Bok Choi Recipe
Having spent my childhood and youth during the 1940s and 1950s in the East Midlands of England my knowledge of food, as you can imagine, was limited. Whilst my family lived in a rural area and our locally grown food was of good quality it was, to say the least, plain. Except of course the delicious cakes, tarts and puddings which my mother cooked. A meal wasn’t complete without pudding. It still isn’t.
In 1962 at the age of nineteen, I left England to travel the world. I had very little money so whilst travelling through Europe I ate very simply, mostly cheese, tomatoes and milk. But when I got to Istanbul my goodness. The food was mind-blowingly scrumptious. I remember saying to myself “Oh, this is what food is about.”
A year later I reached Malaya, as it was then. I got a job as a snake oil salesman and travelled the length and breadth of the country with my fellow workers who were of Chinese origin. The evening meal was the highlight of the day. Eight of us would sit around the table as dish after dish of the most amazing food was placed in the middle of a large round table. I was, and still am, useless with chopsticks so my comrades would, with all the grace in the world, pluck food from each dish with their chopsticks and drop it into my rice bowl so that I could get my fair share.
So began a lifetime love of the extraordinary food of China. I cook Chinese dishes regularly. I would be happy to eat little else. My wife, less so.
As in Italian cooking, one of the strengths of the Chinese cuisine is the way vegetables are treated which such respect. A favourite vegetable of mine is Bok Choi especially the smaller green types, straight from the garden. This is my recipe.
Ingredients:
- One bunch of Bok Choi (these come in packs of 2 or 3 depending on their size)
- Two teaspoons of finely chopped ginger
- A tablespoon or a little more of peanut or sunflower oil
The Sauce:
- One tablespoon of good quality light soy sauce
- One tablespoon of good quality oyster sauce
- One tablespoon of Shaoxing wine
- One tablespoon of water
- Half a teaspoon of potato starch or a little more corn flour
- A drizzle of sesame oil
Method:
1. Mix the soy sauce, the oyster sauce, the wine, water and a drizzle of sesame oil in a bowl. In a small bowl mix the potato starch (or corn flour if using) in a little water add that to the bowl.
2. Break the Bok choi into individual leaves, wash them to remove any grit or sand, spin dry.
3. Cut the green top off and cut it into 3 or 4 cm bits. Slice the stalk into bit sized pieces.
4. Add the oil to a seasoned wok on high heat. Add ginger and stir until fragrant - a few seconds will do.
5. Add the Bok Choi stalks and stir fry for a couple of minutes - Don’t cook it for too long.
6. Add the green parts and cooked until wilted.
7. Stir in the sauce and toss until the Bok Choi is coated with the sauce.
8. Tip into a serving bowl and serve with rice whilst hot.
