Tonight I decided to venture into unknown food territory by trying something new…Cooking with bok choy.
Now I know what you’re thinking…how can you have cooked for this long and never cooked a meal with bok choy?
Well, I’ve eaten it before in Chinese dishes, but to be honest with you…I’m not a big fan of cooking the type of Chinese food my family would eat. You know the Chinese food I’m talking about…egg rolls, Chow mein, chop suey…all either found in the freezer or on the shelf in a can at the local grocery store. I’ve spent a day making egg rolls once…that’s right folks…once! You don’t do all that work for a handful of egg rolls…
I remember years ago I tried to cook a Chinese dish which had peanut butter in it…looking back on it now I believe I condensed it down too much, which resulted in a huge goopy mess, overpowered by peanut butter! Let’s just say I didn’t always hit a home run…lol
Living here in Northern New Brunswick, I haven’t had many opportunities to indulge in real authentic Chinese cuisine and while I’m not dissing my local Chinese restaurants…they’re like a million miles from authentic real Chinese cuisine…you know, the kind you’d get from a local street vendor on a busy crowded Chinese street! (Foodie Bucket list).
The usual Chinese food that most of us chow down on…like deep fried egg rolls, noodles or fried rice, doesn’t really fit into the Paleo lifestyle.
Now, before you start sending me hate mail or clicking that back button…don’t get me wrong…I usually make a stir fry at least twice a week. I absolutely love STIR FRY’S…Slice up some veggies and heat up your wok, add a bit of protein and you’ve got yourself an incredibly healthy Paleo friendly meal that’s on the table in less then 15 minutes…(depending on how fast you cut veggies).
So for the first time cooking with bok choy that’s exactly the direction I choose to go…
Let’s get to how I put it together and what you’ll need.
What I used:
- 1 – 1 1/2 lbs chicken, cut into 1/2 diameter chunks
- 8 heads baby bok choy, cut into thirds from the bottom up
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 1 small piece fresh ginger, minced
- 2 – 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 – 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 -3 tbsp chicken stock
- 2 – 3 tbsp Sweet Chili Sauce
- 2 mushrooms (finely sliced)
- 3/4 red pepper (julienne)
- 1 large carrot (julienne)
- 2 green onions ( sliced)
- toasted sesame seed (optional)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
How I put it together:
- Remove chicken from fridge and allow to rest to room temp. (Usually about 30 minutes.)
- Season the chicken with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Cut chicken into cubes.
- Warm the olive oil in a large wok placed over high heat.
- Add the ginger, garlic, carrot, red pepper & mushrooms.
- Stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute to 1 1/2 minutes constantly mixing with tongs.
- Remove from wok and set aside
- Add a splash more of the olive oil to the wok and then add the cubed chicken cooking it for 3 to 4 minutes.
- While cooking the chicken you’ll begin adding the stock a little bit at a time. You’re not looking to boil your chicken, you’re just trying to avoid it burning and sticking to the bottom of your wok. It will cook off quickly so a little at a time, just to keep the chicken moving in the wok.
- In the last minute or so you’re going to add about half of the Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce and let it condense down still stirring.
- Once you reach an almost syrup like texture, you’ll then transfer the chicken to a bowl, making sure to use a silicone spatula and scrape as much, if not all the syrupy goodness with it. It should be pretty condensed down so leaving it in the wok will result in it further condensing down and possibly burning.
- Next add the remaining olive oil and start with the base pieces of the bok choy adding the centers after about 30 seconds and then the top leafy parts of the bok choy 30 seconds or so after that.
- You’re then going to add the green onions and your remaining Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce and give it a big stir using your tongs before you throw everything back into the wok.
- Continue to cook for an additional 2 minutes or so stirring constantly with your tongs. (You’re not really trying to cooking anything at this point…you’re main goal here is to be constantly mixing to incorporate all the flavors together and condense any remaining liquid down.)
- Remove from wok and garnish with toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Essential Kitchen Tools
- sharp kitchen knife
- scale
- cutting board(s)
- wok
- tongs
- silicone spatula
- bowl(s)
- peeler