Bok Choy with Ginger and Garlic

This is a simple one that has found its way into the regular rotation. You can probably do this with any number of greens. I like to use baby bok choy. If you have the grown up version, you can prepare it the same exact way.

Ingredients:

• 4 or 5 bunches of baby bok choy (I like the curly kind)
• 2 TBSP minced ginger
• 2 TBSP minced garlic
• 1 TBSP red pepper flakes
• 1 TBSP soy sauce
• 1 TBSP chicken stock
• 2 TBSP peanut oil or similar
• 2 TBSP sesame oil

Directions:

To prepare the baby bok choy, cut the stem off, then peel the individual leaves into a large metal bowl. When you get to the center section, you can leave it whole but will probably need to trim the end again. When all are peeled, fill the bowl with cold water, plunge several times, the remove to another bowl or colander. Drain the water, rinse the bowl very well (bok choy is sandy) and repeat until there is absolutely no speck of sand at the bottom of the bowl. Three times usually does it. Drain it very well or spin it dry in a salad spinner.

Add the peanut oil to a large skillet and place heat on high. Don’t let it get too hot before adding the ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for about a minute, stirring or shaking the pan frequently, until the garlic just has some color on it.

Add the bok choy and stir it around so it more or less all gets coated with hot oil. Add the soy and chicken stock and cover. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, until it is basically done (taste one of the larger pieces near the bottom of the stem – it should be very tender with a little bit of crunch and should release delicious liquid into your mouth when you bite), then uncover and return the heat to high for about another minute to burn off the excess liquid. If your bok choy was basically dry when you added it and you haven’t added too much other liquid, this shouldn’t be too wet. You want the dish to be juicy but not dripping. Otherwise the garlic and ginger will just run off when you serve it. Sometimes when there is too much liquid at the bottom of the pan I remove the bok choy and boil down the liquid till it is almost a sec, then add the bok choy back in and stir well.

As a final step, dress the bok choy by tossing it with the sesame oil. Serve without delay.