This simple stir fried garlic baby bok choy dish is the way we tend to prepare baby bok choy almost every week. It’s so quick, easy, and healthy. Summer—and with it, grill season—is fast approaching, and I like this garlic baby bok choy as an alternative to just a regular salad as a vegetable side.
Stir fried garlic baby bok choy is quick and easy so it’s also great as a holiday side dish
There are a couple types of “bok choy.” Some have thick white stems with dark green leaves, and others have more tender light green stems with smoother green leaves.
In my younger days, bok choy generally meant the white bok choy variety that grew quite large. These vegetables were more commonly found in Chinese restaurants at the time, run by enterprising blue collar folks not formally schooled in the culinary arts (like me).
A lot of these restaurants were heavily adjusted to Western tastes, of course, where the bok choy was used in dishes like moo goo gai pan or chicken chow mein.
In fact, I remember the delivery trucks bringing wooden crates of these large vegetables into the Holiday Inn when I worked with my father serving up mostly Chinese-American cuisine.
Green bok choy, sometimes referred to and Shanghai baby bok choy is more common today, as they are more tender, harvested earlier, marketed as baby bok choy, and quite common nowadays.
Both pictures below were taken from the Burpee site for “white bok choy” and “green bok choy” in case you want to purchase some seeds and grow them yourselves. My mother used to grow both in our garden in upstate NY, where I had the pleasure of watering and weeding the garden every day.
But back to the point of this post: how to cook a quick and easy leafy green garlicky side dish that completes any meal. The Shanghai baby bok choy is the one featured in this recipe, and can be found in any Chinese grocery store. It’s also great when tossed in noodle soups or dumpling fillings.
Recipe Instructions
Trim the bottoms off of each bundle of baby bok choy, and split them in half or quarters. Just make sure all of the pieces are relatively uniform so they cook evenly. You can leave them whole if they’re very small and tender.
Wash thoroughly with cold water two to three times. These days, we’re never too cautious about making sure all of the dirt and pesticides are rinsed away.
The best method is to use a large basin or sink to rinse and swirl around the vegetables letting them soak for a few minutes before draining and washing again.
Shake off the excess water after the final rinse and transfer to a colander to drain. It is important to drain the vegetables well since these veggies will release quite a bit of water during the cooking process.
Heat the wok over high heat until smoking, and add 2 tablespoons oil.
Swirl around the oil so the wok is coated. Add all of the garlic…
And immediately add the bok choy. Move quickly to stir and sauté the greens in the oil and garlic. Stir quickly so you don’t burn the garlic!
Use a folding motion to turn the vegetables or use tongs if that is easier. Once the vegetables begin to wilt, about 30 seconds, add salt, white pepper, and sugar.
How long you cook them from here is all personal preference. Judy likes to cook them a bit longer for a softer texture while I like them a little bit more crisp.
Plate and serve your stir fried garlic baby bok choy immediately.
Garlic Baby Bok Choy Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 pound baby bok choy (450g)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 5 cloves garlic (minced)
- salt and white pepper (to taste)
- 1/8 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Trim the bottoms off of each bundle of bok choy, and split them in half or quarters. Just make sure all of the pieces are relatively uniform so they cook evenly. You can leave them whole if they’re very small and tender.
- Wash thoroughly with cold water two to three times. These days, we’re never too cautious about making sure all of the dirt and pesticides are rinsed away. The best method is to use a large basin or sink to rinse and swirl around the vegetables letting them soak for a few minutes before draining and washing again. Shake off the excess water after the final rinse and transfer to a colander to drain. It is important to drain the vegetables well since these veggies will release quite a bit of water during the cooking process.
- Heat the wok over high heat until smoking, and add 2 tablespoons oil. Swirl around the oil so the wok is coated. Add all of the garlic and immediately add the bok choy. Move quickly to stir and sauté the greens in the oil and garlic. Stir quickly so you don’t burn the garlic!
- Use a folding motion to turn the vegetables or use tongs if that is easier. Once the vegetables begin to wilt, about 30 seconds, add salt, pepper, and sugar. How long you cook them from here is all personal preference. Judy likes to cook them a bit longer for a softer texture while I like them a little bit more crisp. Plate and serve immediately.
Wow, not sure how I missed this recipe for so long as we adore bok choy, but finally noticed it after Sarah’s fantastic recent post on growing the veg. This recipe is simple but very delicious. It would go with any dish which makes it quite versatile. I served it with a smoked spatchcocked local chicken with roasted potatoes. This will definitely be one of our go-to bok choy recipes!
Wow, so glad you’ve found this recipe. We make this dish every week :-)
Excellent! Bok Choy isn’t my favorite vegetable, but I actually enjoyed eating this! Can’t say my kids loved it, but they ate it with less complaining than other veggies they’ve had.
Hi Anna, try to get the most tender small baby bok choy, and sometimes a good batch will taste extra flavorful and sweet ;-)
Just finished eating this and what a pleasure! Really getting a bang for your buck with the amount of time and ingredients. This is a new staple.
Hi CH, glad to hear these baby bok choy will become a staple in your kitchen. More leafy greens are very healthy and delicious too!
Hi Bill. I don’t have Bok choy near me, can i substitute with green cabbage?
Hi Josari, I’m sure using this recipe method with cabbage would result in a tasty veggie dish
Would adding a little fresh ginger and sesame oil be complementary to this dish? If so, any suggestions on quantities of each?
Hi Maca, adding some ginger with the garlic is good. Be careful not to add too much sesame oil, or it will overpower the veggies.
Best version I’ve made yet. So fast and easy. Will be making again. Tossed 1/2 in crispy spicy garlic sauce. Served with your 20 minute frozen rice congee utilizing leftover seafood. Thank you.
Hi Sarah, excellent to hear you enjoyed it. Garlic stir-fried veggies (including baby bok choy) are indeed a staple in our family.
I’d like to make this recipe asap. But I’m not sure what type of oil to use, and I don’t see it mentioned throughout your instructions. Would love to know what you suggest. Thank you!
Hi Meredith, we prefer using canola oil, but any vegetable oil will do just fine for this garlic baby bok choy dish.
I did this for my lunch today, it was really great, I tweaked it just a little bit by using “grown” bok choy (again the availability problem ;-)) and adding crumbled feta cheese at the end.
Hi Gerda, An interesting twist adding the feta cheese but I can see it :)
It was great – I just want to mention that pesticides, for the most part, DON’T wash off. They are engineered to STICK to plants and to be absorbed.
Organic food is the way to go, for those who are able to access it – and hopefully someday, we’ll have truly safe food. What kills bugs affects us too.
Hi Bill, thanks for sharing our comment