to heat up a wok. The leafy greens absorb a little oil, making them tender, fragrant, and glossy. Eating the soup and the vegetables together ensures you don't waste the nutrients like potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B2, and flavonoids that have dissolved into the soup. It's important to keep the cooking time short; turn off the heat as soon as they are cooked to avoid the loss of vitamins from heat. Especially for very tender vegetables, just a quick dip in the broth is enough.
The simple version of oil-boiled dishes is particularly suitable for slightly older leafy greens. Compared to vegetable soups, it doesn't require heating up a wok, and the benefit of using less broth is also very prominent—if you use more broth, drinking more of it at the same saltiness means you're consuming more salt, but not drinking it would inevitably lead to wasting nutrients.