Blanching

Contrary to popular belief, Chinese cooks rarely steam vegetables/ When they cook with moist heat, they blanch. The vegetable is plunged into boiling water for a few minutes, just long enough to soften it slightly. It is then drained and served right away (see Blanched Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce). The technique is also used to precook harder, longer-cooking vegetables for later stir-frying. Sometimes poultry and meats are blanched to rid them of scum and to cook them partially.