I don’t know about you, but when I started eating healthy, I had the palette of an unsophisticated six-year-old.
I had never even heard of half of the vegetables I found on my first trip to Whole Foods and it took months for someone to instruct me on the proper pronunciation of quinoa.
However, I’ve come a long way since then and now make a point to try to incorporate a new food into my diet every month. It isn’t hard to do since all my prior experiences involve corn, taters and lots of butter.
Now that I’m a little further along in my healthy eating journey, I may it a habit to try new foods as often as possible. This week for Weird Food Wednesday, I’m cooking with bok choy for the first time.
Bok Choy is a super-nutrient dense green and is a great source of everything from Omega-3 fats to antioxidants. It even has anti-inflammatory properties and is super versatile to boot!
Cooking with bok choy is similar to cooking with spinach or kale — it goes good with almost everything. And like spinach or kale, bok choy can stand on its own as a delicious side item.
Cooking With Bok Choy
Steak Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 sirloin steak
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 head of bok choy
Directions
- Thaw and slice your steak into stir fry-sized pieces, removing the fatty parts.
- In a skillet over medium heat, add steak, soy sauce, garlic powder and sesame seeds and cook for five to ten minutes.
- As the steak nears completion, wash and cut your bok choy. Slice it into bite size pieces and add it to the mixture. For this recipe, I used the leaves and stalks, but you can remove the stalks if that’s your preference.
- Enjoy!
Chicken and Coconut Soup
Ingredients
- 1 can of coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
- 1 container of mushrooms
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon of turmeric (For our Weird Food Wednesday on cooking with turmeric, click here.)
- 1 head of bok choy
- 1/2 teaspoon of ginger
- 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
- 1 pound of chicken
- 1 cup of chicken broth
Directions
- In a skillet over medium heat, melt the coconut oil and add the onion and mushrooms. Saute for five minutes or until fragrant.
- Add chicken broth, turmeric, coconut milk and bok choy to mixture. Bring to a simmer for five to ten minutes and then reduce the heat.
- In a separate skillet, slice your chicken into cubes and then add it to the skillet over medium heat. Add in ginger and fish sauce and cook until the chicken is done. Warning: the fish sauce has a STRONG odor, but a super yummy flavor.
- Once the chicken has finished cooking, add it to the soup mixture. Garnish with red pepper flakes and serve hot.
Roasted Bok Choy
Ingredients
- 1 head of bok choy
- 1/2 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- 1/2tablespoon of sesame oil
- 3/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon of mustard powder
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 270 degrees.
- In a small container, combine the soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil, garlic powder and mustard powder.
- Break each piece of the bok choy off from the head and lay them on a greased baking sheet.
- Using a brush, coat each piece of the bok choy with your sauce.
- Place in the oven for five to eight minutes and serve as a side dish.
For more Weird Food Wednesdays, click here.

