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Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy

In this ready-in-a-flash baby bok choy recipe, the tiny cruciferous bulbs are sautéed until just-done in nutty sesame oil, and finished with fresh garlic, a dash of soy sauce and red pepper flakes.

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stir fried bok choy with garlic soy sauce and sesame seeds in a skillet

Garlicky Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy

With satisfyingly crisp, tender little stalks and dark leafy tops that wilt just-so when cooked, baby bok choy is where it is at! In this ready-in-a-flash baby bok choy recipe, the tiny cruciferous bulbs are sautéed until just-done in nutty sesame oil, and finished with fresh garlic, a dash of soy sauce and red pepper flakes.

ingredients for stir fired baby bok choy

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baby bok choy cut in half lengthwise
baby bok choy browned in stainless steel skillet

What Part of Baby Bok Choy Do You Eat?

OK, this is the maybe the reason that baby bok choy is one of our favorite vegetable to cook and eat—the part of the baby bok choy that you eat is THE WHOLE THING! Vegetables that don’t require peeling or trimming or end-removal of some sort are few and far between, which makes vegetables like baby bok choy so very lovable—rarely is a vegetable quite this easy to prep and cook.

stainless steel skillet with browned bok choy cut in half

How To Stir-Fry Baby Bok Choy

With a small, tender vegetable like baby bok choy, sort of a steam / stir-fry hybrid is the best way to cook it. Stir-frying the bok choy ensures that we wind up with perfectly wilted top leaves and stalks that still have a bit of crunch. Here’s how this baby bok choy recipe works:

  1. Heat a good pour of sesame oil in a wok or skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. When the oil is hot, lay your baby bok choy in the pan, cut-side down. Work in batches, so your pan stays nice and hot, and cook each batch for a minute or so just to brown the bok choy.
  3. Once it’s all been browned, add all of the baby bok choy back to the pan along with minced garlic and stir-fry for two minutes.
  4. Add soy sauce, salt, red pepper flakes and water to make a sauce and bring the whole, lovely, fragrant pan to a nice simmer.
  5. When the dark green leaves are wilted and light green stalks are tender, but still have some crunch, your baby bok choy is done! This only takes a minute or two.
  6. Top with sesame seeds and more red pepper flakes, and serve!
stainless steel skillet with garlic and soy sauce
garlic soy sauce mixed with browned bok choy in a skillet

How To Clean Baby Bok Choy

Ease of cleaning is reason enough alone to chop your baby bok choy in half before cooking. This sweet, tender vegetable is unfortunately rather prone to accumulating grit and dirt in between those stubby, bulbous stalks. But no matter! Just slice your baby bok choy in half, length-wise, and give them a good rinse under a strong stream of cold water. Sometimes, I’ll peek between the stalks, just to be sure I’ve gotten rid of the grit. Once you see clean green, you’re good to go.

stir fried bok choy with garlic soy sauce and sesame seeds in a skillet

Tools You’ll Need:

stir fried bok choy with garlic soy sauce and sesame seeds

Other Asian-Inspired Dinner Ideas:

You can serve this Asian-inspired stir-fried baby bok choy alongside almost any dinner—it goes just as well with a simple grilled steak as it does a more traditional Asian dish. Here are a few things we love to serve it with:

  • Our easy harissa chicken is made with homemade harissa and is a dreamy weeknight supper.
  • A super savory Korean-style sauce makes these baked chicken wings over-the-top delicious.
  • Hoisin-glazed pork chops would be the perfect partner for our baby bok choy—both are fast, easy, healthy dishes and together they make for one perfect meal.
stir fried bok choy in a skillet topped with sesame seeds and red pepper flakes

Baby Bok Choy: Everyone’s Favorite Miniature Vegetable.

At least, it is now! Right? We hope you love this quick and easy stir-fried baby bok choy recipe, and we want to see how your version of it turns out! Snap a photo of your bok choy, and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you feed it to. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!

Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy

  • Serves: 4
  • Prep Time:  5 min
  • Cook Time:  15 min
  • Calories: 161

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb baby bok choy, halved, about 4
  • 4 tbsp sesame oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 tbsp water

Method

  1. In a large wok or skillet, heat sesame oil over medium high heat. Working in small batches, add in bok choy cut side down until lightly browned. Remove from pan and continue until all bok choy has been used.
  2. Once it’s all been browned, add all of the bok choy back to the pan along with the minced garlic and cook 2more minutes, stirring frequently. Add soy sauce, salt, red pepper flakes and water. Bring to a simmer, stirring bok choy until well-coated. Cook for another 2 minutes and remove from heat. Top with sesame seeds and more red pepper flakes before serving. Enjoy!

Note: The baby bok choy is done when the dark green leaves are wilted and light green stalks are tender, but still have a slight crunch.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories161
  • Protein3 g
  • Carbohydrates7 g
  • Total Fat14 g
  • Dietary Fiber2 g
  • Cholesterol0 mg
  • sodium951 mg
  • Total Sugars0 g

Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy

Questions & Reviews

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  • Elizabeth

    I have eating Boychoy since childhood! So I just noticed in some of the big bokchoh I buy from the local duper art here I jus observed that there’s this tiny black specks that dots the lower part of the stems! Is this normal ? And what is it? Ty

    Hi Elizabeth, that is known as “pepper spot.” This is a harmless cosmetic condition that doesn't impact taste or texture.

  • Pat

    What else can you make with Bok Choy?

    Our 30 Minute Garlic Ginger Salmon Dinner!!

  • Holly

    Should toasted sesame oil be used?

    Yes!

  • Kate

    Amazing recipe, but i would skip the addition 1/2 tsp of salt. The soy sauce has it covered.

    Thanks kate, glad you enjoyed it!

  • Holly

    Too good, omg. Loved this recipe.

    Thanks Holly! So glad you loved it!

  • Mike

    Really good, just the right amount of heat. Easy to put together. Thanks!t

    Glad to hear!