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

FAQs

Is bok choy better steamed or boiled? ›

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 offers many health benefits through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It may support cardiovascular and bone health while potentially reducing the risk of certain types of cancer.

How long does bok choy need to be cooked for? ›

Bring a pot of water to the boil and drop the bok chop into the water. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until just tender. Avoid overcooking as this will reduce the nutritional value and alter the texture.

Bok choy is a vibrant green vegetable. If the leaves are dull or light green, the bok choy has gone bad. Other signs to look for are if the stems have turned yellow and if spots have begun to appear on the leaves and stems.

In the Refrigerator: Bok choy typically lasts 1-2 weeks when stored correctly in the refrigerator. It should be rinsed, patted dry, wrapped in a damp towel, and placed in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer.

Also known as Pac Choi, this type of Chinese cabbage is a member of the brassica family. The names Pak Choy and Bok Choy are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference, and it's all in the stem. Bok Choy has a white stem, whereas Pak Choy has a green stem.

Bok Choy Facts

Bok choy is also called Chinese cabbage and pak-choi. Bok choy has been grown in China for over 6,000 years. It is related to the cabbage family.

It's full of cancer-fighting compounds such as vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, folate, and selenium. Vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene are powerful antioxidants that can help to prevent cell damage from free radicals, which may help to lower your cancer risk. Selenium may help to slow the growth rate of tumors.

Eating bok choy is a great way to add more health-promoting nutrients and compounds to your diet. The vitamins and minerals found in bok choy offer additional benefits, such as: Potassium, magnesium, and calcium help support normal blood pressure regulation, an important factor in heart health.

“Steaming allows you to retain more of the nutrients compared with boiling,” Jenna Hope confirms, because leaching, whereby some nutrients draw out into the water, doesn't occur as much. “Naturally, it may not provide as much flavour as, for example, roasting, so serve with a pesto or tahini.”

make a sweet vinaigrette with honey and drizzle that over it, add some lemon juice or vinegar to the pan and deglaze and toss the bok choy (sour decreases bitter).