What is bok choy or bok choi or 白菜? It means white vegetable in cantonese. Cantonese is a dialect in China and spoken mostly by people from Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Also known as chinese white cabbage, pak choy (another transliteration of the cantonese), bai cai (mandarin) and chinese chard.
It belongs to a very large vegetable species known as Brassica Rapa. There are 2 main sub-species.
The first group, which is represented by the napa cabbage, have very broad and big milky white stems fringed with a bit of green crinkly leaves.
The other group is represented by yours truly with its crispy succulent stems and mild tasting green leaves.
A typical chinese white cabbage has milky white stems with dark green leaves. It may also spot small yellow flowers. That is known as flowering bok choy (Not to be mistaken with the flowering choy sum. They are different varieties).
As mentioned, the Brassica Rapa family is very big and as time passed, more varieties have sprung up because of cross breeding. One of the most popular variety is the baby bok choy (小白菜) with its miniature stature and green stems.
It is more commonly known as 小白菜 (xiao bai cai ) in Singapore and other Mandarin speaking regions.There is also the shanghai version known as 上海青 (shang hai qing) in mandarin. It is a bigger version.
How to prepare
Since young, I was taught to use my hands to separate the stems into individual pieces as well as to separate the leaves from the stems. The stems need a longer cooking time.
The baby can be cooked whole but make sure to wash thoroughly between leaves and stems. Alternatively, separate into individual stems before cooking. They are great for Chinese quick soups.
As for the larger varieties, pull the leaves off or trim the thick central stem close to the base to separate individual stems. Separate the stems from the leaves.
Cut stems into smaller pieces and halved the bigger leaves before cooking. Cook the stems first before adding the leaves as the leaves cook faster.
Bok Choy Recipes
The fastest and easiest way to cook with this chinese vegetable is to quick fry it with some chopped garlic and some light seasoning such as soy sauce or oyster sauce. However, they are great in soups. Throw them into your soup at the last minute for a quick boil and they are done.
I have compiled a few soup recipes you can try.
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