Shanghai bok choy is preferably for this recipe, but it can be made with any variety of bok choy. The best texture and flavour, the bok choy should be quickly blanched in water with a little salt, baking soda, and ginger first. I omitted this step, but if you want to get the absolute best out of your bok choy, it's probably worth doing it. For 1kg of bok choy, you'll need ~1.5L of water, 2 tsp. of salt, 3/4 tsp. of baking soda, and ~3cm piece of ginger. Bring the water to a boil, add the bok choy, and, as soon as the water returns to the boil, drain it.

Stir-Fried Bok Choy

Slightly adapted from Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

Ingredients

Sauce

• 1/2 c. vegetable stock
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce¹
• 2 tsp. Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp. rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/8 tsp. white peppercorns, ground

Bok Choy

• 1kg bok choy (preferably Shanghai bok choy)
• 3 Tbsp. onion oil²

Directions

1. Combine all sauce ingredients and set aside.
2. Quarter bok choy heads and rinse very thoroughly.
3. Blanch the bok choy if desired.
4. Heat wok over high heat.
5. Add oil and heat for 30 seconds or so.
6. Add bok choy and stir-fry for 4 minutes.
7. Pour in sauce and cook for another 3-4 minutes. (The sauce should thicken somewhat during this time.)

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¹ To make this dish vegetarian, simply use vegetarian oyster sauce. For a vegan version, double-check to make sure your sugar is vegan or substitute 3/4 tsp. agave syrup instead. ^Back
2 We didn't have any onion oil on hand, but we did have both scallion oil and garlic oil. I used a mix of both for this. I think they all make a good match for the bok choy. Pick your favourite! ^Back