Chinese Minus The Take Out

We got a new camera this week and my image processing software did not support the files.  Easy fix, right?  Not so.  There are no upgrades to my software for this file because Adobe is greedy and they just want you to keep buying their products.  Then there's the fact that this new card the camera uses crashes My Computer 95% of the time I hook it up to it so getting the pictures off the card has been...interesting.  I have had pictures for the post on the damned camera for days but only yesterday was I able to actually get them on the computer and process them.

As I mentioned in the previous CSA post, I had never had bok choy and I was looking for some recipes to use it.  First, let me say that I do not like cooked cabbage.  I think it smells like fart.  Nasty, I know but that's what it smells like to me.   However, I do like a nice RAW cabbage salad.  The thought of putting cabbage in soup was 100% repulsive to me so I kept looking for other ways to use it up.  I ended up finding several recipes for stir fried bok choy and in the spirit of trying new things, I decided to brave it.

As I was slicing the bok choy, I tried a little bit of it.  Man, it was good!  Like...where-has-this-cabbage-been-all-my-life good.  It was sweet and crunchy and the white stalks were juicy...just loved it.  I was also very surprised by how good it was stir fried.  I do like it better raw but the stir fry was very good.  Now I'm thinking about growing the baby bok choy variety in my new Square Foot Garden but more on that later.

Stir Fried Bok Choy


400g (14oz) bok choy
1 tbsp oil
2 garlic cloves, mashed
3 thin slices of fresh ginger
3 tbsp chicken stock/broth
1 tsp sugar
salt or light soy sauce


Separate the white stakes and the green leaves of the bok choy.  Roughly slice both.  Heat a wok over high heat, add the oil and heat until very hot.  Stir fry the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds.  Add the white stalks and stir fry for about 2 minutes.  Add the greens and stir fry until they begin to wilt, then add the stock and sugar and season with salt or light soy sauce.  Simmer, covered, until the white stalks are tender but the leaves are still green, approximately 2 minutes.  Serve hot.


Serves 4

I made half that amount and it used up almost all of the bok choy.  We still have some green left and a lot of stalks so I may try something else with it.

For the main dish I just made a simple Lemon Chicken and I believe the recipe hails from Canton.  I used the garlic chives from the CSA box here.

Lemon Chicken


1 egg, slightly beaten
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 small pieces of unwaxed lemon rind
1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp canola or olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
2 small garlic chives, roughly chopped


Combine the egg, garlic and lemon rind in a bowl, add the chicken and marinate for 15 minutes.  Remove the lemon rind and add the cornstarch to the marinated chicken, making sure to stir and evenly distribute.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat until very hot.  Add the chicken, turn down the heat,  and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked.  Turn the heat up to high, add the lemon juice and stir. Remove from the heat, add the garlic chives and serve.


Serves 4

Why order Chinese when it's this easy to make??  I served this with white rice.


While making this chicken, I inadvertently tested a theory.  I have always heard that food sticks to pans (I dont normally use nonstick) not because the pan is hot but because it isn't hot enough.  I always let my pans get hot yet everything still stuck.  Well, this time I added the oil and then went to do something else (check my email, shame on me) and totally forgot about the frying pan.  When I remembered, I ran over the the stove and the oil had begun to smoke.  I went ahead and added the chicken anyway.  What do you know....know a single thing stuck!  I guess I was just not letting the pans get hot enough.