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Baby Bok Choy with Yam and Ginger

As much as I love to cook, I also really enjoy watching other cooks go through their creative process. Recently I was at a conference at the Commonweal Retreat Center, where I was able to observe one of my favorite cooks, Claire Heart. She brought out this dish, and the first thing I noticed was that it had bok choy. Now that’s a great vegetable, but it tends to be bitter. She completely solved that problem by pairing it with yams to create a dish that tasted like a vegetarian Chinese Thanksgiving. It was a completely unique and delicious pairing. The colors blew me away as well. I went home and decided to play around with her concept, adding a little ginger for zing and digestion and a few more Asian-style flavors. Thank you, Claire!

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 6

Ingredients

4 heads baby bok choy
2 tablespoons light sesame oil
2 scallions, white part only, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 cup peeled and finely diced garnet yam
Sea salt
2 tablespoons mirin (optional)
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Trim the bases off the bok choy and discard. Trim the leaves from the stems and cut both crosswise into bite-size pieces, keeping the stems and leaves separate.

    Step 2

    Heat the light sesame oil in a sauté pan over medium heat, then add the scallions and ginger and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the yam and a pinch of salt and sauté for an additional minute. Add the bok choy stems, mirin, and tamari and sauté for 2 minutes more. Add the bok choy leaves, lime juice, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and the toasted sesame oil. Cook until the bok choy is just wilted, about 2 minutes, then do a FASS check and add a squeeze of lime if desired. Serve immediately.

  2. storage

    Step 3

    Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for 3 days.

  3. nutrition information

    Step 4

    (per serving)

    Step 5

    Calories: 150

    Step 6

    Total Fat: 6g (0.9g saturated, 2.2g monounsaturated)

    Step 7

    Carbohydrates: 19g

    Step 8

    Protein: 9g

    Step 9

    Fiber: 6g

    Step 10

    Sodium: 595mg

Excerpted from The Cancer Fighting Kitchen, copyright 2017 by Rebecca Katz and Met Edelson. Published with permission by Ten Speed Press.
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