Ingredient
Bok choy
A loose-headed Chinese cabbage with white crunchy stems and tender green leaves. The stems and leaves cook at different speeds, so cut them apart and start the stems first or the leaves turn to slime by the time the stems soften.
- Sourcing
- Baby bok choy is sweeter and cooks whole or halved; full-size heads need cutting. Asian grocers carry it year-round and most supermarkets stock the baby kind.
- Varieties
- Baby bok choy, Shanghai bok choy, Full-size white-stemmed
- Quality cues
- Firm, glossy white stems and deep green, unblemished leaves. Limp or yellowing leaves and slimy bases mean it is past it.
- Substitutions
- Napa cabbage, Chard stems and leaves, Choy sum, Savoy cabbage
- Storage
- Refrigerate unwashed in the crisper, loosely wrapped. Wash just before cooking and dry well so it sears rather than steams.
- Shelf life
- 3-5 days refrigerated