My favorite baby bok choy recipe! Plenty of veggies and a tangy ginger garlic sauce make this easy stir fry a delicious, flavorful weeknight meal.
Stir fry was probably the first healthy-ish meal I learned to make, although it used to look nothing like this. When I was in college, I’d stock up on frozen vegetables because I was broke and they were 4 for $1 at Publix. I’d mix the frozen veggies with instant brown rice and drown it all in soy sauce. While I appreciated the bargain, that dinner was “healthy” for healthy’s sake, and I’d try to convince myself it was delicious while my roommates all ate pizza. Now, I love to make this actually delicious stir fry with lots of fresh vegetables, like baby bok choy, and a tangy sauce made with sesame, ginger, garlic, and lime juice.
Key Bok Choy Stir Fry Ingredients
Since college, my stir fry game has improved dramatically. Aside from the frozen edamame, the vegetables here are fresh:
- Baby bok choy adds crispness and leafy greens.
- Shiitake mushrooms punch up the umami flavor.
- Broccoli and broccoli STEMS fill it out with lots of green, so this stir fry is mostly veggies! I use vegetable peeler to slice thin ribbons off the broccoli stalk and toss them into the pan with everything else. Delicious. College budget or not, it’s so fun to figure out resourceful ways to use every part of a vegetable.
Another thing missing from my college stir fry was a good sauce. This one – made from tamari, ginger, rice vinegar, fresh lime and sesame oil – is light, tangy, and delicious. Make extra if you want to have a quick weeknight stir fry ready to go – the sauce will keep well in the fridge for a few weeks.
For more bok choy recipes…
Try this Golden Turmeric Miso Soup, Red Curry Lemongrass Soup, or Easy Vegetarian Pho!
Bok Choy Stir Fry
Ingredients
sauce:
- 1½ tablespoons tamari
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice, plus extra lime slices for serving
- ½ teaspoon honey, or maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
for the stir fry:
- 1 tablespoon sunflower oil, or any high-heat oil
- 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
- ½ small head broccoli, florets chopped, stems peeled into strips
- 2 scallions, chopped
- 2 baby bok choy, quartered vertically
- ½ cup frozen edamame, thawed
- 1 carrot, peeled into thin strips
- 4 ounces brown rice pasta *, see note
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- Sriracha, or sambal, for serving
Instructions
- Make the sauce by stirring together the tamari, rice vinegar, lime juice, honey, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil. Set aside.
- In a pot of salted boiling water, cook the noodles according to the package directions until al dente. Drain, rinse and set aside (or leave them in cold water or toss with a little oil to prevent clumping).
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shiitake mushrooms and broccoli, stir to coat then let cook 1 to 2 minutes until the mushrooms begin to soften and the broccoli begins to brown. Give the pan a good shake and stir, then add the scallions, bok choy, and edamame. Cook, stirring occasionally for another 2 minutes, until the bok choy and broccoli are tender but still vibrant.
- Add the carrots and noodles and toss. Add the sauce, toss again. Add a squeeze of lime. Taste and adjust seasonings. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with extra lime slices and sambal or sriracha on the side.
Too much acid. It seemed like too much reading the recipe through. Normally I would have just cut it way back, but I’ve really liked recipes I’ve tried on this site in the past, so I thought maybe I should humble myself and followed the recipe as written. Maybe I’d learn something, etc. But I should have trusted my instincts on this one.