This simple, humble dish of braised bok choy was the very first real meal I ate yesterday, after suffering through a bout of some kind of gut-wrenching twenty-four hour stomach illness. Don’t let that fool you, though, for this dish, though simple, isn’t dull — the ginger and garlic lend a sharp, savory note to the cabbagey-crisp bok choy, and the sesame oil and soy sauce impart a little depth. At the same time, it’s light, and warm, which was perfect for yesterday evening as the sun set and a cool breeze blew down from the mountains.

The bok choy itself was a totally unexpected gift from Michael Gallagher of Square Roots Farm / Hoosac Harvest CSA — which I received on Friday afternoon after visiting the farm for a tour. (I hope to be able to share the photos with you on Wednesday.) “How can you write about the farm if you don’t taste the vegetables?” Michael asked. How could I disagree? The bok choy he gave me was fully grown, with lovely pale green stalks, and still tender and crisp. Perfect for a light braise.

Traditionally, you might simmer the braising liquid down to thicken it and intensify the flavors, but I’ve chosen to leave it a little soupy. I served the braised bok choy over Thai jasmine rice, with a generous ladelful of broth, a few sprigs of cilantro from my mom’s garden, and a handful of sesame seeds.

Comforting and simple and just what I needed.

Ginger-Braised Bok Choy

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon each minced garlic and ginger
• 1 head bok choy, trimmed, halved lengthwise, and halved again
• 1 cup vegetable or chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-hight heat. Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for a minute or two, until fragrant. Add the bok choy, and cook, turning once, until it begins to brown and soften, about 2 minutes. Add the stock and soy sauce.
2. Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer until the bok choy is tender, about 5 minutes.
3. At this point, you can remove the bok choy to a serving platter and continue to simmer the liquid to reduce it, or serve the bok choy along with the broth in all its soupy goodness.

“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