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Stir-fried bok choy with garlic

Name: Stir-fried bok choy with garlic
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 700 g fresh bok choy of any kind; discard yellowing leaves and bruised stems; 3 tbsp neutral oil with a high smoke point (peanut, vegetable, canola); 1 piece slice of ginger; 4 clove large garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 0.5 tsp salt (½–¾ tsp; the higher amount if not using MSG); 0.125 tsp ground white pepper; 0.5 tsp sesame oil (optional); 0.125 tsp MSG (optional, ⅛–¼ tsp); 1.5 tsp cornflour, mixed with 2 tbsp water

Bok choy washed free of grit, stir-fried over a fierce heat in oil scented with ginger and garlic, seasoned with salt and white pepper and glazed with a little cornflour slurry. A Chinese home-style vegetable side from The Woks of Life.

Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.

Servings: 4
Preparation: 25 min
Cooking: 5 min
Total: 30 min
Difficulty: Easy

Equipment

Wok or large frying pan
Large bowl for washing; colander
Wok spatula

Servings4

Ingredients

700 gfresh bok choy of any kind; discard yellowing leaves and bruised stems1½–1¾ lb in the source.
3 tbspneutral oil with a high smoke point (peanut, vegetable, canola)
1 slice of ginger
4 cloveslarge garlic cloves, roughly chopped
½ tspsalt (½–¾ tsp; the higher amount if not using MSG)
⅛ tspground white pepper
½ tspsesame oil (optional)
⅛ tspMSG (optional, ⅛–¼ tsp)
1½ tspcornflour, mixed with 2 tbsp water

Shopping list

Method

Halve small bok choy lengthwise (quarter any large pieces). Separate medium or large heads into stems, trim the base and cut very large ones on the bias into 2.5 cm pieces.
Put the bok choy in a large bowl of cold water, swish it around and leave it for 5–10 minutes. Lift it into a colander, rinse the sand out of the bowl and repeat, usually twice more, until no grit remains. Shake off the excess water.
Why Sand hides at the base of the stems; lifting the greens out of the water leaves it behind in the bowl.
Heat the wok over a low heat with the oil and ginger. For a strong garlic flavour, add the garlic now and let it sizzle for 10–15 seconds without browning; for a milder, fresher taste add it later, after the salt.
Why Browned garlic turns bitter: add the vegetables while it is still white.
Add the bok choy, turn the heat to high and stir-fry with a scooping motion so the oil and aromatics coat everything.
Add the salt, sesame oil and MSG if using, and the white pepper. Stir-fry for 1–2 minutes more.
Timer · 2 min2:00
Pour the cornflour slurry into the centre and toss until the greens are glistening. Serve at once.
Why The slurry turns the juices into a light glaze that clings to the leaves.

To drink & serve with

Editorial suggestion: beside steamed rice and any Chinese meat or fish dish.

Substitutions

Bok choy → Choy sum, gai lan or other Chinese greens; thick stems may need a splash of water and a lid for a minute.
MSG → Leave it out and use the higher amount of salt, as the source suggests.

Common mistakes

Skipping the washing: gritty greens ruin the dish.
Wet greens in the wok: the oil spits and the vegetables steam.
Burning the garlic: it turns bitter.

Storage & reheating

Eat straight away; stir-fried greens go limp and watery when kept.

Safety

Contains sesame only if the optional sesame oil is used. Hot oil: dry the greens well to limit spitting.

Allergens

Sesame

Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

Dietary

vegan

An everyday green

The Leung family of The Woks of Life (parents Bill and Judy, daughters Sarah and Kaitlin) call their basic bok choy stir-fry a staple of their house, made with any variety of bok choy and served with everything. Even within the family tastes differ: the parents like a little sesame oil, the daughters do not.

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Clean, dry, hot and fast

Most of the work is washing: two or three soaks in cold water, lifting the greens out each time so the sand stays behind. The cooking takes only a few minutes. Ginger and garlic go into oil on a low heat so that the garlic perfumes the oil without browning; then the greens go in, the heat goes to high and a spoonful of cornflour slurry at the end makes them shine.

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How it connects

Wine region

origin China