The Stir Fried Bok Choy My Dad's Made 100,000 Times
Why this recipe
Most stir fried bok choy recipes online are tested only a handful of times. My dad used to make this dish multiple times a day, every day, for 60+ years and can make this in his sleep.
I know you'll love it as much as our community does! This recipe has over 797.3K views, 16.2K likes on YouTube.
This is a super simple recipe that my parents make multiple times a week.
I basically grew up on stir-fried bok choy, as well as bok choy soup, which we also have a recipe for!
These two recipes are perfect complements to each other, since the older, outer leaves are perfect for the soup and the tender, inner layers are more suited for the stir-fry.
"White Vegetable"
Just like the words “cafe” and “chocolate”, bok choy is a loan word from Cantonese “baahk choi”, which literally means “white vegetable.”
Bok choy is one of the many different types of Chinese cabbage, cultivated for over 2000 years for its resistance to cold weather.
Pairs well with
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Ingredients
On Bok Choy
My parents generally prefer baby bok choy, but this also works with the larger variety and Shanghai bok choy.
Finding Asian Ingredients
Some of these ingredients are hard to find in a typical grocery store.
I've also included some other Chinese kitchen essentials, used in many of my dad's recipes.
- Kadoya Sesame Oil - https://amzn.to/3c7EOTu
- Pearl River Bridge Superior Light Soy Sauce
- Pearl River Bridge Superior Dark Soy Sauce
- Michiu Rice Cooking Wine
- Lao Gan Ma Chili Oil
- Koon Chun Hoisin Sauce
- Shaoxing Cooking Wine
- Bullhead Shacha (BBQ Sauce)
- Dried Orange Peels
- Koon Chun Ground Bean Sauce
- Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (soak for 15-20 minutes in warm water before slicing)
- Dried Wood Ear Fungus (a few options, depending on what's in stock):
These links are affiliate links, which means that if you use our links to purchase these ingredients, Amazon pays my family a small amount for the sale - at no extra cost to you. If you use these links, we really appreciate the support!
Instructions
Wash bok choy
We'll need to wash the baby bok choy (1 lb) thoroughly:
- Peel away each individual stem, and toss them into a bowl of large water
- Scrub your fingers along the bottom of each stem closest to the root. Dirt usually accumulates here.
- Rinse under running water.
- If you have time, my parents like to soak the bok choy in water for 30 minutes.
Dry and trim bok choy
Drain the bok choy (1 lb) in a colander, and lay them flat onto a towel. It's important that we dry them before stir-frying.
We'll be trimming the bok choy by cutting the stems in half length-wise.
We can also optionally separate the leaves from the stalk. Sometimes my dad prefers to cook the stalks first, and then the leaves.
Mince garlic, heat wok & oil
Heat the wok on high heat for 2-3 minutes.
While the wok heats up, we'll mince some garlic (2 clove).
Then, add corn oil (2 tbsp) until the oil is shimmering, or forming ripples across the surface.
It's important that the wok and oil get sufficiently hot.
Cook garlic, bok choy
Add the minced garlic, and then the bok choy stalks a few seconds later. Then, add the rest of the bok choy.
We'll be cooking everything for 6-8 minutes. We're looking for the stalks to soften a bit and the leaves to turn a more deep, vibrant green.
Add flavors & plate!
Right before we finish cooking, we'll add our salt (0.50 tsp), sugar (0.50 tsp), and chicken bouillon (0.50 tsp) (optional).
Especially for the salt and chicken bouillon, it's important to add this at the very end before plating, since they'll instantly start causing the bok choy to release moisture.
To stop the bok choy from overcooking, we'll want to transfer them onto a plate immediately.
Made with love ❤️
We started Made With Lau to celebrate Cantonese culture and honor the legacy of our wonderful parents, Jenny and Chung Sun Lau.
Our hope is that these recipes and stories help you spread the joy, love, and nostalgia that I felt growing up.
