Quick meals mean simple ingredients you can just pull out of a hat like that rabbit in the magicians hat. Of course you gotta have the right ingredients in your fridge to do that trick 😉. There's always some form of greens in my fridge for mornings like this when I am looking to eat quick around 10am. I was super lucky to come across the HelloSpriggs stand recently at ElleLokko where they hold the Special 10 fairs on Saturdays. HelloSpriggs had some Bok Choy and who was I to not grab a bagful. I just simply love how it's so easy getting all these herbs and greens which some years ago were unavailable to our local markets.
In all honesty I have never cooked with Bok Choy before all though I had seen several recipes on Pinterest. You know how a recipe looks so good but when you scroll through to see the ingredients you quickly slide to the left because of some missing key ingredients? Yeah, that was me when go through Asian recipes. But that was then. Now I know where to get my bok choy from 💃🏾. ISSA BOK CHOY baby!
This recipe was inspired by this gem I found on Pinterest. I always do a bit of background reading on the health benefits of the main ingredient, in this case bok choy. Bok choy is more popular in Asian dishes and can be also called Chinese Cabbage. A fun fact bok choy is that it's also called soup spoon due to the shape of its leaves. As a green food its packing in rich body-loving nutrients from Vitamin A, C and K, magnesium, potassium, manganese, etc. There were some ingredients I did not have on hand like sesame oil so I substituted that with coconut oil and I used honey instead of maple syrup.
Without much ado, here's my recipe for Chilli Ginger Bok Choy Noodles.
Preparation time: 10 mins Cooking Time: 8 mins
Difficulty : Easy Serves: 2
Ingredients
1 bunch of bok choy
handful of pasta / rice noodles
For the Sauce
1 clove of grated garlic
2 tablespoons of grated ginger
2 tablespoons of soy sauce ( low-sodium)
3 fingers of fresh paprika
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 finely sliced red or green onion
Instructions:
1. Wash the bok choy in salted water, separate and chop into large sizes.
2. Cook pasta in boiling salted water for 6 minutes.
3. Mix together garlic, soy sauce, oil, honey, 2 tablespoons of chopped onion, ginger, chilli in a spice mortar and pound to mix up. But you can also use a food processor to blend together.
4. Pounding gives a beautiful rough texture.
5. Add sauce mix and the rest of the onions to non-stick frying pan or wok to cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add in chopped bok choy and cook for 2 minutes with regular stirring through.
7. Add in cooked pasta or noodles. Stir-fry for 4 minutes over low heat.
8. Toss through and enjoy hot.
The burst of the chilli and ginger was a roller-coaster ride! The honey added an excellent sweetish flavour and the bok choy was super gorgeous on the palate. It's taste is similar to cabbage and the curved base gave a satisfactory crunch every now and then.
Such a simple but oh so flavourful meal which can be enjoyed for as brunch or lunch and an early dinner. This is a must-try dish which I will be turning to for quick and easy meals at home. You should definitely give it a go!
Had bok choy before? Loved it or hated it? Please do share your experience below :-D