Bok Choy in Garlic Sauce
Trying to find more vegetarian recipes to integrate into your diet? It can be a struggle to find these kinds of dishes, but luckily, you’ve looked in the right place! Here is another healthy vegetarian recipe dedicated to our vegan readers, Bok Choy in Garlic sauce. What I have here for you is both simple…
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Trying to find more vegetarian recipes to integrate into your diet? It can be a struggle to find these kinds of dishes, but luckily, you’ve looked in the right place! Here is another healthy vegetarian recipe dedicated to our vegan readers, Bok Choy in Garlic sauce. What I have here for you is both simple to make, and rich in flavor. Let’s look at how to cook our bok choy with the most savory, delicious garlic sauce!
Why Bok Choy?
This leafy green has gotten really famous, especially among those trying to ease their way into vegan or vegetarian diets. So what’s all the hype about? Bok Choy is great because it can resemble other types of cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage and kale, while possessing a unique flavor and texture of its own.
It is satisfyingly tender, but can also become crisp when you cook them the right way. Ever heard of Bok Choy Chips? And you also can’t dismiss the fact that it packs a ton of vitamins and minerals. It is rich in vitamins c and K, plus it has fiber, which is really helpful for maintaining your digestive health.
This may be the star of the show in our dish, but Bok Choy only gets as good as it does because of a couple of other forces at work. Let me give you a rundown of our delicious ingredients!
This Bok Choy in Garlic Sauce Recipe is so simple and it won’t take a lot of your time. I enjoy eating this with steamed rice. Sometimes, I eat this as a side dish for Roasted Chicken. Yum yum!
The makings of a Bok Choy in Garlic Sauce dish
Bok Choy
And last, but most definitely not the least, we will need 1 pound of Bok Choy to complete the recipe. Make sure to separate the stalks from the leaves as we will cook up the stalks first for the dish. You already know a good deal about the star ingredient, but here are a few pointers on picking this vegetable once you come across it in the market. Let’s start with the basics— simply make sure you get one without any holes or damage.
Also try to spot any signs of yellowing, as well as wilted leaves. It is best not to go for these so you get the fresh kinds of Bok Choy. You should also pay attention to the color of this, and opt for the brighter, more vibrant ones. Also try to find Bok Choy that is firm. And for this dish particularly, it would be best to pick out ones with longer stems.
Fresh ginger root
Somewhat spicy, yet also somewhat citrusy, a bit of fresh ginger root is the perfect way to integrate some more subtle flavors to our leafy dish. To prepare this, you will just need to grate your fresh ginger root, and set aside 1 teaspoon of this for the recipe.
Looking for the best fresh ginger root in the market should be easy enough as all you need to do is take a good look at its texture. Try to stay away from those with thicker skin, and instead opt for those with skin that isn’t wrinkled, and is firm.
Garlic
Garlic is yet another essential component that provides a great deal of saltiness and flavor, even if we only use up a small amount. For your prep, all you will need to do is mince 2 cloves of this vegetable. Now when it comes to storage, remember to keep this ingredient dry and at room temperature. This means refrigerating should not be an option.
More moisture can put the garlic at risk of getting mold. You should also try to use your garlic within 10 days of purchasing it so you can make the most of its quality.
Brown sugar
I definitely love sprinkling in some brown sugar to balance out a dish with salty ingredients. This provides a beautiful contrast to the flavor of our meal. But when it comes to working with this component, remember that it is best to keep this in an airtight container. This is because brown sugar tends to harden when it loses moisture. Once you have got this stored the right way, just take out 1 tablespoon of brown sugar for our dish.
Vegan alternative for Oyster Sauce: Teriyaki Sauce or Mushroom Sauce
So far, our Bok Choy in Garlic Sauce truly works perfectly as a vegetarian dish. But of course, because oyster sauce has some animal by-product, this recipe does not fit with the vegan diet. But for vegans tuning in to Panlasang Pinoy, don’t worry because I have a fitting substitute for you.
Instead of using oyster sauce, you can switch things up by getting yourself some delicious teriyaki sauce. This is sticky and semi-sweet, which makes it a lot similar to the taste of oyster sauce. It does, however, have a bit more sweetness so you can incorporate less into the dish should you want to keep things on the saltier side.
Another great alternative would be mushroom sauce. These also have a nice umami flavor, but the taste does not match the oyster sauce as well as our previous substitute does. However, this can be more convenient as a homemade version of this can be easily done.
Sauces and other ingredients
Soy sauce
There’s a reason why so many savory dishes have even just a splash of soy sauce. This distinctively savory seasoning really complements a nice range of flavors. You will only need to prepare 1 tablespoon of soy sauce for our dish.
As for storage, a lot of people often ask about whether or not they need to keep this handy condiment in the fridge. Well, that’s actually up to you. You can actually expect the regular bottle of soy sauce to stay good for eating for years even if you store it at room temperature. However, refrigerating it is said to maintain the flavor of this ingredient better.
