What is Bok Choy (Or Pak Choi)? Everything You Need to Know

It comes from China and South-East Asia, it looks like a chard, but it belongs to the large Brassicaceae family and is taking up more and more space in our cuisine, thanks above all to the discovery of oriental foods that go beyond the classic Cantonese rice and spring rolls. We are talking about Chinese cabbage, better known as pak choi or bok choy, a vegetable that is mainly characterized by being crunchy, delicate, very easy to cook (it is perfect sautéed in a pan) and rich in nutritional properties. Let's get to know it better.

What is Bok Choy, Chinese Cabbage?

For some time now, Chinese cabbage has become one of those vegetables that are easily available at the grocery store, as well as at the greengrocer's. Its scientific name is Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis: it is easy to distinguish between the stalls, because it looks like a bunch of chard, but has a much more rounded and stocky shape. The stems are short, white or pale green, while the leaves are smooth, turgid, large and bright green.

Pak choi is a cruciferous vegetable in all respects , like cauliflower, broccoli, daikon or celeriac: the flavor is slightly bitter, with a mustard aftertaste, so much so that it is also called Chinese mustard cabbage. Unlike its similar vegetables, which are typical of winter, it can be found all year round, because it can be sown and harvested over the course of 12 months: the best pak choi have tough, brightly colored leaves and firm, white stems without darker spots.

Bok Choy's Properties and Benefits

Cruciferous vegetables rhyme with health and Chinese cabbage is no exception, indeed, it proves to be a true champion of well-being, to be considered as a superfood. Pak choi is made up of 95% water, is rich in vitamins A, K and C, fiber, minerals such as potassium and calcium, and antioxidant polyphenols. A panacea for our body: the benefits, in fact, range from the fight against water retention and free radicals (therefore against cellular aging), through the regulation of intestinal flora and the elimination of toxins as it is a natural diuretic. Furthermore, it is low in calories, cholesterol-free and has a good presence of omega-3, which protect against cardiovascular diseases and have anti-inflammatory properties.

How to Cook Bok Choy

Being a cultivar of oriental origin, the use of pak choi in cooking is mainly linked to combinations that recall the symbols of Asian gastronomic tradition, such as sweet and sour sauces (soy, teriyaki, mirin), seaweed and oil seeds, capable of giving the now famous umami taste to dishes, in a mix of health and pleasure for the palate. Before being used, Chinese cabbage must be cleaned like a common rib vegetable, eliminating the woody part that holds the bunch together and rinsing under running water to remove any residue of soil. Depending on the chosen preparation, the leaves can be separated from the stems: given the different consistencies, they have different cooking times (the former take less).

When Chinese cabbage is young, the leaves are more tender, so you can also enjoy them raw in salads, but most of the time pak choi needs to be cooked: however, this requires very little cooking, no more than 10 minutes, as Chinese cabbage is best appreciated if left crunchy. It is brought to the table especially sautéed in a pan (even better in a wok) seasoned with soy sauce, oyster sauce (the oyster sauce that is frequently used in Asian cuisine) and seeds, proving to be an excellent side dish to accompany, for example, a slice of salmon. With fish, it is a perfect ally in healthy recipes to be steamed or baked in foil, such as with sea bass, ginger and spring onions, to create alternative aromatic combinations.

It is also often found as an ingredient in both pork and chicken soups, as well as vegetarian soups with tofu (add it very close to the end as 2-3 minutes are enough) and in broth and dry noodles. A very simple way to prepare it with what you usually have in the pantry is to blanch the pak choi for a couple of minutes and fry it in a pan with extra virgin olive oil, garlic and chili pepper. In Korean cuisine, Chinese cabbage is also one of the vegetables used to make kimchi, the traditional dish based on fermented vegetables.

How to Store Bok Choy

Once purchased, it does not need to be used immediately: like other cabbages, in fact, bok choy has a good shelf life. If stored in the refrigerator drawer dedicated to vegetables, wrapped in cling film or in its disposable bag, it remains intact from 3 days to a week.