Stir Fried Bok Choy (蒜蓉炒白菜)

Learn one of my dad's go-to vegetable recipes that's easy, quick, and healthy!

flodesk gif
Prep Time
5 min
Total Time
20 min
Yields
4 servings
YouTube Tutorial

A Recipe by Daddy Lau

My dad's been cooking Chinese food for over 50 years - as a kid fending for himself in Guangzhou, as the head chef of his own restaurant, and as a loving father in our home.

Hopefully, by learning this recipe, you'll get to experience some of the delicious joy we felt growing up eating his food!

- Randy

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, for which we also have a recipe for!

"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.

Check out a quick story summary of our recipe!

Ingredients

Weight: US
oz
g
Volume: US
cup
mL
Servings
4

Stir Fried Bok Choy

  • 1 lb baby bok choy (

    larger bok choy works too

    )
  • 2 clove garlic
  • 2 tbsp corn oil
  • 0.50 tsp salt
  • 0.50 tsp sugar
  • 0.50 tsp chicken bouillon (

    optional

    )

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.

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!

Step 1: 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.

Step 2: 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.

Step 3: 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.

Step 4: 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.

Step 5: 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.

Summary

Print Recipe
Made With Lau
madewithlau.com/recipes/stir-fried-bok-choy
Stir Fried Bok Choy (蒜蓉炒白菜)
Learn one of my dad's go-to vegetable recipes that's easy, quick, and healthy!
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Total Time: 20 min
  • Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients

Stir Fried Bok Choy

  • 1 lb baby bok choy (

    larger bok choy works too

    )
  • 2 clove garlic
  • 2 tbsp corn oil
  • 0.50 tsp salt
  • 0.50 tsp sugar
  • 0.50 tsp chicken bouillon (

    optional

    )

Step 1 - Wash bok choy

↑ Jump to details

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.

Step 2 - Dry and trim bok choy

↑ Jump to details

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.

Step 3 - Mince garlic, heat wok & oil

↑ Jump to details

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.

Step 4 - Cook garlic, bok choy

↑ Jump to details

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.

Step 5 - Add flavors & plate!

↑ Jump to details

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.

Step 6 - Take pictures
Whip out your camera (1). Begin taking photos (1,000,000). Pick your favorites!
Step 7 - Share and tag us on Instagram @madewithlau #madewithlau!
Did you have fun making this recipe? We'd love to see & hear about it. (Especially my dad. He would be THRILLED!)

Enjoy!

My sister and I have many, many happy memories of enjoying this dish growing up.

Now, hopefully, you can create your own memories with this dish with your loved ones.

Also, I cordially invite you to eat with us and learn more about the dish, Chinese culture, and my family.

Cheers, and thanks for cooking with us!

Feel free to comment below if you have any questions about the recipe.