Oyster sauce
A great variety of foods work perfectly with oyster sauce. Drizzling it over the likes of meat or spring rolls can enhance the flavor of your dish. But I also definitely love it with vegetables, such as Bok Choy. Velvety oyster sauce can make a vegetable dish all the more satisfying and rich. You will only need 1 tablespoon of this for our recipe, but that is because we will be mixing it up with a couple of other seasonings that will give life to the ingredients.
Water
I mean, a little bit of water goes a long way in most dishes, right? You can just prepare ¼ cup for this dish so we can manage the consistency of the sauce well. This helps us mix everything together, while making sure that the sauce does not get too sticky because we are working with some ingredients that can make it goopy.
Vegetable oil
One of the simplest ways we have made our recipe a lot healthier is by switching up our regular cooking oil with some trusty vegetable oil. This is known to have high monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat content. As such, you can expect health benefits like preventing the risk of heart disease. Our recipe, in particular, only calls for 1 tablespoon of this component. But this is a fitting substitute for any neutral oil so you can definitely use it for several other recipes.
Sesame oil
There are certain Asian dishes that hold a distinctly nutty, savory taste that can only come from one special ingredient. And that’s sesame oil. I definitely love the subtle flavor that this adds to any dish to make it taste more sophisticated and refreshing. You will also need 1 tablespoon for this dish. But it would also be ideal to add more sesame oil to the rest of your meals as research shows it could aid in regulating your blood sugar levels. Plus, it has anti-inflammatory properties, which is helpful in lessening the risk of many illnesses.
Now, your cart of ingredients is complete! Without further ado, let’s get to creating this deliciously healthy dish.
How to cook Bok Choy in Garlic Sauce
Mixing the sauce components
Are you excited to dig into that rich, savory garlic sauce? I know I am! You can kick things off by pouring your soy sauce, water and oyster sauce in a bowl. Also add your garlic, ginger and sugar. And then just mix that thoroughly. We will be using that later, but for now, we will get to cooking up our leafy greens.
Stir-frying the Bok Choy
First of all, you need to grab your frying pan or wok, and then apply some heat. Once this is hot, you can place the cooking oil inside. Then integrate your refreshing, bright Bok Choy stalks. We will stir-fry this well for approximately 2 minutes. Once the time is up, you can also put your Bok Choy leaves inside. We will need about 2 to 4 minutes to stir-fry this.
Once that is done, you can turn the heat off. Then just place your stir-fried Bok Choy on your serving plate.
Cooking the sauce
Of course, we will also need to cook up our sauce ingredients. Go ahead, and use the same frying pan or wok you used earlier for this. Just take your sauce mixture from earlier, and put this in the pan or wok. Then apply some heat again, and cook this up until your sauce becomes as satisfyingly thick as you would like it to be. That should take about 2 minutes.
Assembling all parts of the dish
We’re down to the last step! Just turn the heat off, and proceed to pour your sauce on top of the Bok Choy from earlier. Now you’ve got yourself a delicious Bok Choy in Garlic Sauce dish that is perfect for two. I would definitely suggest eating this while it’s hot and fresh off the pan.
Wasn’t that simple? But if you have any queries about the cooking process, don’t hesitate to comment below. Feel free to give any suggestions as well!
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag us on Instagram at @panlasangpinoy or hashtag #panlasangpinoy so we can see your creations!
Bok Choy in Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
Instructions
- Combine soy sauce, water, garlic, ginger, oyster sauce, sugar and mix well. Set aside.1 teaspoon ginger, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Heat a wok or frying pan then put-in the cooking oil.1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- When the cooking oil is hot enough, pour-in the sesame oil.1 tablespoon sesame oil
- Stir fry the bok choy. Put the stalks first and stir fry for about 2 minutes then add the leaves and stir fry for 2 to 4 minutes.1 lb bok choy
- Turn off the heat and transfer the cooked bok choy in a serving plate.
- Heat the same wok or frying pan then pour-in the sauce mixture. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
- Turn off heat then top the sauce over the Bok Choy.
- Serve. Share and enjoy!
Video
Billy says
Picture pa lang ulam na! Can’t really think straight in a full stomach. You guys are heavent sent to us kitchen challenged people.
Vanjo Merano says
Good to know that. Thanks
John says
Followed the directions exactly -- actually noticed slight differences in the video versus the text -- but no big deal. “one pound” of bok choy confused me.. I don’t know it’s weight and I don’t have a scale -- maybe using cups would be easier unit for most?
Turned out great -- first time I’ve cooked bok choy and it was easy and good.
Aye says
So delicious! thanks for the recipe.
vanessa says
grbe this is so yummy! Ive been looking for this recipe for a long time. I used steamed brocolli instead of the bok choy and it tasted like the ones I always order in Chinese restaurants! thanks so much!
lito r garcia says
anu yun bok choy? available kaya dito sa pinas yun? second time ko na kasi nadinig yan bok choy yun una ay sa ibang bloggers then ngayun ulit. san kaya iyun mabibili? divisoria?
Vanjo Merano says
Lito, pechay ang katumbas nyan sa atin. Dito kasi bihira ang pechay na kagaya sa pinas kaya bok choy ang substitute.