Bok Choy

[little ms foodie]

So if any of you read my swiss chard post you will come to the conclusion that I don't do well with green leafy veggies. I'm trying to change that though.

I've been getting a lot of baby bok choy in my organic shipment. Usually I steam them and then toss with sesame oil and seeds.

Dumb question- am I suppose to just slice off the very bottom so they seperate and then steam them whole? or should I be chopping up the leaves and stalk? Or just the leaves or just the stalk??

Darn! This is why I eat a lot of meat, I KNOW what to do with that!

Edited February 17, 2005 by little ms foodie (log)

[fifi]

I love baby bok choy. They are so darn cute. I often even do them in a non-Asian style. I have steamed them whole mostly and then varied what I sauced them with. I leave the trimmed end on so that they hold together. Talk about cross cultural . . . One time I steamed them and served with hollandaise. It was surprisingly good.

Other bok choy, I will saute briefly in whatever floats my boat at the time. I don't separate the greens from the stalks but that is because I like the stem parts to stay really crunchy. I just chop it up and dump into the pot with some oil and garlic. I may add red pepper paste and a splash of soy. Sesame oil and other flavors are a whim.

[Yuki]

I guess it depends on how clean they are. If they appear dirty or yellowish on the bottom then I would cut it off. Also, if the bok choy is really dirty, there would be dirt stuck between each leaves. By cutting the ends off, it makes cleaning much more faster. Of course, if your boy chop is clean, then just leave it on.

Since baby bok choy are already really tiny (about the size of a finger), I would not cut it into two parts. For bigger bok chop, I might cut them half lengthwise since it is better for presentation. Remember that the vegetable will shrink after cooking.

My favourite way to cook bak choy is to stir fry them with lots of garlic. Also cooking baby bak choy in Chinese chicken broth is very good.

[laniloa]

I like to cut then in half and toss them on the grill pan. Brush with a little miso, sesame, orange juice, soy. Fab.

[Susan G]

Baby bok choy I'd leave whole and not cut.........the adult stuff I'd cut crosswise into three or more sections. I've always either parboiled, stir-fried or steamed.........and occasionally I'll put the chopped leaves into chicken soup with a few Chinese dumplings. And then there's finely chopping them for spring roll/potsticker filling.

[little ms foodie]

Good stuff all, thanks!! I think what my grocer is calling baby is not because it is definatley bigger than fingers.

Tonight I cut off the bottom and seperated the stalks. Then I sauted in sesame oil and chopped ginger. Added sesame seeds and some rice wine vinegar. They were very good but I think they needed some cross cutting first.

I still have some so I'll try a few more ideas this weekend!

[HungryChris]

When I buy baby Bok Choy they are about 6 inches tall and about as big around at the base as the 'O' made by forming the 'OK' sign when I put my thumb and pointer finger together. It sounds like they are large compared to others mentioned here. I have tried them in a number of ways but my favorite way is to cut them lengthwise into quarters and cook them quickly in a very hot wok with a bit of minced garlic, grated ginger, sesame oil and topped on the plate with a dash of balsamic vinegar. The first time I read about this combination I was a bit skeptical, but the first time I tried it, I was hooked. I now include this as a vegetable in lunches I freeze to take to work and they hold up quite well. I have also used them when making Kim Chee with good result.

Cheers,

HC

Edited February 17, 2005 by HungryChris (log)

[LindaK]

one of the most unlikely but delicious treatments of baby bok choy I've ever had was when an asian friend (who stocks up on baby bock choy as a matter of course) threw some on top of an outdoor shrimp boil. I think he'd used Old Bay seasoning or another standard seasoning mix. I know it doesn't sound like much but it had us fighting over the last piece. It's now part of our standard shrimp boil repetoire.

This probably doesn't help you now (unless you live where the weather is warm in February) but remember it this summer.

[Yuki]

Seems like there are many different size of baby bok choy out there. For me, the biggest baby bok choy should only be 1.5 finger in length, anything more than that is not baby anymore. The smaller the better since they are much softer and sweeter.

[fifi]

one of the most unlikely but delicious treatments of baby bok choy I've ever had was when an asian friend (who stocks up on baby bock choy as a matter of course) threw some on top of an outdoor shrimp boil. I think he'd used Old Bay seasoning or another standard seasoning mix.  I know it doesn't sound like much but it had us fighting over the last piece. It's now part of our standard shrimp boil repetoire.

This probably doesn't help you now (unless you live where the weather is warm in February) but remember it this summer.

