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Home Asian

Bok Choy in Ginger Sauce

By:Nagi
Published:13 Sep '23Updated:14 Sep '23
49 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

My favourite way to cook bok choy is with a lovely shiny, ginger sauce. Great way to load up on leafy Asian greens quickly and easily! On the table in 5 minutes, serve over fluffy rice or over noodles in soup.

Bok Choy in ginger sauce recipe

My favourite bok choy recipe

I’ve shared many stir fries using bok choy but I’ve never done one where it takes centre stage. Which is a bit of an omission on my part because today’s recipe is one that I use rather frequently in my day-to-day life. It’s just a really tasty, quick way to cook up a big load of leafy Asian greens. It’s a staple vegetable dish on the menu of everyday Chinese restaurants.

Saucy is the key! That ginger sauce will make any vegetable scoff-able. The Chinese are very clever cooks!

Plate of Bok Choy with ginger sauce

Bok Choy

What you need to make Bok Choy in Ginger Sauce

Here’s what you need to make this bok choy recipe.

Bok Choy (or other Asian greens!)

I’m using baby bok choy for today’s recipe but you can use almost all leafy Asian greens such as pak choy and choy sum.

Bok Choy with ginger sauce

Size – I like to use small(ish) bok choy if I can find it, usually labelled “baby bok choy”, because it is more tender and sweet. I classify them “baby” up to around 17cm/7″ long. The other side benefit is that you can cook the leaves whole without separating the stem from the leafy part which looks nice.

Much longer than this and you end up in a spaghetti-type situation (I see hot ginger sauce being slapped around your mouth!) unless you cut the leafy part from the stem.

Other Asian greens

The cooking method in this recipe works great for pretty much any Asian greens. You just need to tweak the steaming time to suit the one you’re using. Here are some other common Asian greens that are ideal to use for this recipe – pak choy (full size and baby!) and choy sum.

Asian greens

And here’s how to cut each of these types of Asian greens for this recipe. For the longer ones, just cut into pieces as long or short as you want. For smaller ones, keep the leaves whole!

Asian greens

Gai lan, also known as Chinese broccoli, will also work but because the stem is a little firmer (like ordinary broccoli texture), it will take a little longer to steam-cook. Though, if Gai Lan is what you have, my favourite way to cook it is with Oyster Sauce, yum cha style – stacked and doused with sauce! Recipe here.

Sauce

The sauce is a classic Chinese stir fry sauce that is nice and shiny. It’s fairly light in colour compared to other stir fry sauces which is common at Chinese restaurants. It suits vegetable dishes – we don’t want to weigh down leafy greens with overly salty, intensely flavoured sauces.

But, let me be clear, this sauce is definitely not bland!! It’s an excellent, tasty rice-soaking sauce!

Ginger sauce for Bok Choy
  • Oyster sauce – A very common Asian sauce found in the Asian aisle of grocery stores that is used liberally in Chinese, Thai and other Asian cooking. Sweet and savoury packed into one magical bottle, it’s key to this otherwise simple sauce not being bland and boring. Substitute with vegetarian oyster sauce (fairly commonly found these days) or hoisin sauce (you’ll get a hint of Chinese five spice flavour which is lovely too!)

  • Chinese cooking wine (“Shaoxing wine”) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant standard” Asian sauces, adds depth of flavour. More information on it here. Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic substitutes – swap both the cooking wine AND water with low sodium chicken broth/stock.

  • Sesame oil (toasted) – Use toasted sesame oil which is brown and has more flavour than untoasted (which is yellow). Default sesame oil sold in Australia is toasted, untoasted is harder to find.

  • Soy sauce – Use either light or all purpose soy sauce. But not dark soy sauce – flavour is too strong and the colour is too intense! More on which soy sauce to use when here.

  • Cornflour / cornstarch – Thickens the stir fry sauce and also makes it shiny! Flour, on the other hand, doesn’t make sauces shiny. Food trivia for the day!

  • White pepper is the pepper of choice in most Chinese stir fry sauces as it keeps the sauce free of (unsightly!😂) black pepper speckles. But I promise switching a pinch of white pepper for black pepper will not ruin your dish!!


