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Shanghai Bok Choy Stir Fry with Garlic

Shanghai Bok Choy Stir Fry with Garlic

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If you’re looking for a simple traditional veggie side dish, look no further! This Shanghai Bok Choy Stir Fry with Garlic is easy to make, and a delicious nutritious addition to your meal!

What is Bok Choy?

Bok choy is a type of Chinese vegetable. It is also known as Chinese cabbage, but unlike regular cabbages, they do not form heads and have leafy greens with bulbs at the bottoms.

Some describe the flavor as somewhere between spinach and water chestnuts with a slight hint of sweet and peppery undertone.

One thing to know is that when people say Bok Choy, they usually mean Shanghai Bok Choy, which is one variety of bok choy. There are several varieties of bok choy such as white dwarf bok choy, sweet bok choy, and more!

Shanghai Bok Choy

Usually, this healthy veggie (which is packed with Vitamin A and C) is stir fried in traditional Chinese dishes and makes a great side dish.  Here’s how we make it at my house – making it the perfect amount of doneness, and flavorful!

If you’re looking for more bok choy recipes – check out these:

If you’re interested in learning more about Chinese veggies – here’s a whole article on various Chinese vegetables such as snow peas, celtuce, sweet potato leaves, Chinese broccoli and more!

Dried Shrimp

Often times we make veggie stir fries with dried shrimp (aka 蝦米). Dried shrimps are sun dried shrimps that have been preserved and is used in many Asian cuisines. It adds a umami flavor to the dish. We always have a jar (or 2) of dried shrimp in the house, as there are different types too!

If you’re interested, you can buy them from any Asian supermarkets or on amazon. But to make this dish, it is actually completely optional.

How to cook Shanghai Bok Choy

First gather your ingredients:

  • 4-5 Shanghai Bok Choy bunches
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • Sea salt, as desired
  • 1/4 cup of water
  • Optional, dried shrimp

Cut off the very end of your bok choy with a knife and discard.

Now, bok choys can vary in size, so you may cut the bok choys a little differently depending on the bunches you got. But our goal here is to separate the whites from the leafy green parts for the larger bunches. If they’re small enough, you can even ignore this step. Cut the white pieces about inch length.

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat.  Add the garlic and optionally dried shrimp, and cook for about 30 seconds, and then add the white parts of the bok choy.

Stir fry for a about 1 minute, and then add the leafy greens. Stir fry for about 30 seconds, and then add 1/4 cup of water and cover with a lid for about a minute.

Remove the lid, add desired amount of salt. and stir fry 3-5 minutes.  If you like your bok choy more crispy, stick with less time, and if you like it more tender/soft, I would try cooking it longer.

Remove bok choy from skillet and serve!

Shanghai Bok Choy Stir Fry with Garlic

Shanghai Bok Choy Stir Fry with Garlic

If you’re looking for a simple traditional veggie side dish, look no further! This Shanghai Bok Choy Stir Fry with Garlic is easy to make, and a delicious nutritious addition to your meal!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Total Time 12 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4-5 bunches of bok choy
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • Sea salt, as desired
  • 1/4 cup of water
  • Optional, dried shrimp

Instructions

Cut off the very end of your bok choy with a knife and discard.

Now, bok choys can vary in size, so you may cut the bok choys a little differently depending on the bunches you got. But our goal here is to separate the whites from the leafy green parts for the larger bunches. If they’re small enough, you can even ignore this step. Cut the white pieces about inch length

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat.  Add the garlic and optionally dried shrimp, and cook for about 30 seconds, and then add the white parts of the bok choy

Stir fry for a about 1 minute, and then add the leafy greens. Stir fry for about 30 seconds, and then add 1/4 cup of water and cover with a lid for about a minute.

Remove the lid, add desired amount of salt. and stir fry 3-5 minutes.  If you like your bok choy more crispy, stick with less time, and if you like it more tender/soft, I would try cooking it longer.

Remove bok choy from skillet and serve!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 83Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 413mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 8g

The nutrition information for this recipe is an approximate total per serving. Please double check the nutrition information for your exact ingredients and brands for more precise nutrition information.

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Looking for delicious authentic Chinese side dishes like this Easy Stir Fried Shanghai Bok Choy with Garlic? Check out my Stir Fry Chinese Eggplant in Garlic Sauce here!

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Dee

Saturday 4th of March 2023

Can you use chicken or vegetable broth instead of water for this recipe?

TinaTsai

Saturday 4th of March 2023

Definitely!

Valonka Gill

Monday 25th of May 2020

Just made this and REALLY loved it! Such a simple recipe to follow and the results... Absolutely DELISH!! 😍

Thank you for sharing!

tinatsai

Monday 25th of May 2020

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)

Lareice Williams

Monday 9th of April 2018

Loved it! Thanks!!

Tina T

Monday 9th of April 2018

Thank you!!

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