Friday, January 9, 2009
Bok Choy Recipe

photo of Bok Choy (learn about bok choy) – so vibrant and tender!
I’m going to tell you to do something that is totally contrary to many Asian cookbooks out there. And yeah, it also flips my motto, “Hot Wokky, No Stickky” on its head.
Okay, ready?
Cold Wokky, Very Garlickky.

The problem with using a very hot wok or frying pan to stir fry with minced garlic and ginger is that you’ll probably burn it. Burnt garlic and ginger is big time suckky. When I’m stir-frying vegetables, like bok choy, I add the minced garlic and ginger to COLD oil and COLD wok or pan. As the wok and oil heat up, the ginger and garlic gently sizzles. The longer the aromatics stay in contact with the oil – the more flavor it infuses into the oil. So, now you’ve got a tablespoon of that an incredible garlicky, gingery oil. Toss the bok choy leaves in that oil, so that each leaf of the bok choy is bathed in heavenly flavor.
If you had used a hot wok and hot oil, you only get a few seconds before they burn. What does burnt garlic and ginger taste like?
Bitter.
Bitter can be good sometimes – I LOVE bitter. But when you’re going for a more delicate flavor, especially in a bok choy dish, you might not want bitter.
Now, I do want to say that the rules for cooking meat in a pan or wok are different – (that’s another lesson that I’ve written extensively about at Simply Recipes.)
Young grasshoppa, let me show you the way.
How to cook bok choy

Start by trimming the bok choy stem off – don’t trim too much – just the end. Cutting the thick stem off will ensure that the bok choy cooks evenly. Separate out the bok choy leaves and rinse under running water.


But leave the tender baby that’s in the middle of each bok choy! That’s the golden nugget! Finely mince garlic and grate fresh ginger with a microplane grater. Grating the ginger helps break up the tough fibers! (and yeah, sometimes when the ginger is nice and fresh, I don’t even bother peeling off the paper-thin skin)


Place wok or frying pan on your stove and pour in the cooking oil. Add the garlic and ginger. Turn the heat to medium-high. Let the ginger and garlic gently sizzle in the oil. When the aromatics become fragrant and light golden brown, add the bok choy leaves. Toss to coat each leaf with the garlicky, gingery oil.


I really mean it! Toss, baby, toss! Stir! Faster! You only have like 15 seconds of tossing time! I am super wok-stirring queen!


Pour in broth, water or wine over the bok choy. Immediately cover and let cook for 1 minute. Season with salt and drizzle a bit of sesame oil on top.


That’s it! I hope you try this method – it works for any type of vegetable, like Napa cabbage or broccoli. For thicker vegetables (like broccoli), increase the steaming time by another minute and maybe add a bit more water/broth.
Oh yeah, why tongs instead of a standard wok chan (spatula)? Because it’s easier to use the tongs to toss, flip and turn when dealing with delicate vegetables.
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Bok Choy Recipe
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds bok choy or baby bok choy
1 1/2 tablespoons canola, vegetable or peanut oil
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 tablespoons broth or water (or 2 tablespoons broth/water + 1 tablespoon wine)
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon sesame oilDirections:
1. Start by trimming the stem off - don't trim too much - just the end. Cutting the thick stem off will ensure that the bok choy cooks evenly. Separate out the leaves, keep the tender center intact and clean under running water. Drain.
2. Finely mince garlic and grate fresh ginger with a microplane grater. Grating the ginger helps break up the tough fibers! (and yeah, sometimes when the ginger is nice and fresh, I don't even bother peeling off the paper-thin skin)
3. Place wok or frying pan on your stove and pour in the cooking oil. Add the garlic and ginger. Turn the heat to medium-high. Let the ginger and garlic gently sizzle in the oil. When the aromatics become fragrant and light golden brown, add the bok choy leaves. Toss very well to coat each leaf with the garlicky, gingery oil for 15 seconds. Pour in broth, water or wine. Immediately cover and let cook for 1 minute. Season with salt and drizzle a bit of sesame oil on top.
Other Chinese Vegetable Recipes
Chinese Spinach (Yu Choy) Recipe with Toasted Garlic (ooooh….a blast into the past! One of my very very first posts ever! look at the photography! heehee!)
Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce (another vintage Steamy Kitchen!)

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ok than
I just found this recipe and tried it on Friday evening. FANTASTIC!! Thanks! I just planted a bunch of bok choi in the garden this weekend, so will definitely be making this many more times. Also, I got one of those microplane graters about a year ago to use for zesting citrus rind (it also works well to grate hard cheese for European dishes), but for some reason I never thought to use it for grating ginger. I’ve been using a much more labor-intensive method, so many thanks again for such a wonderful time (and finger) saving suggestion
Wow!! Wow!! Wow!!! I just tried using that microplane grater this evening to grate a big pile of ginger to make a Bengali red dahl rice dish, and it reduced at least 10 minutes of “ma’faan” down to only one minute!! Many thanks again for the tip!!
Awesome. This is hilariously written, has easy-to-follow pics, and is staying open in my browser so I can attempt my first-ever batch of bok choy tonight! thank you for giving more than just ‘use this aromatic’ ‘wilt it till this much’ in your instructions. If you’ve never made bok choy, you don’t know what it’s supposed to look like when cooking, so thank you for those pics!
You have nicely described this post. I will share it with my friends.
Clear instructions, answer all the questions. Great for a reluctant cook like me. Thanks
Excellent recipe, I frequently eat bok choy when I’m out at restaurants but I wanted to eat the dish at home. I felt these steps lead me to make a tasty dish that my boyfriend liked and gives me ideas to toss it with shrimp served plain or over rice. The pics were great touch even though I eat it it’s different preparing in your own kitchen….thanks.
I cannot boil an egg…SERIOUSLY…..and I just made this recipe and it was fantastic! After cooking the bok choi I put a piece of salmon in the oil/water and cooked it on med high for about 1.5 minutes on each side and WOW it was a fabulous meal! Thank you so much!
I did a Google search for stir fried baby bok choy and stumbled upon your site. I felt like I’d found buried treasure!! The bok choy was SO easy to make, it was delicious and went perfectly with the pork chow mein I made for dinner. I can’t wait to try some other recipes, I skimmed through the site and looked at all the pretty pictures & look forward to trying more recipes. Thanks so much and I love all the photos of your kids, dogs and of course, the food
Bok choy recipe is great. Like your website and the easy and healthy vibe it offers to cooking.
that’s grea. looks delicious