The bok choy or pak choy is a vegetable that belongs to the cabbage family. Its origins are Chinese and the name means “white vegetables”, and can be found in many varieties: baby bok choy, shanghainese bok choy, green bok choi … I have already tasted all of course! They are always fresh at the market and the way they’re arranged in the baskets is irresistible, I have to buy some to take home. I really like their taste and they are easy and quick to cook. My favorites are precisely those shanghainese, small and tender.

Shiitake mushrooms also have Asian origins and grow on the trunks of broad-leaved trees. They are used in Chinese cooking, both fresh and dried.

The recipe in which I propose these ingredients is an easy and quick dish in the execution, but rich in flavors. Garlic and ginger enhance vegetables and mushrooms without overheating them, to create a perfect side dish for the cold season.

Both bok choy and shiitake are now also found in the most supplied Italian supermarkets, so you can bring to the table a tasty air of the Orient.

 

Bok choy with fresh shiitake

Original recipe from “Every grain of rice”, F. Dunlop

Ingredients for 2/3 serve:

• 300 g bok choy
• 6-7 fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 1/4 teaspoon caster sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon potato flour mixed with 1 tablespoon water
• salt
• 4 tabelspoons cooking oil
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• an equivalent amount of ginger, peeled and sliced

Wash the bok choy, then cut each head lenghtways into quarter. Slice off and discard the mushrooms stalks and halve the caps. Combine the sugar with the potato flour mixture.

Bring some water to boil in a saucepan, add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 tablespoon oil, then blanch the bok choy and mushrooms briefly, just until the bok choy leaves have wilted. Drain and shake dry.

Add the remaining oil to a seasoned wok or large fry-pan over a high flame, swirl it around, then add garlic and ginger and stir a few time until you can smell their fragrances. Tip in the blached mushrooms and bok choy and sitr a few times. Finally add the potato flour mixture with salt to taste, give everything a good stir and serve.