Friday, February 9, 2007

Garlic Ginger Bok Choy – Cheap, Easy and Fun to Say!

Bok Choy is becoming very easy to find in grocery stores these days as the trend to eat green veggies continues to grow (for good reason). This is great vegetable for many reasons; it’s cheap, it takes about 3 minutes to cook, it has a beautiful subtle sweet flavor, and of course it’s packed with nutritional goodness. As you’ll see, the best tip for great Bok Choy is how to trim the tops and bottoms separately so they both can cook perfectly.

One quick anecdote before you watch the clip. I was taking roll call on Day 1 in one of my first classes as an instructor at the Culinary Academy, and was going down the list calling out the names and listening for the traditional call back, “here Chef,” when I saw on my roster “Bok Choy.” Well, that’s an interesting name, so I called out the name and heard in a very deep voice, “here Chef.” I looked up to make eye contact, as I did with all the students as I called roll for the first time, and sitting there was this very tall, Scandinavian-looking gentleman with blond curly hair. I asked him if that was his nickname and he said no, that was his real name. Now, the classes at the school were 3 weeks long, and as much as I wanted to, I resisted the temptation to go up and ask this man how he came to get the name Bok Choy. So, Bok Choy, if you are reading this post, please email or comment and tell me how you got the name! It’s been 5 years and I’m still wondering.




Ingredients:
3-4 Heads Of Baby Bok Choy
1/2 Cup Sliced Red Peppers
2 Clove Garlic
1 Tbl Ginger
1/2 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 Tbl Vegetable Oil
1 Tbl Soy Sauce
8 Drops Sesame Oil

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

great job. i tried it tonight and it was a hit!

Unknown said...

I don't know where to buy sesame oil.

Can I use olive or canola oil instead of sesame oil?

Chef John said...

every grocery store sells sesame oil - ask a clerk. It tastes like sesame so other oils arent the same.

Don choo said...

Bok Choy is actually the Cantonese pronunciation for "white vegetables" translated literally.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_cabbage

Anonymous said...

Chef,

I'm just curious. If I want to add marsala or sherry into the stir fry sauce, how much & when do I have to add?

Thanks.

Chef John said...

don't think i ever would, so i can't comment on how!

Anonymous said...

I'm just curious. If I want to add chocolate syrup or grape jelly into the stir fry sauce, how much & when do I have to add?

Thanks.

Wingless Elf said...

Bok Choy is a translation from cantonise, it sounds more of like "Bak Choy" than "Bok Choy"

Unknown said...

This was so tasty! Thank you so much for the wonderful videos! They are so easy to follow. I know that bok choy is very healthy but had no clue how to make it tasty. Thank you for this easy delicious recipe and this wonderful blog! Will be making the french onion green bean casserole on Turkey Day!

David McCutcheon said...

This was a great hit last night.