How to cook Bok Choy

Bok choy cooks so quickly it can be pan roasted, steamed or boiled. But my favourite way is to combine both pan-roasting and steaming. You get the lovely sautéed gingery oil coating the bok choy before steaming it in just 45 seconds in the pan. The sauce is poured in at the end and literally takes 30 seconds to thicken!

How to cook bok choy
  1. Sauce – Mix the cornflour/cornstarch with everything except the water until lump free, then mix in the water. Why? Because it’s easier to dissolve cornflour in less liquid. If there’s too much liquid, you end up with pesky cornflour lumps.

  2. Sauté ginger in the oil for a minute to soften and also to flavour the oil. The ginger won’t cook much further once everything else is added.

    TIP: Start the ginger in a cold pan to extend the oil-infusion time!

How to cook bok choy
  1. Toss bok choy in the pan for about 15 seconds to coat it in the gingery oil. I recommend using 2 spatulas, one a rubber spatula so you can scoop up the little bits of ginger.

  2. Water – Then pour over 1/4 cup of water. This will create the steam to cook the bok choy.

How to cook bok choy
  1. 45 second steam – Place the lid on then steam for just 45 seconds until the stem is partially cooked. Bok choy cooks really, really quickly! And we still have the sauce to go so we don’t want it to be fully soft at this stage.

    Doneness – The stem should still have a soft crunch to it, but not be crisp like when raw. If it’s soft all the way through, it turns into mush. Not pleasant!

  2. Sauce – Give the sauce a quick stir to mix in any cornflour settled on the bottom. Then pour it over the bok choy and toss for just 30 seconds or until it changes from murky to a clear glossy sauce that thickens slightly and coats the bok choy.

    Thickness adjustment – If the sauce evaporates too quickly and gets too thick, just add a splash of water to loosen it up! This can happen if there’s too much heat in the pan or if your vegetables are a bit past their prime so don’t release much water when steaming.

    And that’s it! How quick was that? 🙂 Just transfer the bok choy and every drop of that delicious sauce onto a serving plate then serve!

Serving Bok Choy with ginger sauce

Bok Choy with ginger sauce over rice

Serving

The obvious role for this plate of tasty vegetable goodness is as a side dish. But I exaggerate not when I say that I’ll happily have this as a meal, just by itself. Proof above. Look at that ginger-sauce-rice-soaking situation!!! Try telling me that’s not meal worthy! – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

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Bok Choy in ginger sauce recipe

Bok Choy in Ginger Sauce

Author: Nagi
Prep: 3 minutes mins
Cook: 3 minutes mins
Total: 6 minutes mins
Side Dish
Asian, Chinese
5 from 11 votes
Servings4 – 5 as a side
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. My favourite way to cook bok choy is with a lovely shiny, ginger sauce. Great way to load up on leafy Asian greens quickly and easily! Be careful not to overcook the bok choy, it cooks really fast. Pan-steam for just 45 seconds, then it finishes cooking in 30 seconds with the sauce.
Recipe also works great with other Asian Greens like pak choy, choy sum (see Note 1). Make this ginger version one day then garlic the next! Serve as a side, with fluffy rice or over noodles in soup.

Ingredients

  • 6 small bok choys , up to ~17cm/7″ long, or other Asian greens (Note 1 + photos in post)
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup ginger , finely julienned (or 1 tbsp garlic)
  • 1/4 cup water

Sauce (Note 5 for Charlie shortcut!):

  • 3 tsp cornflour/cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 tsp light soy sauce , or all-purpose soy (Note 2)
  • 1 tsp oyster sauce (sub vegetarian oyster sauce)
  • 2 tsp Chinese cooking wine (Note 3)
  • 1 tsp sesame oil , toasted
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 tsp cooking salt
  • Pinch white pepper

Instructions

  • Cutting – Trim the base of the bok choy then separate all the leaves. Leave the delicate baby bok choy in the centre intact, it's precious! Cut giant stems in half lengthwise so they are all roughly the same size. Rinse in colander, shake off excess water (don't need to dry fully).
  • Sauce – Stir Sauce ingredients except water in a jug until cornflour is dissolved. (Easier to make lump free with less liquid). Then stir in water.
  • Gingery oil – Put the ginger and oil in a large non-stick pan. Turn onto medium heat. Once the ginger starts sizzling, sauté for 1 minute until it turns light golden and is a bit floppy. Add bok choy then use 2 spatulas to toss the ginger for around 15 seconds to coat.
  • Steam – Turn heat up to medium, pour water over. Cover with lid and steam for just 45 seconds.
  • Sauce – Remove lid (bok choy will still be a bit underdone), pour in sauce, toss for 30 seconds until sauce changes from murky to clear, and thickens. Bok choy should be just floppy but still soft crunch, not mushy. If your sauce gets too thick (Note 4), add a tiny splash of water and mix.
  • Serve – Pour the bok choy and all the sauce onto a serving plate, then eat!

