RECIPE :: How to Cook Baby Bok Choy 白菜

For the rest of this month and into March, I am celebrating some of my favourite Asian green vegetables in a “How to Cook [ insert Asian vegetable ]” recipe blog series. This is post 1 out of 3!
 
Despite the fact that I grew up eating LOTS of Asian green vegetables like Bok Choy 白菜, I admit that I didn't always love them.
 
Yes, that’s right!
 
This dietitian-nutritionist, like many children, did NOT grow up loving vegetables as a kid.

However, I was offered it every night at dinnertime, and eventually I learned to love them!
 
Most of my Dietitian colleagues would call this method of offering the food several times the Ellyn Satter Model of Eating Competence, and it is.
 
But this is often the way of family-style meal times in many Asian households - Everyone eats the same thing (no kids menus or special diets) that has been practiced over centuries, before it became tested and validated as “science”.
 
Force-feeding was also never a thing. If I did not want to eat anymore, that was all I ate for the rest of the meal. My parents would tell me that the next time to eat would not be until the morning. The same foods were eaten on most nights, so bok choy 白菜 was offered to me again and again and again.
 
And now, I can say how much I LOVE Asian vegetables.

These little yellow flower-like things are in the middle of most of the bok choy. You can eat them – I always do!

Although, I do prefer the baby bok choy 白菜 over the regular one. The leaves are more tender and cook faster! If you are new to bok choy 白菜, I say go for the baby ones!
 
I love 白菜 Bok Choy with a bit of high quality sesame oil (thanks for Noble Queen Inc for the sample), salt and garlic topped with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Please note that this is a different kind of sesame oil, one with a subtle taste that can be heated at high temperatures. Therefore, it was cooked in sesame oil, instead of the sesame oil being added at the end for flavour like in most recipes that use the sesame oil often used in many traditional Chinese dishes.
 
Wash your bok choy 白菜 well, under running water. The complaint I often hear about this Chinese vegetable is that it is “so dirty.” Similar to potatoes or mushrooms, it grows in soil. So make sure you rinse it well to remove all of the soil.

Washed and torn into smaller pieces. Looks quite pretty. Tastes good too.

RECIPE :: Baby Bok Choy with Sesame Seeds

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Noble Queen Sesame Oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 lbs baby bok choy 白菜 (washed and ripped into smaller pieces)
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
 
Instructions

1. Heat Noble Queen Sesame Oil in a wok or large pan on medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté for about 2 minutes.
2. Add bok choy 白菜  and water (like broccoli, you need to add water to cook it). Cover with lid. Lower heat to medium and cook for about 2-3 minutes or until tender-crisp.
3. Add salt and remove from heat.
4. Place on plate and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
   

Serves 4-6.
 
Nutrition Information (per 1/2 cup)
 
Calories 45 kcal | Fat 3 g | Saturated Fat 0.5 g | Protein 2.0 g | Carbohydrate 3 g | Sodium 270 mg | Fibre 1.5 g | Sugar 1 g

Thanks to the generous folks at Noble Queen Inc for this sample of sesame oil!