Roasted Bok Choy Is So Quick And Easy, You'll Want To Serve It Every Day
If you're looking for a new veggie to shake up your routine, check out bok choy. A member of the brassica family, it shares a similar nutrition profile with broccoli and cabbage but has a very mild flavor. The versatile vegetable can be eaten raw and cooked in many ways, but one of the most tasty is a quick roast in the oven.
Oven-roasted bok choy takes just a few minutes to transform into crispy leaves with a savory, juicy bulb. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees while you clean and prepare the bok choy and you'll be set for success. Because of its layered leaves, the vegetable can trap grit while growing, so cutting it in half through the bulb end helps to clean it well. Give it a good rinse and pat it dry before placing it on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a bit of oil, salt, and pepper, and just pop it in the oven for up to 10 minutes. Smaller baby bok choy might be done sooner, so keep an eye out for the green tips browning — that's your sign they are nearly done.
Make bok choy a regular on your menu
Just like its cousins in the cabbage family, bok choy is a culinary chameleon when it comes to flavors. Plain roasted bok choy is just plain delicious, but it also takes well to various sauce combinations. A quick toss with sesame oil and soy sauce makes a great side for Asian-inspired meals. You could even toss some sliced shitake mushrooms on the roasting tray along with the bok choy. For a little extra umami and crunch, try dusting the bok choy with finely grated Parmesan cheese near the end of its roast. You can even toss the bok choy with a bit of your favorite vinaigrette before roasting to add more flavor.
You'll find bok choy in many different sizes, from baby bok choy to large heads that might be a foot long with large thick stems. One word of advice: The larger the bok choy, the longer roasting time it will need, and those thin tips might go from crunchy to burned and bitter before the stems are tender. When you have a larger head of bok choy, cut the base into quarters or even smaller to even out the cooking time. Roasting bok choy is a quick and delicious way to add more veggies to your life!