Stir fried garlicky bok choy is quick and easy so it’s also great as a holiday side dish There are a couple types of “bok choy.” Some have thick white stems with dark green leaves, and others have more tender light green stems with smoother green leaves. In my younger days, bok choy generally meant the white bok choy variety that grew quite large. These vegetables were more commonly found in Chinese restaurants at the time, run by enterprising blue collar folks not formally schooled in the culinary arts (like me). A lot of these restaurants were heavily adjusted to Western tastes, of course, where the bok choy was used in dishes like moo goo gai pan or chicken chow mein. In fact, I remember the delivery trucks bringing wooden crates of these large vegetables into the Holiday Inn when I worked with my father serving up mostly Chinese-American cuisine. Green bok choy, sometimes referred to and Shanghai baby bok choy is more common today, as they are more tender, harvested earlier, marketed as baby bok choy, and quite common nowadays. Both pictures below were taken from the Burpee site for “white bok choy” and “green bok choy” in case you want to purchase some seeds and grow them yourselves. My mother used to grow both in our garden in upstate NY, where I had the pleasure of watering and weeding the garden every day.
But back to the point of this post: how to cook a quick and easy leafy green garlicky bok choy dish that completes any meal. The Shanghai baby bok choy is the one featured in this recipe, and can be found in any Chinese grocery store. It’s also great when tossed in noodle soups or dumpling fillings.
Recipe Instructions
Trim the bottoms off of each bundle of baby bok choy, and split them in half or quarters. Just make sure all of the pieces are relatively uniform so they cook evenly. You can leave them whole if they’re very small and tender. Wash thoroughly with cold water two to three times. These days, we’re never too cautious about making sure all of the dirt and pesticides are rinsed away. The best method is to use a large basin or sink to rinse and swirl around the vegetables letting them soak for a few minutes before draining and washing again. Shake off the excess water after the final rinse and transfer to a colander to drain. It is important to drain the vegetables well since these veggies will release quite a bit of water during the cooking process. Heat the wok over high heat until smoking, and add 2 tablespoons oil.
Swirl around the oil so the wok is coated. Add all of the garlic…
And immediately add the bok choy. Move quickly to stir and sauté the greens in the oil and garlic. Stir quickly so you don’t burn the garlic!
Use a folding motion to turn the vegetables or use tongs if that is easier. Once the vegetables begin to wilt, about 30 seconds, add salt, white pepper, and sugar. How long you cook them from here is all personal preference. Judy likes to cook them a bit longer for a softer texture while I like them a little bit more crisp.
Plate and serve your stir fried garlic baby bok choy immediately.
