A Simple Bok Choy Recipe (52 New Foods, Around the World Week 4)
Posted by Jennifer Tyler Lee on January 26, 2013 2 Comments
Our simple, sizzling bok choy recipe with a hint of garlic and ginger
makes a super side for a healthy supper.
Bok choy is one of my
favorite Asian greens, but it took some time for my kids to warm up to this
simple vegetable. Was it because they felt that it was their responsibility to be
wary of anything leafy-green? Regardless, I was determined to turn the tables.
Last year I started to feature bok choy in clay pot rice – sweet and salty flavors mingling together with a few crispy bites of green was a taste my kids loved. But my goal this week was to get them to enjoy this friendly Asian cabbage in the same way that they love a side of broccoli – simple and green. The trick was lightly stir-frying the bok choy in freshly minced ginger and garlic, and adding a little touch of salty flavor with Braggs Liquid Amino Acids – it’s made with unfermented non-GMO soy beans and has a flavor similar to soy sauce. You can find it in most organic markets and health food stores.
As I started to write this post, I searched for more information about soy, and Braggs in particular, to uncover any new health concerns. I first turned to Marion Nestle for the scoop on soy in general, then reviewed an interview with Michael Pollan on NPR (way back in 2008) where the topic of using Braggs came up. In the end, I’d recommend making this simple bok choy recipe with non-GMO Tamari (like San-J Tamari) if you want a little salty flavor, but you can also just simmer up the bok choy with garlic and ginger and leave it at that. It’s up to you to decide.
A Simple Bok Choy Recipe
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 7 to 9 minutes
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Crunch a Color points: 10 green
Ingredients:
4 bunches of bok choy
3 slices of fresh ginger, minced
3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
1 tsp non-GMO Tamari sauce
2 Tbsp grapeseed oil
Sesame seeds for garnish
Directions:
1. Mince the ginger, then the garlic. My kids love using their big muscles to put the ginger and garlic through the press! Set aside.
2. Chop off the ends of the
bok choy and discard. Then chop the remaining leaves into 1-inch sections.
My budding artist was fascinated with the pattern made
by the chopped ends of the bok choy. Beautiful!
3. Give the bok choy a bath
in a bowl of cool water. Swish the greens around gently, letting the dirt sink
to the bottom of the bowl.
4. Scoop out the bok choy from the bowl and into
a sieve. The dirt will be left at the bottom of the bowl. Give the bok choy
another quick rinse with water.
5. Heat a wok over medium
heat. Once the wok is hot, add the grapeseed oil, ginger and garlic. Simmer gently
for about 2 minutes. Then add the bok choy and stir-fry for another 5 to 7
minutes, or until the leaves are bright green with slightly brown edges. At the
very end, add the Tamari and toss gently in the pan to coat evenly.
6. Garnish with a few sesame
seeds. Serve immediately.
* What
is your favorite way to enjoy bok choy? Post your pictures and recipe ideas on
our Facebook page.
Craving more easy recipes to try? Catch up on last week’s recipe: Easy Orange Granita.
About the author: Jennifer Tyler Lee is a mom of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color® -- the award-winning nutrition games that make healthy eating fun. Like most parents, she struggled to get her kids to eat healthy, balanced meals, so she decided to make it into a healthy eating game and she’s giving back to support non-profit kids’ nutrition programs. Winner of the Dr. Toy and Parent Tested, Parent Approved awards, Crunch a Color® has been featured by Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, Rachael Ray's Yum-O, Laurie David’s Family Dinner, Kiwi Magazine, Dr. Greene, and Yum Food & Fun For Kids, among many others, as a simple, fun and playful way to get kids to eat healthy and try new foods. Jennifer’s passion is making mealtime fun, easy and healthy for busy families. Her easy recipes, quick tips, and new food adventures are regularly featured at Pottery Barn Kids, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, The Huffington Post, and on her weekly recipe blog at crunchacolor.com.
52 New Foods: Week 7, One-Pot Asian Chicken with Bok Choy
Posted by Jennifer Lee on February 18, 2012 1 Comment
One and you’re done! This tasty, easy one-pot Asian chicken recipe is a favorite anytime dish for my family. Healthy eating made easy.
I love designer dinners, but I hate making them. Like most parents, I am too busy between piano, soccer and homework to spend hours in the kitchen primping and prepping a pretty meal. My solution: choose tasty, healthy recipes that use five ingredients or less and can be easily prepared by a five year old. Bonus if it’s a one-pot meal! Holding recipes to that high bar means they make shopping and cooking a breeze for me, which translates into more time to spend with my family.
Feature Recipe: One-Pot Asian Chicken from A Family That Eats Together
One-pot recipes intrigue me. The simplicity makes me feel
less stressed around dinnertime. One-pot dinners allow me to easily whip up a
healthy meal and focus on quality time with my kids. Clay pot chicken is one of
my favorite meals in this category. The smell and taste of this simple meal brings back fond memories of enjoying this healthy dish with friends and
family when my daughter was first born. As a new mom, I relied heavily on
one-pot dinners! But I had parallel plan in mind this time. Clay pot chicken
features a staple vegetable of Asian cooking: Bok Choy. Its simple flavor would
seem to be a welcome addition to my picky eaters plate, but for some reason she
just wouldn’t try it. Maybe the crunchy, caramel sweetness of one-pot Asian
chicken would sway her?
Crunch a Color Kids Vote: Bring on the bonus points!
What we liked: Though this recipe involved more than five ingredients (it calls for closer to 10), the simplicity of making this dish in one-pot won me over. I simplified it further by using pre-minced garlic and ginger (a time-saving trick that eliminates one chopping step) and substituted grape seed oil for the peanut oil. The combination of healthy ingredients in this recipe make for a deliciously chewy dish that had my kids asking for seconds -- bok choy included!
Next up: Chinese Broccoli (aka Gai Lan)
This month I had the pleasure of dining with the
reigning champion of Beef Noodle Soup. Flown in from Taiwan to share his
secrets, Chef Hou captured the appetites of noodle soup lovers ranging from amateur chefs to the honorable Narsai David of food-critic fame. Next week I’ll share my twist on this
delicious soup that’s sure to warm your soul and win you bonus points for
trying a new food: Chinese Broccoli!
Craving more new recipes to try? Catch up on last week’s recipe: Slow cooker curry.
About the author: Jennifer Tyler Lee is a mom of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color™ -- the award-winning game that makes healthy eating fun. Like most parents, she struggled to get her kids to eat healthy, balanced meals, so she decided to make it into a healthy eating game and she’s giving back to support Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, FoodCorps, and Alice Water’s Edible Schoolyard. Watch her picky eaters tell the story of how they turned into healthy eaters playing the game. Follow @crunchacolor and #52NewFoods to tune into Crunch a Color's healthy eating adventure and Jennifer’s tips and kid-friendly, easy recipes.
