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Showing posts with label Bok CHoy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bok CHoy. Show all posts

Friday, January 27, 2017

Garlicky Bok-Choy with Dried Shrimp !

Noodles. Fried rice. Manchurian. Chilli. Soups. Ummm. Cantonese. Hummmm. Ummm. Ahh....kung pao. And just when you think that you have exhausted the entire gamut of terms used to describe Chinese food, the real stuff reveals itself. By real, I do mean 'REAL' and not the heavily desi-fied variety that could literally give new meaning to the 'Hindi-Chini bhai bhai' sloganeering. I will leave those to some inspiration-deprived Bollywood bloke and his period drama. For now, I will just revel in the new found joy of discovering real Chinese food.

The Chinese are surely masters in the art of stir-frying. A chosen few ingredients, a large cooking surface that allows individual components to actually get fried instead of being steamed and the hottest flame that you can muster up in order to retain the crispness of the veggies are the key components that go into the making of this culinary dream. So, even before you attempt to replicate these stir fry recipes at home, make sure you have the right kind of wok and a really big burner. Else no amount of effort is going to give you the desired outcome.

Here is a real simple recipe to start with. I have stir fried Bok choy with some dried shrimp (as I was out of the fresh ones), lot of garlic and a dash of light soy sauce. Read on for the details -


















Preparation time - 10 mins

Ingredients -
  • 100 gm Bok-choy
  • 1/4 cup dried/fresh shrimp
  • 4-5 garlic cloves (finely minced)
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • red chili (finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp canola oil
  • salt to taste

Preparation - If using dried shrimps, soak them in hot water for about 20 mins. Drain water, wash again with fresh water and squeeze dry.

Wash the bok-choy and chop it into medium sized bits.

Cooking - Take a wide wok. Add the oil and heat it to a high.

Add the minced garlic, red chili and shrimp. Stir fry at a high heat till the shrimp turns crisp. Takes about 3 mins.

Add the bok-choy and stir quickly to let off the steam without making it soggy.

Finally add soy sauce and very little salt . Give a quick stir and remove from the wok.

Serve hot.





































Note - I personally like to have this stir fry with some steamed white/brown rice and a light dal/rasam.



Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Bok Choy Dal (Bok Choy cooked with yellow lentils)

"When is something classified as foreign ?". That is a question that has been on my mind for the last few days. Why are we hesitant or scared to accept something that has been branded 'foreign' ? Is it because we are unaware of its characteristics/benefits or is it because we think that it might end up corrupting our indigenous ways. But haven't many of these so called foreign things, become a part of our life over a period of time. So when does foreign stop being foreign ? I think that happens when it has been accepted and assimilated ( with a tweak ofcourse ) into our culture in such a way that it becomes difficult to filter it out.

For example, take the Bok Choy. It is chinese cabbage and lot of folks are not aware of it or prefer to cook it in a style that is more appealing to the Chinese or the Europeans. No wonder folks are hesitant to put it on their regular menu. But it is one wonder vegetable which is nutrient dense while being low in fat. Enough reason to consume it regularly. That inspired me to cook it in the way most greens are cooked in Odisha, i.e., with split moong dal. And it turned out to be delicious. I can also vouch that my son who will grow up eating this yummy dish will not consider Bok Choy as a foreign vegetable.

Read on for the recipe -

















Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients -

Ingredients -


  • 2 heads of Bok choy
  • 1 cup split moong dal
  • 7-8 garlic flakes
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 1/2 tsp oil
  • 2 dry red chilis
  • salt to taste



Preparation - Remove the outermost leaves and cut off the end/stem (not too much but abt 1 cm ).

Wash with loads of water to rinse off any dirt and insects. Drain and then chop into small bits.
Crush the garlic flakes.

Dry roast the moong dal till it gives off a mild fragrance.

Cooking - Wash and cook the dal with 1 1/2 - 2 cup water for 1 whistle. Keep aside till steam escapes.

Heat the oil in a pan. Once hot, throw in the mustard seeds and broken red chili.

Then add the garlic and allow it to brown slightly.

Now add the chopped bok choy, stir fry on high for 2 mins and then pour the cooked dal over it.

Let it simmer for 5-6 mins or till the bok choy is cooked yet firm.

Serve hot with rice or rotis ,

Monday, September 21, 2015

Bok Choy Stir Fry ( A low calorie delight !!)

Why Bok Choy when there are so many varieties of indigenous greens available to us ?? Well, for those who are quite determined to lose that extra flab, it is almost like a god-send vegetable. It falls into that hugely celebrated and much touted category of 'negative calorie' foods, i.e., those wonder foods that actually make your body expend more calories digesting them that what is ingested by means of consuming them.

Bok Choy or Chinese cabbage is one such food that is miraculously low on calories and fat while being fiber and protein dense. Plus, it contains almost all the essential vitamins and minerals. It does have that undercurrent of bitterness but that kind of adds to its taste. And garlic is one ingredient that works wonders with it. I personally love it with some multi-grain rotis and half a cup of plain yogurt for lunch. Read on for this simple stir fry recipe ( done in typical Odia style ) -


















Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients -


  • 2 heads of Bok choy
  • 1/2 of a small onion
  • 7-8 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 1/2 tsp oil
  • 2 dry red chilis
  • salt to taste



Preparation - Remove the outermost leaves and cut off the end/stem (not too much but abt 1 cm ).

Wash with loads of water to rinse off any dirt and insects. Drain and then chop into small bits.

Cut the onion into small pieces and finely chop garlic.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a pan. Once hot, throw in the mustard seeds and broken red chili.

Then add the garlic and allow it to brown slightly.

The onion goes in next. And once it turns translucent, add the chopped bok choy.

Season with salt and cook on medium flame till it is cooked yet retains a crunch (the whites).

Remove and serve hot as a side dish with roti/rice.


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