10 Minute Garlic Bok Choy Recipe (2024)

FAQs

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

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.

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, 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.

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.

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.

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, 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.

Is bok choy a super food? ›

Bok choy has a stellar lineup of nutrients that help promote bone health — including iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and bone-building vitamin K. In addition, this superfood is a much healthier alternative to fat-filled milk for getting the RDA of calcium and preventing calcium deficiency.

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.

Acidity can really bring a pleasant flavor out of bitter greens. If they're being used for a salad, it's good to add a vinaigrette with plenty of acidity to brighten it up. If you are sauteing, add some vinegar or citrus to the greens to finish them off.

Bok choy is rich in health-promoting nutrients, such as vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin K, calcium, and folate. When included in a well-balanced diet, bok choy's micronutrient profile can support immune function, bone health, and other markers of health.

Add the bok choy and stir over medium heat until the leaves wilt and turn light brown around the edges. Add salt and pepper lightly or soy sauce, and 1 cup of vegetable stock. Cover the skillet tightly and simmer until the bok choy is just tender about 15 to 20 minutes.

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.

Bok choy only takes 45 days to reach maturity, so you can enjoy your leafy greens relatively quickly after planting them. Harvest the bok choy before the hot weather sets in, because the hot weather will make the bok choy go to seed very fast. Bok choy is ready to harvest when it reaches 12 to 18 inches tall.

The whole bok choy is edible. Bok choy stalks are crisp and have a mild flavor whereas the crinkly leaves are tender after they are cooked a little bit.

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.