Having a great bok choy recipe means you have an easy, satisfying side to add to anyweeknight meal. The vegetable itself is a mildly sweet and peppery variety of Chinese cabbage that’s sold both in its mature state and as a “baby” variety. Baby bok choy is harvested when it’s young, tender, and small (around just three to five inches in length), making it ideal forsteaming,boiling,roasting, and, of course, stir-frying, as we do here.
To prepare bok choy for cooking, you’ll want to trim and discard the rough bottoms of the vegetable before following any recipe instructions. It’s not uncommon to see baby bok choy halved or quartered, but for this stir-fry, we separate the leaves so that they cook quickly and evenly. After cooking with garlic, ginger, and a mixture ofsoy sauce, rice wine, and touch of sugar, the green leaves emerge from the wok crisp-tender and aromatic. A drizzle of sesame oil adds a nutty finish.
Editor's note:This recipe was originally published inThe Chinese Takeout Cookbookby Diana Kuan and first appeared on Epicurious July 2, 2013.
Ingredients
Serves 4 as part of a multicourse meal
Sauce
Step 1
Trim and discard the rough bottoms from the baby bok choy. Separate the leaves, rinse, and pat dry.
Step 2
In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar. Set aside.
Step 3
Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat until a bead of water sizzles and evaporates on contact. Add the peanut oil and swirl to coat the bottom and sides. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry until aromatic, 20 to 30 seconds. Add the bok choy and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, until crisp-tender. Add the soy sauce mixture and cook for another 30 seconds. Turn off the heat, and drizzle with sesame oil. Transfer to a serving plate and serve hot.
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Reviews (14)
Back to TopDelicious recipe. Always looking for something to accompany as a side. This is great and quick and easy.
Kaysu
Toronto
3/8/2022
Just curious. When people revamp a recipe then rate the printed one don’t they understand that they haven’t used the recipe originally printed. Why rate something you haven’t tried. Sigh.
Kaysu
Toronto
3/8/2022
Nice easy side dish to go with Asian style meals.
laallen
San Francisco, CA
3/7/2021
I like bok choy and this was delicious! It checks all the boxes-healthy, quick and easy! Served with Teriyaki Salmon and soba noodles, yum!
ksadamson
Idaho
2/11/2021
This was my first recipe from epicurious. This whole thing took me maybe 10 minutes. I had some yakisboa noodles from Costco that I bought in bulk and cooked them, along with two small bulbs of baby bok choy. I heated the wok, added oil, garlic and minced shallot, then some leftover romaine lettuce, the bok choy, a little soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. I never have sugar in the house, so I omitted that. I also added a little bit of chili sauce and some sesame seed oil and it made for a great vegetarian meal. I didn't miss the meat aspect at all. I have two full bags of baby bok choy in the fridge and this will be a go-to a lot. Next time, I'll add ginger to the mix and see how it goes.
nhspanther
Renton, WA
12/6/2020
This is the second time that the first dish from my CSA share is this delightful recipe. Served it with basmati rice and grilled pork tenderloin. Yum!
einer21
Columbus,Ohio
6/18/2020
I don't know if I did something wrong, but my bok choy came out so bitter that I couldn't eat it. I've cooked with bok choy before and never had this problem. I can't say for sure if it was because of this recipe or because something was wrong with the bok choy itself...
nicolem004
Sacramento, CA
6/16/2018
We eat this as a side dish every single week. Simple and absolutely delicious. Perfect compliment to any combination of rice and protein meal.
lisalotte97543
utah
2/21/2018
Added raw peanuts in with the garlic and ginger, then added diced apple with the soy mixture. Only used a sprinkling of oil at the end. Very fresh and light.
evalani123
St Louis
9/28/2017
I love this recipe and did not share. But next time I am leaving the sugar out. My house smelled so good after cooking it.
pearlyvictoria
Los AngelesL
1/20/2017
Loved it. My new go-to bok choy recipe.
rlpepper
Portland OR
9/12/2016
Used this for the first Pac Choi from my CSA this year. Pretty yummy and speedy. Just substituted garlic scapes (also from my CSA) for the garlic.
Einer2
Hilliard, OH
6/11/2015
This is a delicious recipe and can be modified many different ways. I usually leave out the sugar, since I have only sweet cooking wine on hand, which provides plenty of sweetness. I've also added some chili for heat. I serve it with Japanese noodles found here: http://www.steamykitchen.com/3169-japanese-noodles-with-shimeji-mushroom.html Delicious and quick!
jeweles95
Marin, CA
4/23/2014
We love this way of doing bok choy. It has become our go-to choice for adding greens to any meal. It's just that good as well as easy and fast. We don't often make any variations but if we want to make it even easier we use an already made-up ginger/garlic paste (usually found in Indian food aisles). There have been times I didn't have Chinese rice vinegar and substituted white wine vinegar but still ends up coming out great. I have also added sesame seeds sprinkled over it along with the sesame oil. Don't leave out the sesame oil drizzled over it before serving....really works well.
riverlarken
Winchester, VA
1/9/2014
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