Recipe Notes:

1. Bok Choy & other asian greens – can use other leafy Asian greens, such as pak choy, choy sum, baby and full size. For short ones, like the pictured baby bok choy, just trim the base and separate the leaves (keep stem and leafy part attached). For long ones, cut into 7.5cm/3″ (ish) lengths (see photos in post). If the stems are really thick, cut in half. Toss the stems in first to give them a head start, then add the leafy part just at the end before adding water to steam.
Recipe will work with gai lan (Chinese broccoli) too, just get the stem going first (it’s thicker so will take longer to cook) and steam it for a little longer (around 2 minutes in total).
2. Soy sauce – Use either light or all purpose soy sauce. But not dark soy sauce – flavour is too strong and the colour is too intense! More on which soy sauce to use when here.
3. Chinese cooking wine (“Shaoxing wine”) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant standard” Asian sauces, adds depth of flavour. More info on it here. Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic sub – sub both the cooking wine AND water with low sodium chicken broth/stock.
4. Sauce relies on some water coming out of the bok choy as it steams. If your bok choy is old and shrivelled, not enough water will come out. Easy fix – just add a tiny splash of water!
5. Charlie option – To make this using Charlie (my all-purpose stir fry sauce), mix 2 tablespoons of Charlie with 1/4 cup water. Then use as the Sauce!
6. Leftovers will keep for 2 days but the vegetables do tend to get watery/floppy. 🙂
Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 81cal (4%)Carbohydrates: 4g (1%)Protein: 2g (4%)Fat: 7g (11%)Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.02gSodium: 317mg (14%)Potassium: 278mg (8%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 1g (1%)Vitamin A: 4468IU (89%)Vitamin C: 45mg (55%)Calcium: 107mg (11%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Keywords: asian greens recipe, bok choy recipe, how to cook bok choy
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

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49 Comments

  1. Maggie says

    November 29, 2023 at 9:33 pm

    5 stars
    Loved this with the Vietnamese baked chicken and garlic rice

    Reply
  2. Nicola says

    November 16, 2023 at 10:14 am

    Yum. Thankyou so much. And laughing at the the photo of Dozer. My (diabetic) cat loves bok choy. I can’t leave it out, as he’ll eat through the plastic to get to it.

    Reply
  3. Meera says

    November 3, 2023 at 12:29 pm

    Super easy, super delicious and super fast!

    Reply
  4. Janeen says

    October 11, 2023 at 5:36 pm

    5 stars
    Best way ever to eat bok choy alongside Vietnamese baked chicken and fluffy coconut rice. Your recipes are easy to follow and absolutely wonderful to consume. Dozer is an added bonus and completes each

    Reply
  5. Janeen says

    October 8, 2023 at 6:49 pm

    5 stars
    Best sauce, so delicious with broccoli, baby spinach and bokchoy served with Vietnamese baked chicken and fluffy coconut rice. I adore your recipes which are so successful each and every time.

    Reply
  6. Kim says

    October 4, 2023 at 12:25 am

    5 stars
    I love all your recipes. And Dozer ❤️💕🐕. My husband is gluten intolerant and allergic to soy. (sauce) (and peppers, garlic, and and…. ) is there any way around the soy sauce in this recipe?

    Reply
    • Natalie Germain says

      November 17, 2023 at 8:43 am

      Hello Kim,
      We use Coconut Aminos instead of soy sauce! We love it!

      Reply
      • Kim Schafer says

        November 21, 2023 at 11:44 pm

        Thank you so much. i will look for it

        Reply
    • Kelly says

      October 10, 2023 at 11:32 am

      5 stars
      No more soggy Asian greens! I’ve been overcooking them for ever. This is perfect. – Kim, I suggest you try Bragg Liquid Aminos as an alternative to soy sauce.

