• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

VegKitchen logo

  • Vegan Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Baking and Sweets
    • Breakfast
    • Main Dishes
    • Pasta and Noodles
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches and Wraps
    • Sauces, Dressings, and Condiments
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups, Stews, and Chilis
    • Snacks and Dips
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
    • Canning and Preserving
    • Cheese-y Delights
    • Global Recipes
    • Raw Vegan
    • Slow-Cooker
  • Vegan Living
    • Vegan Substitutions Guide
    • Green Kitchen
    • Healthy Eating Tips
    • Food and Produce Guides
    • Vegan Food Hacks
    • Kid Friendly
    • Vegan Product Reviews
    • More Vegan Living
  • About
  • Shop Cookbooks
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Vegan Recipes
  • Vegan Living
  • Cookbooks
  • About Us
  • Freebie!
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Vegan Recipes
    • Vegan Living
    • Cookbooks
    • About Us
    • Freebie!
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » Healthy Kitchen » Food and Produce Guides

    Bok Choy: The Crispy, Healthy, and Versatile Vegetable

    Published: Mar 8, 2016 · Updated: Aug 18, 2021 · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Of all Asian greens, bok choy is likely the most widely known and available in Western markets. Here's a guide to how to use it lightly cooked or raw. The term “bok choy” is used to somewhat generically describe the larger kind, with the crisp white stalks and dark leaves. Baby bok choy is a smaller version of the former variety, with stems and leaves of a fairly uniform, pale green hue.Think of either kind as two-for-the-price-of-one item — a crisp veggie and leafy greens in one neat package.

    Most people who like greens  or who have eaten in Chinese restaurants have likely eaten this mild, easy-to-like vegetable. While we’re familiar with the two varieties described above, there are at least twenty in parts of the Asia where this kind of green is consumed more commonly. If you scour Asian markets, you might find a kind of bok choy that’s half as small as the kind of baby bok choy commonly marketed. If you’re lucky enough to come across it, simply use it whole in stir-fries.

    Baby bok choy in a row

    Either of the common varieties of bok choy are equally good raw in salads or very lightly cooked in stir-fries and Asian-style soups. To prepare, they’re usually just stemmed (an inch or so needs to be trimmed off the bottom of the larger bok choy stalks), rinsed well, and sliced, leaves and all. 

    Bok choy is filled with antioxidants of all sorts and rich in Vitamins A, C, and K. It's also a good source of the minerals potassium, calcium, some of the B vitamins, and fiber.

    Baby bok choy is at its best in the spring when plump and fresh, but it's become a nearly year-round vegetable. Seared Baby Bok Choy (photo at top by Susan Voisin) is a super-quick way to prepare the diminutive variety, showing it off in all its glory, both flavor-wise and visually. This is more of an idea than a recipe, but what a fun idea it is. For lots more tips and recipes for using leafy greens, Wild About Greens by Nava Atlas is a great resource. Here are more ways to use bok choy here on VegKitchen:

    Stir-Fries

    • Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Shiitake Mushrooms
    • Gingery Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Cashews (photo below)
    • Hoisin-Glazed Bok Choy with Tofu and Soba Noodles
    • Bok Choy with Fresh Shiitake

    Gingery bok choy stir fry

    Salads

    • Bok Choy Salad with Snow Peas and Red Cabbage  (photo below)
    • Mixed Greens Salad with an Asian Spin
    • Leafy Greens Salad with Daikon Radish and Sprouts

    Bok Choy salad with snow peas

    Soups

    • Bok Choy, Tofu, and Baby Corn Soup (photo below)
    • Asian Noodle Soup with Bok Choy and Mushrooms
    • Japanese Soba Noodle Soup with Tofu and Greens

    Bok choy, tofu, and baby corn soup

    More Food and Produce Guides

    • tofu being tossed in marinade
      Guide to Tofu for Beginners
    • how to eat dragon fruit
      How to Eat Dragon Fruit? There Are More Ways Than You Might Imagine
    • Quinoa Pilaf with Cauliflower and nuts
      Beyond Brown Rice: Whole Grains for Everyday Meals
    • Vegan "Egg" foo yong
      Tasty and Easy Chickpea Flour Recipes and Tips

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    No Comments

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    nicole malik from vegkithen.com

    Hi, I'm Nicole! I'm the creator behind VegKitchen, and the author of the popular cookbook, Weeknight One Pot Vegan Cooking. Learn more about me here.

    More about me →

    vegan substitution chart

    Featured Recipes

    • recipes for a vegan Christmas dinner menu
      Best Vegan Christmas Recipes
    • vegan christmas cookies
      Vegan Christmas Cookies
    • vegan irish stew
      Old-Fashioned Vegan Stew
    • vegan breakfast casseroles
      10 Make-Ahead Vegan Breakfast Casseroles
    • Sticky Sesame Cauliflower
    • vegan jalapeno poppers
      Vegan Jalapeno Poppers

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    • Shop Cookbooks
    • Free Vegan Cheat Sheet
    • About Us
    • Work with Me
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use

    Still hungry? Check out our delicious family of blogs.


    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2021 Hook & Porter Media