Stir-Fried Bok Choy

I was going to make a tofu recipe last night until Jim cried and said it is Saturday night!  So I give in and told him to get the two remaining fillets out of the freezer.   Later I heard him whisper to Max, “Maybe we can postpone the tofu indefinitely”.  Fat chance Mr. Marler!  With the fillets I served the premade brown rice with flax I buy at Costco and made the following bok choy recipe.  This recipe comes from The Key to Chinese Cooking by Irene Kuo.  Having been to China in 2006 I can testify that this is indeed a real Chinese recipe.  Sometime years ago, I made a note in this book that the recipe was too oily.  That is exactly my opinion of real Chinese food in China.  They use a ton of oil.  So next to the quantities of oil, I will put in (  ) my Americanized adoption.  My electric wok is packed somewhere and this electric stove does not get hot enough, so I had to cook the bok choy longer than the recipe says.

Ingredients:

1 ½ # Bok Choy or other celery cabbage

3 T oil (I used 1T of peanut oil) The Chinese use a lot of saffron oil. 

2 quarter-sized peeled ginger

1 t salt, to taste

¼ t sugar

2 t sesame oil (1 t)

Directions:

1.      Cut off the root end and cut the cabbage crosswise into 1” sections.  Toss them into a colander, loosening the folds.  Spray with cold water, rinsing well, and drain.  (I washed and drained the bok choy, but left it whole.)

2.      Heat a wok or large, heavy skillet over high heat until hot; add the oil, swirl, and heat for a second.

3.      Throw in the ginger, and press slices around the pan. 

4.      Shower in the cabbage and toss rapidly to turn and tumble it in the hot oil for 30 seconds.  (I did not have the luxury of 30 seconds, but watch when adding the cabbage as the oil pops.)

5.      Sprinkle in the salt and sugar, then stir vigorously for about 2 minutes until the stalks are translucent and shinny. And leaves are green.  (This shimmer looks great on the whole bok choy)

6.      Add the sesame oil, toss a few times, and pour into a hot serving dish.  (I lifted them out whole onto a serving dish.)

Jim’s hip is hurting so I cooked the fillets inside.  Not as good as the grille.  Nothing like 2 cripples in the family.