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Gai Lan Egg Cups for Chinese New Year

What are you going to eat for Chinese New Year? Our recommendation: Gai Lan Egg Cups.

So what is gai lan, exactly? It’s a flavorful Asian green. Actually, it’s one of many flavorful Asian greens that more Americans should get to know better. That group also includes bok choy, sugar snap peas, and Chinese long beans.

Gai lan, also known as Chinese broccoli, is actually a mustard green that closely resembles many other Asian cabbages. It is tender with a very mild flavor similar to broccoli, and many people use it in soups and stir-fries. It’s high in Vitamin A and Vitamin C, too. You can eat both the stalks and the greens, but when you stir-fry it, it’s best let the stalk parts cook longer than the leaves so that the stalks have time to get tender.

Since our kids are often intimidated by heaping servings of greens, we decided to make these egg cups using two more familiar ingredients (eggs and wonton wraps) and by slicing the greens into very fine pieces. These cute little cups make a nice on-the-go breakfast or a pretty party appetizer.

gai lan

Gai Lan Egg Cups

Gai Lan Egg Cups

A delicious appetizer or single-bite snack with eggs, wonton wrappers, and the Asian greens known as gai lan.

Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword appetizer, Asian greens, egg cup, gai lan, hard boiled eggs, wonton wrappers
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 1 small bunch gai lan
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 cup cream
  • pinch salt
  • 24 wonton wrappers
  • cooking spray

Instructions

  1. Prepare the gai lan: Chop off the rough edges and finely slice the remaining parts, separating the stalks from the leaves. In a large wok or frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the gai lan stalks. Saute for about 10 minutes, or until the stalks are tender. Add the remaining leafy greens and continue stirring over heat until the leafy greens are wilted. You should end up with approximately 1 cup of cooked greens.

  2. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, and salt. When the gai lan is finished cooking, add it to the egg mixture and set aside.

  3. Prepare a mini-muffin tin by spraying it with cooking spray. Press the wonton wrappers (one per cup) gently into the mini muffin tin. Carefully spoon the egg mixture into each wonton wrapper, approximately 1 tablespoon in each wrapper. Bake the wonton cups at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Serve immediately.

 

gai lan

The result: Perfect little appetizer-sized bites. And yes, they’re green, but they’re so cute that even your least adventurous eater may give them a try.

Blogger disclosure: Melissa’s Produce gave us a variety of Asian greens to sample. We did not receive compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are our own.

P.S. Want another tasty recipe using these Asian greens? Try our Gai Lan Quinoa Bowl.

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4 Responses to Gai Lan Egg Cups for Chinese New Year

  1. #MelissasProduce January 29, 2014 at 8:19 am #

    Jeanne – This is a great idea for the kids. Any dish where forks and knives are not required is a hit in my house!

    • Jeanne January 29, 2014 at 10:04 am #

      Agreed! Thanks, Melissa’s!

  2. cj February 4, 2014 at 10:29 am #

    Looks awfully tasty ~ Would love to see this submitted at FoodFotoGallery.com for all to see 🙂

    • Jeanne February 4, 2014 at 10:42 am #

      Thanks, CJ – will do!

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