bok choy

I traded seeds in a round robin swap. I got bok choy and planted it. The sprouts are doing very well. Now, what do I do with it. Thanks for the help.

Patty in Yorktown

I like it in stir fries and in soups. It can also be shredded and used a slaw or as a stuffing. (Sorry this is short--on my way to work!)

My favorite is a Philippine dish my daughter in law makes, Sinagong, a tamarind flavor based soup. It can be made with pork or shrimp, but my favorite is pork. Knorr makes the soup base, but if you can find an oriental market that carries Mama Sita brand, that is the best imho. She also uses it in most of her stir fries and prefers the little bok choy. I'm putting at least 2 squares in early and a 2nd planting in a month.

Kay

I never have the patience to wait for my bok choi to grow to any big size, so I always cut it as baby bok choi when it is about 3 or 4 inches high. I slice the head in half from top to bottom, leaving the base attached, then saute' with a little olive oil, salt and garlic to serve it as a side dish. Yummmmmmmmmmmmm

Thanks that is helpful information. How many plants per square? I have two started, but sounds like a square might hold 9 or so. I can start more, they are so cute when they are small. Thanks again.

Patty from Yorktown

Are you planting full-size, or baby bok choy? (They are different kinds.) And when are you planning to harvest them? For baby bok choy, last year I did 9 per square and that was about right. Have not grown the full-size guys but I'd guess 4 per at most; the ones I have seen in the groceries are sometimes quite large.

To clarify: There is baby bok choy variety which is small even at maturity. Then there is bok choy like what Furbal grew, which you can let get full-sized, or harvest early "as" baby bok choy. (Baby full-size bok choy.)

My experience with the baby bok choy is that it bolts fast, so keep an eye on it! (I ate a few, flowers and all, and they were fine.)

Hi Patty, I also grow baby BC. Thanks Megan, I had no idea how many per square and went with 5 last year (that must have been for the full size). I'm doing 9 this year!

Question: Do the larger BC grow so fast that you need to start with less per square? My thought was to start with 9 and thin to (4-5?) eating as you go, so sweet and crispy.

Everyone says stir-fry, and that IS good. I started thinking of them as celery with a green bonus, putting them into salads, soups, where ever I would put celery (same with fennel). Celery and Bok-Choi do not have the same peppery flavor AND celery is more brittle (and stringy). Still, thinking this way worked for me. Celery is a vegetable that I have not had success growing; Bok-Choi is EASY until it starts getting hot out. Right now I only have baby BC and a blown seed budget. I'm thinking I'll plant one to two squares of BC using Megan's count and replant every two to three weeks (I'm gonna need more boxes!). If we have another year like 2010 in the PNW I might have BC well into July. If it is a normal year (whatever that is) I should have it into mid May. As much as I love celery, I would love even more to not need to buy it.

Debs....getting ready for the next round of planting on the 5th of March (new moon) when leafy things...which I assume BC is... should be planted

Hi,
I have no idea if I have baby bok choy or regular. I will try investigating a seed catalog. The tip about treating it like celery is very helpful. I can make soup or stir fry. I will also keep a close eye on it and make sure it gets into the garden before it gets too hot. Thanks.

Patty from Yorktown

Lavender Debs wrote:Hi Patty, I also grow baby BC. Thanks Megan, I had no idea how many per square and went with 5 last year (that must have been for the full size). I'm doing 9 this year!

Question: Do the larger BC grow so fast that you need to start with less per square? My thought was to start with 9 and thin to (4-5?) eating as you go, so sweet and crispy.

Maybe this will help. I took this picture May 31, 2010. We had Snowmageddon late April, so late start to everything, plus I direct-seeded. The left-hand "column" (as you're looking at it) is rapini. The next one is baby bok choi, starting to bolt--that is as big as it got. My BBC never headed up like the picture on the packet, but it was tasty!

(If you look at that top square, I can't tell whether I planted 16 or had multiple plants coming up in some seedings of a 9-square. It looks like a 16 to me, so maybe I mis-remembered.)

The next column to the right is also bok choy, but there's also Swiss Chard sprouting. Then to the right of that are peppers.



Here is another shot, cleverly rotated 90-degrees from the first.

A few neurons just connected in my head tonight and produced this memory. No idea why I didn't mention this before....duh!

It doesn't matter for the baby bok choy, but for the "full size" variety, I learned this trick long ago:

Strip the green part of the leaves away from the white, fleshy, center core. (Okay, your variety may be solid green....the version I learned on had white stems/cores!) You can either use a knife or just fold it backwards against the stem and then pull it off.

Then, cut up them up separately (different prep bowls or piles on your cutting board), and stir-fry them separately, too. Meaning: Start with the white part. The texture is a lot like celery in that it is thick/fleshy and crunchy, and will take longer to cook. The green part should go in at the very end, just flash-cook them and they are done, similar in texture to a kale or radish green.

Thanks for the extra information on Bok Choy. I still have not had time to look into what I have, but now I at least know what to look for. I also got the Birds and Bloom gardening magazine. I am hoping that will help as well. In any event that is my excuse and I am sticking to it.

Patty from Yorktown

Another great way (works better with baby bc the full), is to roast it. Just like any other veggies. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper, then place in 350 oven for around 15-20 min (watch for burning). Its good and easy

I have had baby bok choy served to me as a steamed vegetable dish at a chinease restaurant.

It is whole, with many plants stacked up like logs, steamed with maybe a little oil / garlic on it.

It is very nice. The grilled / baked versions sound good too.

Go to Fine Cooking Magazine's site and consider turning your baby bok choy into this delicious soup. Fixed it the other night and hubby ("what are you fixing for supper and does it need a red wine?") absolutely loved this vegetarian soup. It is very, very good:
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/udon-tofu-stir-fried-vegetables.aspx
BTW, it calls for 1/4 cup minced fresh ginger. Easiest way to produce this much "minced" ginger is to pull out your medium Microplane grater and grate up the quarter cup needed. I used homemade chicken broth, but it could be a vegan dish if you were to use a vegetable broth enhanced with a bit of miso. I put out both wheat-free tamari sauce and hoisin sauce for adding at the table.