I’m excited to share one of my all-time favorite bok choy recipes with you. This dish is crisp, fresh, and absolutely bursting with flavor, and it’s one of my go-to side dishes.

With just a handful of simple ingredients, this easy bok choy recipe brings a taste of Asian cuisine right to your kitchen. With a mouth-watering garlic and ginger coating – it’s like something straight out of a Chinese restaurant, yet so easy to whip up. Ready in just 10 minutes, this quick stir-fry pairs perfectly with any main dish. Trust me, after cooking bok choy this way, you’ll be adding it to your list of favorite ways to enjoy greens. So, without further ado, let’s dive into today’s recipe.

Bok Choy Recipe

Why This Bok Choy Recipe Is So Good

  • Perfectly Stir-Fried Texture: This recipe nails the art of perfectly stir-frying bok choy. The leaves come out tender yet crisp, showcasing the beauty of this simple cooking method. It’s an easy way to enjoy new vegetables while ensuring they are cooked just right.
  • Garlic Flavor without the Burn: We’ve all had that experience of biting into something and getting an overwhelming taste of burnt garlic. Not with this recipe! You get that amazing garlic flavor, robust and aromatic, without any hint of bitterness.
  • Ideal Vegetarian Side Dish: Looking for a simple side dish that’s vegetarian and packed with flavor? This stir-fried bok choy recipe is your answer. It’s a great way to diversify your meals, especially if you’re on a medically restrictive diet.
  • Versatile Pairing: Whether your main course is fish, beef, or pork, this bok choy dish complements it beautifully. The subtle Asian flavors don’t overpower but enhance the flavor profile of your main dish, making it the perfect side dish.
  • Accessibility and Ease: You don’t need to hunt through specialty stores for these ingredients; everything can be found at your local grocery store. It’s a delicious recipe that demonstrates a great idea doesn’t have to be complicated.
  • Great for Any Meal: Whether you’re serving a sophisticated main course or just looking for a quick and tasty accompaniment, this bok choy dish fits the bill. It’s a great way to add a touch of Asian flair to your meal without spending hours in the kitchen.

Bok Choy, Baby Bok Choy, or Tat Choi?

Bok choy (or “pak choi”) and baby bok choy are both popular vegetables in Asian cuisine and are easily found in most grocery stores, but they have some differences:

Size: The most obvious difference is the size. Baby bok choy is smaller than regular bok choy. It’s usually harvested when it’s about 6 inches long. Large bok choy is simply a more mature bok choy.

Texture and Flavor: Baby bok choy tends to have a more tender texture and a milder, sweeter flavor compared to its mature counterpart. This makes it ideal for quick cooking methods like sautéing or steaming.

Cooking Time: Due to its smaller size and tender leaves, baby bok choy cooks faster than regular bok choy. This makes it a convenient choice for quick meals.

Appearance: Baby bok choy often has a more compact shape, with leaves tightly clustered around a small, bulbous stem. Regular bok choy has larger, more spread out leaves and a thicker, more prominent stem.

Usage in Recipes: Both can be used interchangeably in recipes, but due to the differences in texture and cooking time, you might need to adjust the cooking process slightly. Baby bok choy is often preferred for delicate dishes or where a quicker cooking time is desired.
Tat Choi: Also known as Tatsoi, Tat Choi is actually from the family of brussels sprouts and mustard greens but looks very similar to baby bok choy while the leaves resemble brussels sprouts leaves. It’s mild in flavor, lightly sweet, with buttery leaves.

Ingredients

  • Bok choy
  • Cooking oil (canola oil or olive oil work perfectly)
  • Garlic
  • Ginger
  • Water or broth
  • Soy sauce or salt
  • Sesame oil

How To Make This Bok Choy Recipe – Step By Step 

Start by trimming the bok choy stem off – don’t trim too much – just the end. Cutting the thick stem off will ensure that the bok choy cooks evenly. Separate out the bok choy leaves and rinse under running water.

Bok Choy Recipe - Trim stem off

 Trimmed stem off

But leave the tender baby that’s in the middle of each bok choy! That’s the golden nugget!