      Reply
  7. Melissa says

    October 3, 2023 at 1:17 pm

    5 stars
    OMGoooodness! This is such an amazing dish! I added mushrooms and shrimp. Thank you again for another staple added to our family recipe book.

    Reply
  8. Jayne says

    September 28, 2023 at 2:21 pm

    Would anyone happen to know if this ginger sauce recipe would have a similar taste to Thai ginger sauce? Thanks

    Reply
  9. Suzanne says

    September 28, 2023 at 10:06 am

    5 stars
    Excellent! I almost ate the whole batch but figured I’d better save some for tomorrow.did not put any salt in because of the soy sauce and good thing, it was fine without.

    Reply
  10. Vy Nguyen says

    September 18, 2023 at 8:01 pm

    So delicious, ate it along with a serve of your homemade chilli wontons. Felt like I was at my own little restaurant!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 22, 2023 at 5:33 pm

      I LOVE HEARING THAT!! N x

      Reply
  11. Kristin Van says

    September 17, 2023 at 9:37 am

    5 stars
    Didn’t have bok choy but did have fresh Swiss chard from our garden. My husband loved it. Chard stood up really well with the sauce. I’m going to try it with garlic next time (we have a lot of Swiss chard 🤣) Thank you so much Nagi!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 22, 2023 at 5:33 pm

      Great idea to use Swiss Chard! You’re right, it’s sturdy enough to hold up to this sauce 🙂 N x

      Reply
  12. Smita says

    September 15, 2023 at 9:00 pm

    5 stars
    Just made this with your garlic rice and some chicken. So yummy!! Love the flavour. Will try with garlic and chilli flakes next time 😁

    Reply
  13. Heather says

    September 15, 2023 at 5:28 am

    Is there an oyster sauce hierarchy or are they all pretty much the same?

    Reply
    • Joanne Rose says

      September 21, 2023 at 3:24 pm

      If you can find it, MegaChef Oyster Sauce is amazing. As is their fish sauce.

      Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 15, 2023 at 6:13 am

      The only dud I’ve had was in a jar, so always get bottle (jar was way too thick). And, the more authentically Asian the brand (where it’s made etc). the better! 🙂 Lee Kum Lee and Ayam are common brands that I use. N x

      Reply
      • Heather says

        September 15, 2023 at 6:24 pm

        Great thnx!

        Reply
  14. Varun says

    September 15, 2023 at 4:14 am

    Ma’am it looks so delicious 😋 !!!

    Reply
  15. Ed Gonzales says

    September 14, 2023 at 10:41 pm

    Made this with Napa Cabbage that was super fresh and it jumped into my cart—tasty!

    Reply
  16. Jill Shepherd says

    September 14, 2023 at 1:37 am

    LOLOL I JUST bought a big box of these and Costco and was looking for something new to do with them!! Thanks again.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 14, 2023 at 6:26 am

      There you go! Make it with ginger one day then garlic the next!! 🙂 N x

      Reply
  17. Robert A. says

    September 13, 2023 at 11:57 pm

    5 stars
    I cook my bok choy the same way except I use garlic instead of ginger most of the time. Sometimes I use both. It is a very flexible way to cook veg and can be modified to suit your particular tastes or even to suit what you are serving it with.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 14, 2023 at 6:27 am

      Yes! I love making this with garlic too 🙂 N x

      Reply
  18. Regina Simone says

    September 13, 2023 at 8:54 pm

    Hi Nagi, I can’t wait to try this. But do I have to use sesame oil? I have an allergy to it. Thanks and as always love your recipes and Dozer!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 14, 2023 at 6:28 am

      Hi Regina! Nope, feel free to leave it out 🙂 N x

      Reply
  19. Sharon says

    September 13, 2023 at 8:18 pm

    Hi Nagi,

    Quick question on the Bok Choy recipe ingredients, please. Are we to use store bought oyster sauce or Nagi’s special home made oyster sauce?

    Thanks so much

    Sharon

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 14, 2023 at 6:28 am

      Morning Sharon! Wish I had a special homemade oyster sauce!! 🙂 The one listed in the ingredients is just the store bought one. Hope you love this! N x

      Reply
  20. Pauline McNee says

    September 13, 2023 at 6:28 pm

    This looks so delicious Nagi. This would be perfect with the ginger bok choy. My kind of food.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 14, 2023 at 6:29 am

      ME TOO!! N x

      Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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