Salty, Sweet, Spicy-Heat Bok Choy

What can I say, I love the salty, sweet, spicy heat flavors in this Asian-inspired bok choy.  Not a fan of the heat?  No problem, just omit the sriracha and you'll still have an awesome side dish that everyone will think came from the local take-out restaurant.    

Start by prepping the bok choy by trimming the ends and separating the stalks.  I like to get heads that are no longer than 8 inches in length.  Sometimes there's a bit of dirt between the stalks so rinse them well. 

Place the stalks in a pan with 1/4-inch water and steam for 3-5 minutes or until tender.

Immediately rinse plunge the steamed bok choy in ice water to stop the cooking.  Drain well.

Mince garlic and scallions.

Gather the ingredients to make the sauce - water, soy sauce, sugar, and corn starch.

Whisk the sauce ingredients together and set aside until needed.

In a skillet over medium-low heat, saute the garlic and scallions in some oil.

Saute, stirring constantly, just until the garlic started to turn golden brown.

Rewhisk the sauce ingredients and pour them into the skillet.

Stir rapidly until the sauce thickens.

Add the drained bok choy, stirring and tossing until heated through.

Serve with a drizzle of Sriracha.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• mini whisk https://amzn.to/3DTw8j4

• santoku knife https://amzn.to/3FGw1sg

• sriracha https://amzn.to/3T20O5O

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Salty, Sweet, Spicy-Heat Bok Choy

makes 4 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound baby bok choy, washed, trimmed, and leaves separated

• 1 tablespoon water

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

• t tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil

• 2 tablespoons scallions, finely chopped (whites and greens)

• 1 tablespoon minced garlic

• Sriracha (optional)

Directions

1. In a large covered skillet, steam bok choy in 1/2-inch of water for 3-5 minutes until tender, rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process and drain well; set aside until needed.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together water, soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch until the sugar is dissolved; set aside until needed.

3. Dry the skillet you steamed the bok choy in and add oil, heat the oil over medium-low heat, saute garlic and scallions for 1-2 minutes until very fragrant, stirring constantly to prevent burning.

4. Re-whisk soy sauce mixture and pour into skillet; stir or whisk vigorously until sauce forms.

5. Immediately add steamed bok choy and toss well until heated through. Drizzle with Sriracha if desired.

Broccoli Stem Soup

I don't know if you celebrated Valentine's Day this week or not, but we ate our weight in steak and seafood.  We didn't lose complete control though - we managed to abstain from sweet treats this year, but I know many of you indulged in copious amounts of cream and butter and chocolate! 

Time to lighten things up a bit - enter the humble broccoli stem.  Just curious - do you say stem or stalk?  Anyway, my grocery store had a great deal on fresh broccoli last week so I bought a small forest and, after cutting all the florets away, I was left with all these lovely green tree trunks.  If I had just one or two, I'd cut them into coins or sticks and toss them in a salad, but since I had 1 1/2 pounds worth, I decided to make a batch of broccoli stem soup.  This is how it's made. 

To start, trim the dry ends from the broccoli stems, but that's all - no need to peel them.   

Chop the broccoli into 1/4-inch dice.  Onions too. 

Heat a large heavy-bottom skillet with a good drizzle of olive oil.  (this is the skillet I used)

Add the onions, broccoli stems, salt, and pepper.

Saute over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the vegetables begin to caramelize.

You'll notice a nice brown layer of "fond" will form on the bottom of the skillet.  Mmmmm! 

Add chicken stock and scrape up the fond from the bottom of the skillet.  That's going to add wonderful flavor to the soup!  

Uh, you do make your own chicken stock, right?  No?  Try my recipe here.  It's about a gazillions times better than store bought.

Bring the chicken stock to gentle boil and throw in a whole clove of garlic.  Continue to cook for about 15 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat and puree to the thickness you desire.  I like some texture to remain, so I used an immersion blender (like this one), but you could also puree the soup in batches using a blender or food processor.  

That's all there is to it.  A healthy, frugal soup that's gluten-free, dairy-free, and practically fat-free.  Want to make it vegan too?  Just use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.  

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• Maviel Rondeau https://amzn.to/3LjrbBP

• Cuisinart immersion blender https://amzn.to/3ryVnRp

• Nakiri knife https://amzn.to/3GvrBBz

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Broccoli Stem Soup

makes 6 cups

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 1/2 pounds broccoli stems, diced

• 1 pound onions, diced

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 4 cups chicken stock (try my homemade)

• 1 whole clove of garlic, peeled

Directions

1. In a very large skillet over medium heat, saute broccoli stems, onions, salt, and pepper in olive oil until caramelized.

2. Add chicken stock and garlic clove; bring to a gentle boil for 15 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and puree to desired thickness.

4. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.