Easy Baby Bok Choy Stir-Fry with Garlic and Ginger
- Dr. Stephanie Bartolotti
- Feb 19, 2022
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 1
If you're looking for a vegetable that takes almost no effort but somehow makes dinner look like you planned ahead, let me introduce you to baby bok choy.
Bok choy is a leafy green vegetable traditionally used in Chinese cooking. It has tender green leaves, crisp white stems, and a mild flavor that works beautifully with garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and a little spice.
And one of the best things about baby bok choy?
It cooks incredibly fast.
This simple baby bok choy stir-fry takes only a few minutes and makes an easy vegetable side dish for chicken, shrimp, salmon, beef, tofu, or just about any Asian-inspired meal.
What Is Baby Bok Choy?
Bok choy is a type of Chinese cabbage with crisp stalks and dark green leaves.
Baby bok choy is simply harvested earlier than the larger variety, giving it smaller, more tender stalks and a slightly sweeter, more delicate flavor.
It's also incredibly versatile.
You can stir-fry it, sauté it, add it to soups, steam it, grill it, or toss it into noodle and rice dishes.
For this recipe, we're keeping things very simple.
Garlic. Ginger. Sesame. A little heat.
Done.
Bok Choy Is Packed With Nutrients
One of the reasons I love encouraging people to eat a wide variety of vegetables is that different plants provide different combinations of nutrients and phytonutrients.
Bok choy is a cruciferous vegetable and provides nutrients including vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, beta-carotene and other antioxidants.
It's also a simple way to add another dark leafy green to your diet without eating another salad.
Because sometimes I want my vegetables warm.
Actually, most of the time I want my vegetables warm.
Chinese medicine approves.
Baby Bok Choy in Chinese Food Therapy
From a Chinese food therapy perspective, bok choy is traditionally considered a cooling food.
That can make it a nice choice when a meal contains warming ingredients or when someone tends to run warmer.
In this recipe, I pair the bok choy with ginger and garlic, which add warmth and pungency while also creating that classic stir-fry flavor.
This is one of the things I love about Chinese food therapy.
We aren't simply looking at whether a food is "healthy."
We look at its energetic properties, how it's prepared, what it's combined with, and how those qualities fit the individual person.
Cooking the bok choy also changes the experience compared with eating a large bowl of raw vegetables. For people who feel bloated or uncomfortable after lots of raw food, lightly cooked vegetables can sometimes be much easier to incorporate.
Easy Baby Bok Choy Stir-Fry
This recipe comes together in about five minutes, so have everything chopped and ready before you turn on the stove.
Once the wok gets going, things move quickly.
Ingredients:
1 baby bok choy, chopped
1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon coconut aminos or low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sriracha
Sesame seeds, for garnish
Directions:
Heat a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat.
Add the toasted sesame oil.
Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and ginger. Stir for about 30–60 seconds, just until fragrant. Don't walk away here—garlic has an impressive ability to go from perfect to what is burning? remarkably quickly.
Add the chopped baby bok choy, coconut aminos, and sriracha.
Toss everything together until the bok choy is coated.
Cover and cook for approximately 2–3 minutes, until the leaves are wilted and the stalks are tender but still have a little crunch.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately.
Don't Overcook Your Bok Choy
This is probably my biggest tip for this recipe.
Bok choy should still have some texture.
You want the green leaves tender and slightly wilted while the white stalks retain a little crunch.
If you cook it too long, everything becomes soft and watery.
Still edible?
Sure.
As exciting?
Not particularly.
High heat and a short cooking time are your friends.
What Can I Serve With Baby Bok Choy?
This recipe works beautifully as a vegetable side dish with:
Salmon
Shrimp
Chicken
Beef
Tofu or tempeh
Rice
Quinoa
Noodles
You can also turn it into a more complete stir-fry by adding other vegetables such as carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, snow peas, or scallions.
Add a good source of protein and a carbohydrate such as rice, and you've turned a five-minute vegetable recipe into an easy balanced meal.
Can I Use Regular Bok Choy?
Absolutely.
Regular bok choy is larger and the stalks tend to be thicker, so simply chop it into smaller pieces and give the stems a little extra cooking time.
I like baby bok choy for quick stir-fries because the leaves and stalks cook so quickly.
It's basically the vegetable equivalent of fast food.
Only considerably greener.
Coconut Aminos or Soy Sauce?
Either works.
Coconut aminos have a slightly sweeter flavor, while soy sauce provides a more traditional savory flavor.
If you use soy sauce, I prefer a naturally brewed variety and usually choose lower sodium so I have more control over the saltiness of the finished dish.
Use whichever one you enjoy and tolerate well.
Dr. Stephanie's Tip: One of the easiest ways to eat more vegetables is to stop assuming vegetables have to mean salad.
Roast them.
Sauté them.
Stir-fry them.
Add them to soups.
Season them.
Use garlic.
Use ginger.
Use sauce.
Vegetables are allowed to taste good.
I promise you don't get extra health points for sadly chewing raw broccoli while wishing you were eating something else.
This baby bok choy recipe is a perfect example. It takes only a few minutes, but the sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and sriracha completely transform a simple vegetable.
A Simple Way to Eat More Cooked Vegetables
Healthy eating doesn't have to mean complicated recipes or spending Sunday afternoon preparing 47 matching meal-prep containers.
Sometimes it's as simple as learning a few easy ways to make vegetables taste really good.
Keep baby bok choy in the refrigerator, garlic and ginger in the kitchen, and this recipe can be on your plate in about five minutes.
Simple.
Warm.
Flavorful.
And definitely more exciting than another plain side salad.
Love Easy, Healthy Recipes Like This?
If you enjoy simple recipes made with real ingredients, you'll find plenty more in my cookbook, Allergy-Free Tastes Good to Me.
I created this cookbook to prove that eating gluten-free and dairy-free doesn't mean giving up the foods you love. Inside you'll find 93 delicious recipes for breakfasts, soups and stews, easy dinners, side dishes, snacks, and healthy treats—along with practical tips to make healthy eating easier in real life.
Because healthy food should still taste really good.
Comments