Bok Choy 101: Every little thing You Have to Know Concerning the Asian Inexperienced

A light-flavored, quick-cooking member of the cabbage household, bok choy (aka pak choi or Chinese language cabbage) is scrumptious in stir-fries, steamed, grilled, or added to noodle soups. Learn on for our bok choy primer, which incorporates an outline of some frequent varieties, plus ideas for storing and getting ready the lovable leafy inexperienced. When you’ve stocked up in your bok choy of alternative, you’ll want to try our roundup of our favourite bok choy recipes!

Is bok choy a candy, stalky vegetable or a leafy inexperienced? It’s each, although the juicy, curvaceous stems are what make bok choy immediately recognizable and distinctive amongst Asian greens. The darkish inexperienced leaves have their deserves, as nicely: They’re tender sufficient to take pleasure in uncooked in salads but sturdy sufficient to face as much as the excessive warmth of stir-fries and quick-simmered soups and stews.

Bok choy ranges in dimension from 3 to six inches in size for child and dwarf varieties to fifteen inches for absolutely mature heads. No matter selection you purchase, select heads that look agency and recent from root to tip, with no torn or yellowing leaves and no cuts or brown spots on the stems.

Full-size bok choy options giant, lengthy heads with agency white stems and darkish, curly leaves. Use it in soups, stir-fries, and grain dishes.

With entire heads starting from 3 to six inches lengthy, child bok choy can consult with small varietals in addition to heads which were picked whereas nonetheless younger. Nice for steaming or grilling entire, they can be sliced and added to stir-fries and stews.

Shanghai bok choy is a well-liked all-purpose varietal with jade inexperienced stems and easy spherical leaves. Shanghai bok choy is bought in several sizes, from tiny child heads to full-leafed bulbous stalks.

Generally known as “rosette bok choy,” Tatsoi shouldn’t be technically bok choy however an in depth cousin that can be utilized interchangeably in recipes. Tatsoi has darkish, spherical leaves and a pronounced peppery taste.

Bok choy is at its sweetest, tenderest finest through the cooler months of the yr, when it’s additionally a preferred merchandise at farmers markets, but it surely’s accessible year-round.

Refrigerate entire heads of bok choy within the crisper drawer for as much as per week. Cleaned and dried bok choy additionally freezes nicely—no blanching wanted. To wash, submerge entire or halved heads in a big bowl of water, and swish it round a number of occasions to take away any grit lodged between the stems and leaves. Dry nicely by shaking off extra water or spinning in a salad spinner.