CURRYING BOK CHOW WITH GARLIC SAUCE
This garlic-spiced baby bok choy stir-fry is one of our favorite ways to eat the vegetable. It’s fast, simple, and nutritious all at the same time. Garlic baby bok choy is a tasty vegetable side dish to serve alongside grilled meats and fish when grilling season arrives.
As a holiday side dish, bok choy stir-fry is an excellent choice.
Bok choy comes in a few different varieties. White and dark green leaves can be found on some plants, whereas lighter and smoother leaves can be found on others.
Bok choy used to be synonymous with the huge, white bok choy I grew up eating. Many people who managed Chinese restaurants during the period didn’t have any official training in cooking; therefore, these vegetables were more common in their menus (like me).
In many of these restaurants, the bok choy was utilized in meals such as moo goo gai pan or chicken chow mein, which was adapted to Western tastes.
At the Holiday Inn, where I used to work with my father, preparing primarily Chinese-American food, the delivery trucks would come with wooden crates of these massive vegetables.
Today, “Shanghai Baby Bok Choy” refers to green bok choy, which is more fragile, harvested early, and sold as such.
Burpee’s website provides both “white bok choy” and “green bok choy” seed packets if you’d want to grow them yourself. In our garden in upstate New York, where I had the pleasure of watering and weeding it every day for my mother, she used to plant both.
This post is about a quick and easy leafy green garlicky side dish that can be served with just about any meal. Almost any Chinese grocery store should carry the Shanghai baby bok choy, which is used in this recipe. Noodle soups and dumpling fillings benefit greatly from its inclusion.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 lb. of baby bok choy(450g)
- 2 tbsp. of oil
- 5 cloves of garlic (minced)
- salt and white pepper (to taste)
- 1/8 tsp. of sugar
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Each bok choy bunch should be cut in half or quarters, trimmed the ends. Check to make sure each piece is a similar shape and size so they cook at a consistent pace. ‘ If they’re small and sensitive, you may be able to leave them whole.
- Rinse thoroughly two or three times with cold water. In the last few decades, we’ve come a long way regarding cleaning up after ourselves. Rinse and whirl the vegetables in a big basin or sink for a few minutes before draining and cleaning them again. Drain the remaining water from the final rinse by squeezing it out of the dish. Because they leak a lot of water when cooked, vegetables must be well-drained before they go into the pot.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the hot wok and heat until smoking. Swirl the oil around the wok to coat it thoroughly. Bok choy should be added right away after the garlic has been added. Stirring and sautéing the greens in oil and garlic requires rapid reflexes. You don’t want to overcook the garlic!
- Toss the vegetables with tongs or a folding motion if you want. Add salt, pepper, and sugar 30 seconds after the veggies start to wilt. After this point, it’s totally up to you how long you cook them. In contrast to Judy, who prefers a softer texture, I prefer them slightly crisper. Plate and serve as soon as possible.