What comes to your mind when thinking of a leafy vegetable that can be eaten raw and cooked? Bok choy is one of those few all-rounders. Unlike lettuce or spinach, bok choy may not be the best-selling leafy vegetable in an American grocery store. But this Asia-original cabbage has sure gained more popularity in the American market because of its taste and phenomenal nutrition content.
The nutrients:
As a member of the cabbage family, bok choy is a great source of nutrients and minerals that you can add to your healthy and low-calorie diet. With its slightly sweet taste, 100 grams of bok choy contains only 13 kcal of energy and is successfully selected as one of the “zero calorie” foods.
Bok choy is also surprisingly rich in vitamins. Comparing it with the Daily Value (DV) guidance, 1 cup (170 grams) of bok choy provides about 64 percent of vitamin K, 60 percent of vitamin Cand 40 percent of vitamin A.
The cooking:
Name any way of cooking and bok choy can be a candidate. Apparently, bok choy dishes are most popular in Chinese restaurants—boiled and served with garlic sauce, stir fried with soy sauce or served in a soup. But Bok choy is no longer an exotic ingredient hidden in the Asian countries. Its crispy and slightly sweet taste also makes it a great choice for salad in the Western world. There are so many more easy-to-cook and delicious recipes waiting to be discovered. And maybe you can start with this recipe here:
• Prepare three bok choys and cut each in half. Rinse before cooking.
• Preheat pan on medium. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Let butter melt thoroughly.
• Pour in 2 cups of water. Then place the bok choys evenly on the pan.
• Wait until the water boils (about one minute), and put a lid on the pan. Wait for 2-5 minutes.
• Remove the lid and cook for one more minute.
• Place cooked bok choys on a plate and sprinkle salt and pepper on top. Ready to serve!
Still hesitating? This low calorie and highly nutritious vegetable is sitting at a nearby grocery store, waiting for you to turn it into a delicious dish.
[Photo by Nora Kuby – CC BY]
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