Easy Bok Choy Recipe (Garlic & Ginger) | Downshiftology (2024)

FAQs

What is the best way to eat bok choy? ›

Bok choy, a Chinese cabbage, is tender, sweet, and stands up well to heat — making it perfect for stir-frying. Cook it simply with garlic, black bean sauce, or shiitake mushrooms for a delicious side dish, or incorporate it into a frittata or bowl of ramen for a more substantial bite.

The simplest way to prep bok choy is to cut it in half lengthwise and submerge it in cold water for a few minutes. This will soften the dirt and allow you to remove it easily. Drain the water, check for dirt between the stalks, and run each half of bok choy under cold water.

How to store bok choy. Bok choy can be refrigerated for 3 to 7 days. Place the unwashed bok choy in a breathable plastic bag in the crisper. If you need to store the bok choy for a longer period of time, you can boil it in water for 2 minutes and then rinse with cold water and place the bok choy in the freezer.

Put the bok choy in a steamer basket and place the basket over simmering water. Cook for about 6 minutes until the base of the bok choy is slightly tender. Test it with the tip of a knife, then serve. For best results, trim the stalks off before boiling, as the stalks take longer to cook than the leaves.

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat; cook garlic in hot oil until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Mix in bok choy; cook and stir until the leafy green parts turn bright green and the stalks become slightly translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Traditional bok choy has dark, crinkly leaves and crisp, white stems; Shanghai bok choy has spoon-shaped leaves and jade green stems. The cool thing is that both the leaves and the stalks can be eaten, and this wonderful little plant is an excellent go-to for fiber, as well as for beta-carotene and vitamins C, K and A.

All of Bok Choy is edible, so once you get to that point, you can chop up the stem and the bulb.

Blanching your greens is key to getting that bitterness level down. Because glucosinolates are water-soluble compounds, a lot of them are leached out into the water, allowing for a less bitter green.

The best way to eat bok choy is to lightly steam or stir-fry it to retain its crisp texture. Overcooking makes it mushy. Bok choy has a delicious, mild flavor that pairs well with garlic, ginger, sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, chiles, or Whole30 peanut sauce.

Bok choy that has gone bad will exhibit several clear signs. It may become yellow or develop dark spots, and the leaves may begin to wilt. Another indication is when the stems become soft and mushy. If you notice a foul or off smell, this is a definite sign that your bok choy has spoiled and should be discarded.

Is bok choy healthier than spinach? ›

In equivalent raw weight, bok choy contains more vitamin C, vitamin A, and some other nutrients than spinach and around the same amount of calcium. Spinach, however, contains higher amounts of some other nutrients, including vitamin K, than bok choy.

A meta-analysis and review of research in the journal Food Chemistry found that eating 100 grams of cruciferous vegetables, such as bok choy, every day was associated with a 10% reduction in the risk of death from any cause. (100 grams of cooked bok choy is a little more than a half-cup.)

Like other dark, leafy greens, bok choy is an excellent source of the flavonoid quercetin. Quercetin can help to reduce inflammation in the body, which may help to reduce your risk of developing a variety of chronic health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Bok choy is a vegetable sold in either mature or baby form and is easy to find now in conventional grocery stores. Mature bok choy has white stems and dark-green leaves; baby bok choy is smaller and light-green in color. It has a mild flavor similar to chard, and is best used in stir-fries, braises, soups, and stews.

There are plenty of ways to try adding bok choy to your diet. You can consume bok choy raw, roasted, or cooked on the stovetop in a soup, stir-fry, or fried rice dish. You can incorporate bok choy into your diet in Asian dishes and many other ways.

Raw bok choy, like all cruciferous vegetables, contains an enzyme called myrosinase. Myrosinase can hinder thyroid function by preventing the body from absorbing iodine. Cooking deactivates it.

Bok Choy, also known as Chinese White Cabbage, is a cruciferous vegetable that is a member of the cabbage family. It has a round tender white bulb on the bottom with long celery-looking stalks and dark leafy greens on top. The entire vegetable is edible and can be enjoyed either raw or cooked.