Almost spring - bok choy and carrot sauté

Hey look, a picture! ;-)

I really love vegetables. Growing up, vegetables took up the biggest part of my plate, and my mother prepared all different kinds of veggies in different ways. It doesn’t hurt that the cuisine from my parents’ region in China focuses heavily on freshly prepared vegetables with flavors ranging from delicate and subtle to bold and zesty.  I ate all different kinds of wonderful greens, shoots, tubers, fruits, roots, etc - always eager to explore the endless variety with my parents. I loved anything green and crunchy, and nothing was more delicious or exciting to me than a plate filled with colorful veggies.

I’m thankful for the way that my parents ate and continue to eat now, and for managing to stay true to their roots in a new country while also incorporating local flavors and produce into their diets. I attribute my sense of culinary adventure to the way my parents raised me and for sharing their love of food with me – one of the best and many gifts they’ve given me. It helps me stay grounded and calms me after stressful and busy days, to be able to come home and prepare a meal full of healthy and delicious veggies, and knowing that it’ll sustain and nourish me as I prepare for whatever comes next.

That’s something I hope I can share with you too, to provide inspiration and ideas for preparing healthy and satisfying meals. It really is something quietly empowering and refreshing, to be able to do this for yourself and for the people you love. What better gift can you give to yourself and your family than good health and a happy, satisfied tummy and palate? I think the answer to that would comprise a pretty short list J

In this spirit, I’d like to share this recipe with you. It’s inspired by a salad of Chinese napa cabbage, carrots, cilantro, and shredded grilled chicken that my mom makes and which my brother and I basically shovel into our mouths (we may also fight for the last bits but you didn’t hear me say that :D). She quickly sautés the cabbage and carrots to mellow out their flavors, while still maintaining their crispness and bite, and adds a dressing made of Chinese black vinegar, pressed garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil. It is divine and I’m telling you that you feel your health levels increase as you eat it (like in video games, haha). Seriously though, it’s one of my favorite hot-weather foods, and I wanted to try making a cold-weather version of it.

Organic bok choy is well-priced and fresh at my local Whole Foods, and giant bags of organic carrots are ridiculously cheap there. I had both in my fridge several weeks ago, and also a plump red onion sitting on my counter. It was time to experiment J

I cooked the carrots first with plenty of garlic and spices, until they became sweet and tender but still plenty toothy. I added soy sauce and the stalks of the bok choy and red onions, letting them sweat and soften a bit before finally adding the bok choy leaves. They get just enough heat to wilt and turn a brilliant green, and a final helping of minced garlic ensures there is plenty of flavor.

This dish is crunchy, juicy, flavorful, and judging by the number of times I’ve made it since then, and N’s response each time, quickly being established as a favorite and a go-to. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we do – happy cooking!

Bok choy and carrot sauté:

-1 head of bok choy cabbage – washed, with stalks separated from leaves, and cut into finger-sized pieces. You can quickly tear the leaves a couple of times, or chop them as well. Just make sure to maintain some uniformity of size for your stalks and leaves – they don’t need to be the same size, and I prefer my leaves to be about half a palm sized, just make sure your stalks are pretty uniform and your leaves as well.

-6-8 small-medium carrots, peeled, and cut into finger sized sticks (about 4-5 total cups. Load up the veggies!)

-½ red onion, cut into thin ringlets

-2 tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin, just regular will do you here)

-4 cloves of garlic, chopped, portioned into 4

-¼ tsp sea salt

-¼ tsp black pepper

-½ tsp dried red pepper flakes

-pinch of turmeric and Old Bay

-soy sauce to taste

In a skillet, heat oil, spices, and ¼ of your chopped garlic on medium high heat (tending more towards the medium), until garlic begins to sizzle slightly and become fragrant. Add the carrots, stir to combine, and cover. Let cook for about 7 minutes, making sure to stir occasionally. Add soy sauce to taste (I end up using about 1-2 tsps), stirring with the carrots. Then add the bok choy stalks and onion, and another ¼ of your garlic, stir it all together, and cover. Let cook for about 2-3 minutes – you want the onion to retain as much of its color as possible. Add the bok choy leaves last, along with the rest of your garlic, stir to mix all together, turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for a few minutes. This will allow the leaves to wilt without overcooking and for the garlic to incorporate with the rest of the veggies.

Serves 2 as a main course (I would suggest some quinoa and a fried egg to accompany), and 4 as a side (may I suggest some delicious garlicky and buttery pasta with sausage?).