Blanching is something that you will often encounter when cooking Chinese food. A proper blanch leaves your vegetables tasting good, fresh, and crispy. When you blanch, you briefly heat vegetables in boiling water or steam. The right way to blanch vegetables is absolutely essentially as a small mistake can ruin a good set of vegetables. Use this guide to figure out exactly how to blanch your favorite vegetables.

  1. Determine the amount of water you need to blanch your vegetables. If you don’t know, use three cups of water per pound of vegetables. Place water in a large sauce pan or vegetable blancher and bring it to a rapid boil.
  2. Fill a medium bowl about three-quarters full with ice and add enough cold water to come just to the top of the ice.
  3. Clean and cut vegetables as needed. Be sure to cut the vegetables just before adding them to the water to ensure that they do not oxidize.
  4. Add the vegetables to the boiling water.
  5. Boil the vegetables so that they get slightly cooked (the vegetables should only be boiled for a few seconds).
  6. Place enough ice to fill a small bowl. Fill the bowl with enough ice cold water to cover the top of the ice. As soon as the vegetables are done, remove them as fast as you can and submerge them in an ice bath.