←

Now that is truly inspired. There is a group of us that have this huge party every May. I always do a shrimp boil. I can't wait to try this.

[Cupcakes Rule]

I have some fresh bok choy that I want to cook, but it usually comes out bitter. There have been occasions I've had it and it wasn't bitter yet I don't remember how it was cooked to get the bitterness out. Can anyone point me in the right direction on getting that bitter taste out?

Thanks in advance!

[Qwerty]

Well, stuff like that is really meant to have some bitterness, I think. It's kind of what makes it what it is--bitter greens, etc, are along the same lines.

It might help if you tell us how you cook it now so we can have a starting point. You could do all sorts of things...make a sweet vinaigrette with honey and drizzle that over it, add some lemon juice or vinegar to the pan and deglaze and toss the bok choy (sour decreases bitter).

Try carmelizing shallots then adding the bok choy to that.

I don't know, just throwing out ideas.

[SheenaGreena]

I have never had bitter bokchoy. I just saute them in a little bit of sesame oil or veg oil with some chopped garlic and salt.

[Pam R]

I'm with Sheena - I've never had bitter bok choy. I often use it in a stir fry with garlic, ginger, soy, and sesame oil or add it to soups just before serving.

What have you tried doing with it?

[SheenaGreena]

yep, bokchoy tastes great in soups...especially in spicy ramen or some udon soup.

Maybe you are cooking it too long? Like pam, I cook it super fast.

what kind of bokchoy are you buying? I know there are several kinds and I usually get baby bok choy or some other kind -forget the name.

[stephle]

Hate to pile on but I've also never had bitter Bok Choy -- I alway buy baby Bok Choy -- maybe like squash, the bigger ones are more prone to beoming bitter?

Don't know but I love this stuff, when cooked lightly (small amount of oil, soy sauce, dab of hoisin sayce, it's got a faint taste of melon.

[Cupcakes Rule]

Maybe I'm being overly sensitive about the bitterness. The way I usually cook it is in a little olive oil, s&p, then sometimes a splash of balsamic vinegar. I'm not sure what it is about bok choy, it seems like it's usually bitter yet there have been a few time when there wasn't even a hint of bitterness. I guess I'm being too picky, thanks for the tips anyhow.

[SheenaGreena]

not to sound like an ass, but maybe its from the splash of vinegar?

to me bokchoy should taste like really green celery mixed with a little cucumber, meaning its a very mild green

[rooftop1000]

I bought something that looked like bok choy and the sign said "similar to bok choy" but all green and it was bitter as all hell....like nasty want to spit it out....

have you perhaps bought something other than bok choy?

tracey

[Cupcakes Rule]

not to sound like an ass, but maybe its from the splash of vinegar?

to me bokchoy should taste like really green celery mixed with a little cucumber, meaning its a very mild green

←

You don't sound like an ass. I sometimes add the vinegar because it helps mask the bitterness. Maybe the bok choy I'm getting is old, it sounds like I'm the only one with this problem.

[Octaveman]

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that you put salt on it to draw out extra moisture and bitterness. I'll have to try and find it. I think it was in a well known Asain cookbook.

[Pan]

I agree with the others. Bok choy isn't supposed to be very bitter at all. It has just a slight amount of bitterness, but mostly just tastes good. Something like broccoli rabe is much more bitter.

[FrogPrincesse]

Help - there is some baby bok choy in my CSA (again). What's your favorite way to prepare it? For some reason this vegetable leaves me uninspired. I've tried it steamed (too bland) and stir-fried with garlic (boring), and would like to try something new. Thanks!

[Baselerd]

I made the Sichuan Bok Choy recipe a few months ago from The Modernist Cuisine and it was pretty good. They were able to make straight up steamed baby bok choy very flavorful by pairing it with some Sichuan sauce, pickled Shiitake mushroom caps, pressure cooked sesame seeds, and chili oil.

[C. sapidus]

Help - there is some baby bok choy in my CSA (again). What's your favorite way to prepare it?

I like the recipe "Chinese greens, Thai style" in Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet. Parboil the greens (not always necessary for baby bok choy), and then stir-fry with garlic, fermented soybean paste (dao jiao), fish sauce, and maybe a little pepper. Add water and cover at the end if needed.

Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook has a good recipe for braised bok choy with chestnuts. RCC also has a recipe for "stir-fried peppers with black beans and garlic" that adapts readily to many vegetables.

For me, fermented beans of some sort make a vegetable stir-fry highly satisfying.