Bok choy stir-fried with garlic is no secret. However, the addition of a couple of simple ingredients will make your bok choy taste more like it's served in Chinese restaurants.
Serve this plate of greens alongside blackened tuna steaks, Chinese steamed fish, or this vegetarian tomato egg stir fry.
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What makes this recipe different
- Optional cornstarch - Some restaurant stir fries thicken the vegetable sauce with cornstarch, but I think it tastes just as good without.
- Simple ingredients - It's not just salt and garlic, as you might find with Western green leafy dishes. A couple more pantry ingredients bring these green vegetables to life.
Ingredients
Whether or not you consume animal products, this bok choy stir fry tastes just as good with or without meat flavoring.
- Baby bok choy - This recipe works great with baby bok choy, chopped up regular sized bok choy, or any green vegetable including broccoli, kale, and spinach.
- Adjust the cooking time as needed if you use a substitute vegetable.
- Chicken or Vegetable Bouillon - This is the 'secret' ingredient that gives umami flavor without adding MSG.
- Chicken powder or bouillon cubes often have a little bit of MSG.
- I recommend the Better than Bouillon pastes that do not have MSG. I've tried this recipe with both the chicken and vegetable pastes with great success.
- Sugar - You don't need a lot of it, but just a pinch is another 'secret' ingredient used in Chinese stir fries. It balances the salt and just gives a more well rounded flavor.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
This recipe cooks quickly, so make sure the ingredients are prepped and ready to go.
- Step 1: Gently heat the garlic and oil in a pan until the garlic starts to sizzle.
- Step 2: Add the washed bok choy to the pan. You'll want a good sized pan so it all fits in one batch.
- Step 3: Stir in the salt, sugar, and bouillon. It will start reducing quickly as the bok choy starts to release liquid. Add a touch of water, if the pan gets too dry.
- Step 4: Cover for a couple minutes. The stems are a bit crunchy on bok choy, so they need some time to soften.
- Step 5: Once the bok choy stems have softened and are cooked to your desired doneness, remove from the pan. (I like to cook them to crisp tender, where the stems still have some bite and a little bit of crunch.)
Optional Cornstarch
If you don't spin dry the bok choy after washing, it will add a lot of water to pan. It helps to thicken this liquid with cornstarch.
This is a variety of bok choy with bright white stems and curly leaves.
Since I didn't spin dry this batch, it added a lot of liquid to the pan. You can thicken this at the end of cooking with a slurry of cornstarch, so the finished dish isn't so watery.
Hint: While Western cooks might cook green vegetables until they are al dente, a Chinese chef taught me to cook the bok choy until completely tender with an almost melting quality, rather than crisp tender.
A very soft texture can be off putting to some, so cook the bok choy to the doneness you like eating it.
Tips & Tricks
- Starting the garlic and oil in a cold pan helps to keep it from burning too quickly.
- Washing and drying the bok choy in a salad spinner will give the vegetable a wok fired quality.
- The excess water that sticks to the leaves after washing can cause the bok choy to steam instead of stir-fry.
Variations
- Soy Sauce - Instead of salt, use soy sauce for extra umami.
- However, it is more traditional to use salt in this stir fry so you have a white colored sauce rather than an brown tinged one.
- Spicy - Add a couple of dried red chiles or chopped fresh chilis with the garlic at the beginning of the stir fry for some extra heat.
Equipment
Use a large pot that can hold at least 3 qt of food. (I used a 12 inch flat bottomed wok.)
Storage
This dish is meant to be eaten right away, but you can store in the fridge up to 3 days. After that, the flavor deteriorates.
Top Tip
If you don't want to spin dry your greens after washing, that's understandable.
You'll just need to thicken the liquid at the bottom of the pot with 1-2 teaspoons of cornstarch mixed with an equal amount of water.
Add this to pan at the end of cooking to turn the liquid in the bottom of the pan into a thickened sauce.
Related Side Dishes
The more the merrier when it comes to side dishes. Check out these Asian inspired ones:
Fish Pairings
A side of stir fried bok choy would pair very nicely with these seafood dishes:
Easy Chinese Bok Choy Stir Fry (with a secret touch)
Ingredients
- 1 lb bok choy, baby or regular this is about 3 qt of loosely packed baby bok choy leaves or 2 qt chopped bok choy
- 1 Tb oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic this is about 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt or ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon chicken or vegetable bouillon concentrate, dissolved in 2 Tb hot water such as Better than Bouillion
Instructions
- Cut off the root end of the baby bok choy. Some of the outer leaves should separate.The inside core should be cut in half or further separated into individual leaves until you have about a 1" thick core. This will ensure even cooking. If using regular bok choy, trim off the root end and cut into 2-3" sections.
- Wash the bok choy and spin dry in a salad spinner. See Note 1, if you do not want to spin dry.
- Put the garlic and oil in a pan over medium heat. (Starting with a cold pan keeps the garlic from burning.) When the garlic starts to sizzle, give it a stir, and add the remaining ingredients (salt, sugar, and dissolved bouillon).
- Increase the heat to medium high, and toss the bok choy to distribute all the ingredients.
- Cover the pan for 2-3 minutes to help the bok choy heat up more quickly. (If you don't have a cover, it will just take a little longer).
- When the pan starts to steam, uncover and continue cooking while stirring for 2-4 minutes until the bok choy is tender. The skin should turn translucent but still holds some shape.
Notes
- If you don't want to spin dry the bok choy, thicken the excess liquid in the pan after the bok choy is cooked with a slurry of 1-2 teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with an equal amount of water.
- Stir in 2 teaspoon of the slurry to start, while the pan is still on medium to medium high heat. It should thicken right away.
- Add more of the slurry if more thickening is needed. Too much cornstarch slurry results in a very gloppy sauce rather than a slightly thickened, shiny one.
- Spin dry the bok choy, if you don't want it to be so watery and have more a wok seared flavor.
- Try this recipe with any number of Asian greens: yu choy, gailan (Chinese broccoli), napa cabbage, or pea shoots. It also works well with kale, swiss chard, broccoli, and green cabbage.
- Cook the bok choy to your desired doneness. For me this is crisp tender, where the bok choy still has some soft crunch when I bite in. Others prefer it completely soft and tender, as I've seen it traditionally served in China.
Nutrition
Fortune Cookie 🥠
I got my own back.
Maya Angelou
karen tracey says
this was lovely i added edamme peas and stirred in beansprouts and noodles, very good
Deanna @ Agile Test Kitchen says
So great to hear Karen! Thank you so much for your kind comment and feedback. Have a beautiful day!