Expand your palate: Bok Choy
"Bok Choy! I've got to have some," I say with a giggle as I scan the fresh vegetables at the farmers market this past Saturday. My wife asks, "What are you going to do with that?" Paying the Asian grower's young daughter $2, I gently place the cabbage in my basket and announce, "It will be a surprise."
My wife and I practice this exercise in culinary exploration three or four times every summer. Sometimes we challenge friends to shop at the market, then create dinners together using the ingredients found. And we often challenge friends to shop independently and surprise each other with the outcome.
Herb-encrusted lamb chops with a mint and Greek yogurt sauce, garden-fresh peas perfectly prepared in butter and cooked al dente, and Cajun spice-rubbed bison rib-eye steak top the list of amazing farmers market meals I've enjoyed with friends.
Last night my son-in-law, who recently became addicted to the Food Network series "Chopped," decided to perform his own version of this popular television show by arriving at our home with a "basket" of food to cook from. Corn on the cob, Yukon gold potatoes, a head of garlic, red onions and two bone-in chicken breasts lay in plastic bags on the counter of my kitchen. I ask, "Am I cooking or are you?" He announces, "It's my turn," as he removes the food from its sterile packages.
From this basket he creates a credible meal of garlic roasted smashed potatoes, oven- roasted buttered corn and roasted garlic and onion-infused chicken breasts. This is the first time he works with garlic in its natural form and the first time he roasts a chicken. His inquisitiveness and thirst for knowledge allows him to reach out of his culinary comfort zone and experiment with food he has never touched before. I challenge you to do the same.
Imagine momentarily that you just purchased bok choy from the local farmers market. What would you do with this unusual cabbage - roast it, boil it, fry it, grill it? Here are a few ideas.
Spicy Bok Choy and Ginger
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds bok choy (about 2 medium bunches), cleaned, ends trimmed, and cut on the bias into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and ginger and cook 1 minute. Add bok choy, soy sauce and toasted sesame oil and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until greens are wilted and stalks are crisp-tender. Serve over rice.
Grilled Bok Choy
Ingredients
4 bok choy - cleaned, and cut on the bias with the top - of the greens discarded
2 tablespoons high quality balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Liberally drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the cut portion of the cabbage. Salt and pepper the cabbage and grill on a hot grill with the cut-side down first. Allow to char before turning. Grill until soft and serve under a steak, chicken or fish. The juice of the protein with further flavor the cabbage adding additional flavor to the bok choy. You will not be disappointed.
Send comments or other suggestions to Bill Rutherford at bprutherford@hotmail.com or visit pensiveparenting.com.