10 Minute Garlic Bok Choy Recipe (2025)

FAQs

How do you take the bitterness out of bok choy? ›

Acidity can really bring a pleasant flavor out of bitter greens. If they're being used for a salad, it's good to add a vinaigrette with plenty of acidity to brighten it up. If you are sauteing, add some vinegar or citrus to the greens to finish them off.

Cook for about 6 minutes until the base of the bok choy is slightly tender. Test it with the tip of a knife, then serve. For best results, trim the stalks off before boiling, as the stalks take longer to cook than the leaves.

The best way to eat bok choy is to lightly steam or stir-fry it to retain its crisp texture. Overcooking makes it mushy. Bok choy has a delicious, mild flavor that pairs well with garlic, ginger, sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, chiles, or Whole30 peanut sauce.

Bok choy, a Chinese cabbage, is tender, sweet, and stands up well to heat — making it perfect for stir-frying. Cook it simply with garlic, black bean sauce, or shiitake mushrooms for a delicious side dish, or incorporate it into a frittata or bowl of ramen for a more substantial bite.

All of Bok Choy is edible, so once you get to that point, you can chop up the stem and the bulb.

Bok choy contains sorbitol which is hard to digest. When eaten in excess, it slips through the small intestine without being digested and enters the large intestine. Gut bacteria in the intestines break it down to form gases such as hydrogen that cause bloating issues.

Traditional bok choy has dark, crinkly leaves and crisp, white stems; Shanghai bok choy has spoon-shaped leaves and jade green stems. The cool thing is that both the leaves and the stalks can be eaten, and this wonderful little plant is an excellent go-to for fiber, as well as for beta-carotene and vitamins C, K and A.

Bok choy is a vibrant green vegetable. If the leaves are dull or light green, the bok choy has gone bad. Other signs to look for are if the stems have turned yellow and if spots have begun to appear on the leaves and stems.

You can consume all parts of the bok choy plant, including its white stems and green leaves. Here are some ideas for how to prepare and eat bok choy: Chop it and sauté it with olive oil, garlic, and ginger as a side dish or to top a grain like rice or quinoa. Dice it and add it to an Asian-inspired soup recipe.

In equivalent raw weight, bok choy contains more vitamin C, vitamin A, and some other nutrients than spinach and around the same amount of calcium. Spinach, however, contains higher amounts of some other nutrients, including vitamin K, than bok choy.

What is the difference between bok choy and pak choy? ›

Also known as Pac Choi, this type of Chinese cabbage is a member of the brassica family. The names Pak Choy and Bok Choy are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference, and it's all in the stem. Bok Choy has a white stem, whereas Pak Choy has a green stem.

Eating bok choy is a great way to add more health-promoting nutrients and compounds to your diet. The vitamins and minerals found in bok choy offer additional benefits, such as: Potassium, magnesium, and calcium help support normal blood pressure regulation, an important factor in heart health.

Like other dark, leafy greens, it's full of antioxidants and other compounds that help to promote better health. Studies show that cruciferous vegetables such as bok choy help to reduce your risk of developing cancer. It's full of cancer-fighting compounds such as vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, folate, and selenium.

Cook with herbs to cut through the bitter taste.

Mix some basil, coriander, sage, and rosemary into your cooking for great, bitter-free flavors. Mixing fresh herbs into a stir-fry or roasted dish adds a whole new flavor element to your cooking.

One of the best things about preparing meals with bok choy is that you can consume all parts of the plant, including the green leaves and the white stem, if you choose to. It has a strong smell and a slightly bitter flavor that lends itself well to several recipes.

Baby bok choy are young, tender bok choy that are a few inches in length. Baby bok choy has a delicate flavor similar to lettuce, and it works great in salads, green mixes, and stir-frys. Fully matured bok choy has more of those delightful bitter flavors that are characteristic of leafy greens.