 Tender baby bok choy

Finely mince garlic and grate fresh ginger with a microplane grater. Grating the ginger helps break up the tough fibers! (and yeah, sometimes when the ginger is nice and fresh, I don’t even bother peeling off the paper-thin skin)

Bok Choy Recipe - grate ginger

Place a large wok or frying pan on your stove and pour in the cooking oil. Add the fresh garlic and ginger. Turn to medium-high heat. Let the ginger and garlic gently sizzle in the oil. When the aromatics become fragrant and light golden brown, add the bok choy leaves. Toss to coat each leaf with the garlicky, gingery oil.

 Add garlic and ginger to cold oil and wok

Bok Choy Recipe - Add leaves into wok

I really mean it! Toss, baby, toss! Stir! Faster! You only have like 15 seconds of tossing time! I am a super wok-stirring queen!

Tossing greens

Bok Choy Recipe - Toss

Pour in liquid (you can use broth, water or a combination of broth/water + Chinese cooking wine) Immediately cover and let cook for 1 minute. The liquid will now steam the bok choy. After steaming, season with soy sauce or salt and drizzle a bit of sesame oil on top to finish.

Bok Choy Recipe - Pour in broth, water or wine

Bok Choy Recipe - Let cook for 1 minute

Can I Use My Other Favorite Vegetables? 

Yes! It works for any type of vegetable, like Napa cabbage or broccoli. For thicker vegetables (like broccoli), increase the steaming time by another minute and maybe add a bit more liquid.

Why Do I Use Tongs to Cook Bok Choy?

Why tongs instead of a standard wok chan (spatula)? Because it’s easier to use the tongs to toss, flip and turn when dealing with delicate vegetables.

This recipe includes a stir-frying trick to cook bok choy perfectly, with amazing garlic flavor (without burning the garlic in the wok).

The Secret To This Bok Choy Stir-Fry

The problem with using a very hot wok or frying pan to stir fry with minced garlic and ginger is that you’ll probably burn it. Burnt garlic and ginger is bitter and astringent. Bitter can be good sometimes – I LOVE bitter. But when you’re going for a more delicate flavor, especially in a bok choy dish, you might not want bitter.

When I’m stir-frying vegetables, like in this bok choy recipe, I add the minced garlic and ginger to COLD oil and COLD wok or pan. As the wok and oil heat up, the ginger and garlic gently sizzles. The longer the aromatics stay in contact with the oil (without burning), the more extra flavor gets infused into the oil. So, now you’ve got a tablespoon of that an incredible garlicky, gingery oil. Toss the bok choy leaves in that oil, so that each leaf of the bok choy is bathed in heavenly flavor.

Top Tips For This Bok Choy Recipe

  • You can use bok choy or baby bok choy
  • Trimming the stem off – don’t trim too much – just the end. Cutting the thick stem off will ensure that the bok choy cooks evenly.
  • If you don’t have a wok you can use a wide bottomed pan.
  • Have your ingredients ready before firing up the wok, as things move fast!
  • Add aromatics to the a cold wok, this helps get the flavor out without burning the ingredients.
  • Top with sesame seeds when it’s done, if that’s your vibe.

Bok Choy

More Chinese recipes to explore

Have you tried this Bok Choy recipe? Feel free to leave a star rating and I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

bok choy on plate

Bok Choy Recipe

Jaden Hair
4.86 from 61 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 4 people
Calories 91 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 pounds bok choy or baby bok choy
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil canola, vegetable or peanut oil
  • 2 cloves garlic finely minced
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
  • 3 tablespoons water or any liquid combination of broth, water, cooking wine
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce or salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Instructions
 

  • Start by trimming the stem off - don't trim too much - just the end. Cutting the thick stem off will ensure that the bok choy cooks evenly. Separate out the leaves, keep the tender center intact. Wash and clean bok choy.  
  • Finely mince garlic. Grate fresh ginger with a microplane grater. Grating the ginger helps break up the tough fibers.
  • Place wok or saute pan on your stove and pour in the cooking oil. Add the garlic and ginger. Turn the heat to medium-high. Let the ginger and garlic gently sizzle in the oil. When the aromatics become fragrant and light golden brown, add the bok choy leaves. Toss very well to coat each leaf with the garlicky, gingery oil for 15 seconds. Pour in broth, water or wine. Immediately cover and let cook for 1 minute. Season with soy sauce and drizzle a bit of sesame oil on top.

Nutrition

Calories: 91kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 2gFat: 7gSodium: 195mgPotassium: 428mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 7600IUVitamin C: 77mgCalcium: 181mgIron: 1.4mg
Keyword bok choy, garlic bok choy, pak choy
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!