Winter is almost here and the bazaars are filling up with winter vegetables. Bok choy is one of the winter vegetables that I enjoy a lot – I love the texture and the vibrant colour. It's full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Bok choy is great in soups, stir fried or steamed. It takes only few minutes to cook. Its so good on its own, but I like to pair it with other vegetables and proteins. Today I am sharing my easy bok choy recipes, that you can cook in less than 20 minutes.
Garlic bok choy with mushroom
Ingredients:
3 bunches bok choy
1 cup fresh or canned mushrooms
7 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Black pepper to taste
Directions:
Finely chop the garlic. Slice the mushrooms. Separate the larger stems of the bok choy and then split the bok choy in half.
Heat the oil in wok over medium high heat. Add the garlic. Fry until the garlic is light brown. Now add the mushrooms. If you are using fresh mushrooms, sprinkle a pinch of salt over it. The mushrooms will start to release water. Cook for two to three minutes.
Once the mushrooms have softened, add the bok choy and the soy sauce. Mix well. Add two tablespoons of water, mix it and cover for one minute. The bok choy should be just wilted but not over-cooked. Add the black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Serve with boiled rice.
Stir fried veggies with oyster sauce
Ingredients:
1 medium size carrot
1 cup broccoli
3 bunches bok choy
4 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
6 big cloves of garlic
1 small onion
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sugar
Directions:
Slice the carrots thinly. Chop the bok choy and broccoli. Mince the onion and garlic.
Keep all your sauces and one cup of water by your stove, so that you can grab them as you cook. This whole stir fry takes only seven to eight minutes maximum.
Heat 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a wok over high heat. Add the onion and garlic. Fry the garlic for about two minutes, or until it is light brown.
Add the carrots first. Turn the heat to the highest as possible. Keep stirring constantly. Splash little water while cooking it. (Harder vegetables like carrot or cauliflower doesn't have much water content, so needs some water to make them tender. You want the veggies to be tender and crispy. Don't add too much water, as it will make the carrot too soft. Cook it for about three minutes.
Add soy sauce and one table spoon oyster sauce. Stir it well. Once the carrot is tender, add the broccoli and the bok choy. Add rest of the oyster sauce, sugar and keep stirring for about one minutes. Again, splash 1/4 cup water over the vegetables and cover with a lead for one minutes. You want the bok choy to be just wilted and the broccoli to be just tender. Once its wilted sprinkle the black pepper, mix it well and serve hot.
Fried tofu with bok choy
Ingredients:
To fry the tofu:
1 medium size block tofu
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chilli pepper
For the sauce:
4 tbsp soy sauce:
1 tbsp oyster sauce:
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp tomato catchup
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp garlic chopped
1/2 tbsp ginger paste
1 dried chilli
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup water
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp sriracha (optional); if you don't have sriracha use 1/2 tsp chilli powder
For the bok choy:
3 bunches bok choy
3 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp soy sauce
Directions:
Cut the Tofu in to cubes. Mix the flour, salt and chilli powder in a bowl. Lightly flour the tofu cubes. Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan. Now fry the tofu over medium high heat until all the sides are light brown and crispy. Set it aside.
In another small pan, heat one tablespoon oil and add the garlic and chilli slices. Fry for one minute. Mix everything for the sauce and pour it in the pan. Let it come to boil. Keep it warm.
For the bok choy, heat two tablespoon oil in a wok. Put the garlic. Fry until it turns light brown. Put the bok choy in. Add soy sauce and 1/4 cup of water. Mix and cover it with a lid. Let it steam for two minutes. It should be just lightly wilted, yet vibrant green and crispy.
Now its time to assemble the dish. Take the fried tofu on a plate. place the bok choy. Pour the sauce over the Tofu and sprinkle with sesame seed and scallion. Serve hot with steamed rice.
Note: For all three dishes, adjust the amount of garlic as per your taste. Cooking fast, over high heat with very little water, helps to retain the vibrant colours of the vegetables.
