Gai lan (Brassica oleracea), known in English as Chinese broccoli or kai-lan, is a cool-season brassica grown for its thick, crunchy, juicy stems, broad blue-green leaves and small clusters of unopened flower buds, all of which are eaten. It has a robust, distinctly green flavour with a clean, slightly bitter, broccoli-like edge that is more leafy and assertive than ordinary broccoli. A staple of Cantonese cooking, it is most often blanched or steamed and dressed with oyster sauce, or quickly stir-fried with garlic and ginger, the stems split or sliced so they cook through at the same rate as the leaves.