Sautéed Bok Choy

I am always searching for ways to change up the veggie medley in our lives. I tend to fall in a rut of cooking the same things, the same way. There seems to be a continual rotation of cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, and spinach moving through this house. I do completely adore sautéed spinach with garlic and olive oil, but even that can get a bit repetitive. After a trip to the Buford Highway Farmers Market (THANK YOU Connie Grubb for the inspiration), I bought some small-ish Bok Choy. What to do with it? Well, sautée it was my answer! Of course! We love spinach that way, why wouldn’t we love sautéed Bok Choy?

It turns out there is no reason to veer completely off the path! The Bok Choy was GREAT this way! It kept a little bit of crunch, and the leaves were tender and tasty. My husband said the texture was a little like celery… if you try it, you decide – I’m not sold on that.

Here’s how you make Sautéed Bok Choy

The Bok Choy I bought wasn’t baby bok choy, but it wasn’t all grown up either. I’d say it was a teenager. It didn’t have too much stiffness to it before it went in the saute pan.

I began by separating Bok Choy and cleaned each leaf. I found a TON of dirt on all of the stems. The very bottom and the very inside parts I discarded. Here is what it looked like:

Next, with my large knife, I just cut it into small strips. It looked like this:

Then, I took 5 cloves of garlic, pretty large cloves, and diced it into really small pieces. I then put it in a small bowl with about 4 tablespoons of olive oil, and I let that sit in the oil until I was ready to cook.

I then sliced a lemon in half and had it near the stove with my lemon squeezer.

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Then, I heated the saute pan to medium, added the garlic and olive oil (this is the best type of olive oil) and squeezed the lemon into the pan as well. I let that sit, stirring often, for about 4 minutes. Don’t let the garlic burn – it turns crunchy and bitter if it browns.

Next, I added in the chopped Bok Choy and stirred it to coat all of the Bok Choy. I continued to stir it frequently for about 10 minutes, until it looked like this.

If I do say so myself, it was a hit! A bit crunchy, a bit tender, a bit lemony and a bit of yum! I was worried it would be bitter, but no – not at all. If you try it, I hope you enjoy!