More Bok-Choy in a Satisfying Stir-fry

Bok Choy or Pak Choi first made its appearance on this blog in the "feelgood soup". Its first appearance in my kitchen was no earlier than last week....when I picked up a quart-size bagful of it at the University Farmer's Market.

Yes, the University of Arizona has its own farmer's market- friday mornings on the mall - nothing very fancy, but adequate, with the availability of fresh organic produce, fruit, fresh roasted coffee, locally made preserves and salsas...all at prices that don't make a grad student cringe (atleast not the way one could at the whole foods checkout :) )

Upon googling, I realized that there is more than one kind of Bok-choy, I've seen the white stem variety at the grocery store on occasion, and the kind I bought had tender green stems - and perhaps is the san fan hybrid

Anyhow, said bag of Bok-choy was picked up, and one stalk made its way into said soup two nights ago - the rest of the bag, and some tender asparagus needed to be used up before they lost freshness. I was inspired by this Emeril recipe from the food network website.

Since I did not have ham or chinese sausage on hand, and felt like I needed a little more spice, I altered the recipe to my liking. The result was a delicious, satisfying, and not too heavy dinner.


Asparagus Bok-Choy Stir Fry with Ground Chicken




What I used:

Ground Chicken -- 1/2 pound
Fresh Ginger, finely slivered -- 1 tsp
Fresh Garlic, finely minced -- 2 cloves
Fresh green chilli, indian/thai variety, finely chopped -- 1/2
Spring onion, white and green parts, sliced fine --1
Asparagus, snapped by hand into two inch pieces, tough ends discarded -- 1/2 pound
Bok-Choy, leaves and stalks, finely sliced -- 1 cup
Oil -- 1 tsp

for the sauce:
Chicken stock -- 1/3 cup
honey -- 1 tsp
white wine vinegar -- 2 tbsp
(the recipe called for mirin, and I did not have any)
Trader Joes Soyaki sauce -- 1 tsp
Cornstarch -- 1 tbsp
salt and pepper -- a large pinch each

Method:

In a flat pan, I warmed a teaspoon of oil, tossed in the ginger, garlic, green chilli and spring onion and sauteed until translucent and aromatic. Then, I added the ground chicken and cooked uncovered (on medium low heat) for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it was cooked through. The chicken releases a little fat, and the asparagus and bok choy tossed in with the cooked chicken absorb a little of the chicken flavour. Keep stirring until asparagus and bok choy are cooked through, about 5 minutes. The asparagus gets a bright green sheen and should be tender yet crunchy, while the bok choy stays bright green although it wilts slightly.

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl, and make sure cornstarch and honey are completely dissolved. Pour into the pan. The mixture loses its opacity and starts to thicken in less than a minute. Toss the mixture around (with a pair of tongs if you like) till the vegetables and meat are evenly coated with the sauce.

Take off heat and serve hot with steamed rice.

I really enjoyed this dish. I think it it would be just as delicious with spinach or kale, as well as vegetarianised using soy granules (nutrela) or crushed extra firm tofu instead of ground chicken.