Bok Choy is a popular veggie in Asian cuisine, and it makes a delicious and healthy side dish as well as an ingredient in a stir fry. So, I thought I’d share my favorite method on How to Cook Bok Choy.
This is my favorite way to cook bok choy. It’s easy, quick, and goes so well in so many dishes!
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What is Bok Choy?
But first, a little look into the green leafy cabbage-like vegetable.
Bok choy, also known as Chinese white cabbage, bak choi, pak choy, or pak choi is part of the cabbage family. It’s known for its mild flavor, with a spinach-like taste and a very mild bitterness. It’s great for stir-fries, braises, and soups. You can also eat it raw.
How to select bok choy
You’ll typically find two versions of bok choy at the grocery store. The full-sized version and baby bok choy. They are the same variety; the baby is just harvested while it’s still small. They have the same flavor, but the stalks on the baby are a bit more tender and sweeter. I usually grab the baby bok choy if I can.
Look for plants with firm off-white to white colored stalks and bright green leaves with no wilting.
How do I store bok choy?
You can store them inside a loosely closed plastic bag in the refrigerator in the produce drawer for up to 5 days. Wait to wash until you’re ready to cook.
What part of bok choy do you cook?
Boy choy has thick white stems and mild green leaves. And it’s all edible, stem, leaves, and all!
It can all be eaten raw, in a salad or as part of a meal, but I prefer to give it a light sauté.
One note, much like spinach, bok choy cooks down quite a bit, so raw, it may look like a lot, but once cooked down it will seem more manageable.
How do you prepare bok choy?
Detailed ingredient amounts and instruction in a printable recipe card are below. But really, this is a general how to guide, rather than a complete recipe.
First, you’ll want to wash the bok choy. Much like leeks, there can be sand and dirt inside the stalk. And speaking of leeks, this Drunken Leeks recipe is another great side dish!
Cut the root end of the stalk off, this will let the leaves separate naturally. The root end can be discarded. Then you can run the stalks under cool clean tap water, rubbing with your fingers to make sure all dirt gets off.
Shake the leaves dry, or pop them into a {affiliate link} salad spinner to get the extra water off.
Cut the cleaned bok choy into pieces, about ½ to 1-inch in size, separating the harder white stalks and the softer dark green parts. Separating them doesn’t have to be perfect, if you have a few pieces with both whites and dark green it’s fine; just do a rough separation.
Using a {affiliate links} wok, large cast iron skillet, or other skillet with a nice surface area, heat the oil. You want the oil good and hot before you add the cut bok choy so it browns and caramelizes rather than steams.
Once the oil is hot, toss in the white parts of the bok choy. Lay them in the pan in a single layer so they are all touching the bottom, and can get some browning. Cook for a few minutes without moving to deepen the browning and caramelization. Once they begin to brown, give them a stir and continue cooking for about 5 to 8 minutes, until there’s a nice amount of browning on all the pieces.
Toss in the dark green parts, and continue to cook for about 1 more minute, until the greens have just wilted. Quickly remove the cooked green from the pan, and serve.
Additional flavor enhancers
Plain caramelized bok choy is a great addition to many meals. Serve it as a side dish, or a veggie in ramen, soup, stew, or what-have-you.
Bok choy also takes well to several flavor additions and aromatics like toasted sesame oil, red pepper flakes, soy sauce, garlic oil, garlic, ginger, and green onions.
Ways to use cooked bok choy
If you’re looking for a main dish to go with the bok choy I recommend Miso Black Cod, Salmon with blueberry sauce, or cedar plank grilled salmon.
Add the cooked bok choy into some Garlic Sesame Noodles, or Chow Mein Noodles.
Some of my recipes that use bok choy are Thai Basil Shrimp and Thai Basil Pasta. By the way, my friend Mary has some fun instructions on how to re grow bok choy if you’d like to give that a try.
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How to Cook Bok Choy Recipe
How to Cook Bok Choy
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 4 medium heads of baby bok choy cleaned and excess water shaken out
Instructions
- Cut the cleaned bok choy into pieces, about ½ to 1-inch in size, separating the harder white stalks and the softer dark green parts. Separating them doesn’t have to be perfect, if you have a few pieces with both whites and dark green it’s fine; just do a rough separation.
- Using a wok, large cast iron skillet, or other skillet with a nice surface area, heat the oil. You want the oil good and hot before you add the cut bok choy so it browns and caramelizes rather than steams.
- Once the oil is hot, toss in the white parts of the bok choy. Lay them in the pan in a single layer so they are all touching the bottom, and can get some browning. Cook for a few minutes without moving to deepen the browning and caramelization. Once they begin to brown, give them a stir and continue cooking for about 5 to 8 minutes, until there’s a nice amount of browning on all the pieces.
- Toss in the dark green parts, and continue to cook for about 1 more minute, until the greens have just wilted. Quickly remove the cooked green from the pan, and serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
I am so grateful to have found this!! I LOVE bok choy when I get it at a restaurant, but I have always been intimidated to cook it at home. This post completely turned that thinking around!! Followed your tips and the steps here and made it last night! SO PERFECT!! Thank you!!