Bok Choy Babe

words LUCY OHLSEN

I’ve never cooked bok choy, but I’m always drawn in to the bok choy booth at the Eugene Farmer’s Market. Two platters of bright, colorful greens draw me in with their sweet garlicky wafts and sesame-seed polka dots, and I can never resist.

This week, I actually bought some bok choy to see if I could make any of that magic at home. I didn’t buy the seasoning packets offered from the bok choy stand, because, well, I’m not that in to seasoning packets. This recipe is inspired by what my taste-buds remember from those platters, but also by springtime, nostalgia for New Mexico, and a fierce grumbly tumbly.

Bok choy isn’t particularly flavorful by itself, so strong flavors get their chance to shine. A sweet, spicy, spine tingling combination of ginger, New Mexican chile powder, garlic, cumin and onions underlies this dish. It is further accented by chopped peanuts that add crunchy satisfaction and protein richness. Baked baby potatoes are an excellent carrier for the spicy veggies, but rice or any other grain that is fairly neutral-flavored and has some sauce-soaking potential will do.

Ingredients:

½ onion

1 clove garlic

1 inch knob of fresh ginger, minced

1 Tbs New Mexican red chile powder (or some other kind of chile powder, or some chopped jalapeno)

1 tsp cumin

1 head baby bok choy

¼ cup chopped peanuts

1 T olive oil

Process:

1. Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Plop them in a dry pan over medium-high heat and add the spices and ginger with a hefty pinch each of salt and pepper.
2. Let the onions exude their liquid. When things start sticking to your pan, add the oil.
3. After about 5 minutes, add the chopped peanuts.
4. Add your bok choy, chopped up into bite-able pieces.
5. Keep cooking and stirring the mixture for about 10 minutes. The bok choi will release a lot of water and cook down. If things get sticky, add more oil.
6. Serve over carbohydrate of your choice!

This entry was posted on Monday, April 23rd, 2012 at 11:20 pm. It is filed under Uncategorized and tagged with BOK CHOY, Eugene, Lucy Ohlsen, spicy, stir fry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.