Art of Cooking: White Rose Bok Choy Recipe
Bok choy is a type of cabbage with a distinctly unique taste to it. It has a bitter taste, which similar to many cabbage varieties is revealed when cooked. It can be used as a main course or as a side dish and pairs nicely with many of the ingredients used in Asian cuisine such as peanut oil, sesame seeds, soy sauce, ginger and rice oil vinegar.
This particular recipe is VERY simple and no white roses are actually used in it – so you don’t have to run out to your local florist! I call it White Rose Bok Choy because when you cut the bottom of stem on the plant, it resembles a white rose and looks absolutely lovely as a centerpiece for your dish!
All you need to make this recipe are a few simple ingredients:
- 1 Large Head of Bok Choy Cabbage
- 2 Lemons
- Minced Garlic
- Rice Oil Vinegar
- Olive Oil
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Ground Ginger
- Lemon Pepper
- Himalayan Pink Salt
Using a large cutting knife, cut off the base of your bok choy cabbage head. Turn it around to reveal the lovely flower that will serve as your centerpiece – place it to the side
Pull your cabbage apart, you can cut each stem with leaf in half if the cabbage is too long – a little length is good though.
Heat up your olive oil in a large, deep set pan and place on medium heat. Once your oil is heated, add your cabbage to the pan. You will want to add about a 1/3 cup of water to your pan and about a 1/4 cup of rice oil vinegar – but don’t be afraid to add more or less depending on your tastes.
Add your spices – ground ginger, lemon pepper, himalayan pink salt and red pepper flakes to the cabbage. Determine the amount you want to use based on your taste preferences – more red pepper flakes the spicier it will be and don’t get heavy handed with the ginger, ginger has a very strong taste, you don’t want it to completely overpower the dish.
Place a lid over your pan, turn your stove down to medium low heat – you want your cabbage to simmer nicely and mix in with all the ingredients. It will steam nicely. Allow it to simmer for about 10 – 20 minutes – check at about 10 minutes. At 10 minutes, throw in your minced garlic and squeeze a half a lemon into the mix.
Check again at 15 minutes. You don’t want your bok choy to get too soggy – basically you want the leaves to be a little droopy and soft, you want the stems to be soft but definitely still have a little crunch to them.
Once its all set to plate, try a nice platter dish to lay them out on one by one. Take another lemon, cut it into quarters or halves and squeeze over them. Then in the center place the lovely white rose we saved from the start!