Plate to Plate

“This is the best bok choy I’ve ever grown,” said Don, head honcho at Caretaker Farm and provider of 95% of the vegetables that land on my plate from June through November. I was giddily stuffing fistfuls of spinach into my canvas bag, but paused to regard the small, pale green bunches of bok choy that Don was now encouraging into two unsuspecting new CSA members’ bags. The two women glanced at each other with vaguely worried looks as Don happily headed off to tend to another farm task.

“But what do we do with it?” one woman asked the other, sotto voce, as several small children eddied around them, tugging on pant legs and waving stalks of rhubarb. The other woman offered a small shrug of unfamiliarity, and the two of them, and their brood, shuffled in the direction of the baby salad greens.

Meanwhile, I’d sidled up to the bok choy. Don’s glowing review notwithstanding, bok choy (also called pak choi, or Chinese cabbage) is one of my favorite vegetables, especially when it’s young and tender, as these sweet little bundles were. Bok choy is great, because it’s like two vegetables in one: the crisp, pale green stalks, and the supple, spinach-like leaves. You find it most often in a Chinese style stir-fry, where its two-for-the-price-of-one allure really stands out — the stems cook up tender and translucent while retaining their crunch, and the leaves wilt to a soft, dark green.

I hoped that those two as-yet unenlightened women would take some bok choy home with them that afternoon. They’d never know what they were missing.

Stir-Fried Bok Choy and Mung Beans with Sesame Noodles

Bok choy’s mildly cabbagey flavor gets along well with stir-fry flavors like garlic, ginger, and red chile. Here, I’ve paired it with cold sesame noodles — one of my favorite, summery, not-quite-junk-food recipes. Don’t let the two ingredient lists deter you — this easy meal comes together in under 10 minutes. You can usually find mung bean sprouts in the produce section, or you can sprout your own at home, like we did. This dish would also be great with small cubes of firm tofu, if you have some on hand.

For the sesame noodles:

1 inch knob peeled fresh ginger
1 medium garlic clove
1/2 c peanut butter
1/4 c shoyu, tamari, or soy sauce
1/3 c warm water
2 tbs rice vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tbs honey
1 tsp chili sauce
1 lb dried udon noodles, or dried buckwheat soba nooodles
small fistful scallions, chives, or garlic chives, thinly sliced
4 tbs toasted sesame seeds

For the bok choy:

2 tbs canola oil
1 tsp sesame oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tsp minced ginger
1 1/2 pounds bok choy, leaves trimmed and reserved, stems cut to 1-inch pieces
2 tbs shoyu, tamari, or soy sauce
1 tsp sambal oelek, or your favorite hot chile sauce, or a pinch red chile flakes
1 c mung bean sprouts
3 tbs roasted, unsalted peanuts

Place the ginger and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times until minced. Add the next seven ingredients and blend until smooth, about two minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the noodles and cook according to package directions. When the noodles are ready, drain and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl, toss the noodles with the sesame-peanut sauce, scallions, and sesame seeds.

Meanwhile, set a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add 2 tbs oil and tilt the wok to coat with the oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for just a minute. Add the bok choy stems and leaves and stir-fry for another minute or two, until the leaves have darkened and wilted. Add the shoyu and hot sauce, stirring to distribute. Remove the pan from heat and add the bean sprouts and peanuts, stirring again to incorporate.

Use tongs to distribute the sesame noodles to individual dishes. Top each serving with a generous heap of bok choy and a sprinkling of peanuts. Serve with extra hot sauce on the side.

Serves 4