Friday, April 17, 2009
Stir Fried Bok Choy (Pechay) with Pork and Tomatoes
Bok Choy or Pechay is one of the first vegetables my kids learned to love. This is not surprising actually because it tastes mild and sweet and its texture is crunchy. Another factor to love about this vegetable is the price! It is one of the cheaper vegetable available around here. We all know that we have to be more budget-conscious nowadays. And bok choy simply fits the bill! Nutrition wise, it is high in calcium, potassium and even in vitamin C! There is nothing that you will not like about the ever-versatile BokChoy!
This is also a very easy vegetable to prepare. You can put it in soups, or make stir fries such as this recipe. Cooking time is short, so this is also a perfect veggie for quick-cooking meals.
300 gms Bok Choy, cleaned, cut into 1 inch pieces
100 gms ground pork, marinated in
1 T soy sauce
1 T cornstarch
4 T cooking oil, preferably canola
4 T minced garlic
2 pcs tomatoes, washed, seeded, chopped
1 T fish sauce (or substitute soy sauce)
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1. Marinate pork for about 15 minutes. You can do this before washing the veggies and preparing the ingredients. By the time you're finished washing and cutting up your veggies, you are ready to cook.
2. Heat up the oil in a wok or a cooking pan. Add in the garlic, and saute until fragrant. Add in the tomatoes and allow the tomatoes to wilt a little, around 2 minutes. Then, add in the marinated ground pork. Saute until the meat changes color and add in the fish sauce. Simmer and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until meat is cooked through.
3. Add in the bok choy, starting with the stem cuts. Stir for a while so that all the bok choy will thoroughly absorb the flavors. Cook for around 1 minute, as we prefer our vegetable still crunchy. Cook longer if you prefer wilted. Add a dash of freshly ground pepper before dishing up.
The color! You're getting to be an expert with that camera of yours. I love bok choy so I'll be trying this in the near furure.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of Bok Choy but we don't have it in Greece. The recipe sounds great. Can it be substituted by something else?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that this is a cheap and nutritious veg, can put in almost any asian dish. Yum!
ReplyDeletePechay was a regular thing when I lived in the PI. Took me a while to figure out that this was called Bok Choy in the states. Duh :(
ReplyDeleteYUMMMM!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThese are my fave veggies too!!! :D
Thanks, Mary! I am still trying to learn a thing or two about cameras... would you believe, I never bothered to learn about cameras until I started to blog??? :)
ReplyDeleteHi Ivy! Actually, Chinese stir frying is very versatile. Yes, you can substitute bok choy with any vegetable like cabbage, or green beans. However, you would not be able to enjoy the taste of Bok Choy... :)
Jude, this really happened to you? :D Pechay comes from the Chinese Fookien pronunciation. I suppose we call it Pechay here because there are more Chinese people that speaks Fookien here. and Bok Choy comes from the Cantonese pronunciation. Maybe there are more Cantonese people over there. :)
ReplyDeleteMMMmmmMMMM.... I need more vegetables in my diet.. My family tells me I eat too much meat!
ReplyDeleteWell, Hyperbaby, I hope you try bok choy. It is sweet and mild. You will learn to love it! :)
ReplyDelete