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Bok Choy Stir Fry Recipe

It’s time to switch up your dinner side! This bok choy stir fry recipe is delicious, nutritious, and incredibly simple to make. Bok choy is thinly sliced and stir fried with a savory combination of sesame oil, butter, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. The whole thing is ready in 10 minutes and it’s a delicious veggie side dish that pairs perfectly with dishes like furikake salmon, halibut, crockpot chicken teriyaki, or stir fry recipes like chicken teriyaki or orange chicken.

Bok choy stir fry in a bowl with chopsticks

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

What You’ll Love About Bok Choy Stir Fry

  • Flavorful side dish
  • Nutritious and delicious vegetable
  • Made with simple ingredients
  • Ready in just 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • Bok choy – Look for fresh bok choy that is bright green, without any browning. You can use baby bok choy or a regular, large bok choy. I prefer baby bok choy, but regular works well too, it’s really whatever you prefer and/or what you can find. Most grocery stores will carry bok choy in the veggie section, but Asian markets are a great place to get them.
  • Butter – Use high-quality butter for best flavor. If you prefer to make this dairy-free, you can swap it for dairy-free butter or simply use more sesame oil or a vegetable oil like canola oil or olive oil instead.
  • Sesame oil – Use high-quality toasted sesame oil for best flavor.
  • Soy sauce – Use high-quality soy sauce for best flavor. You can use low-sodium soy sauce if you prefer or for a gluten-free version, use coconut aminos or tamari.
  • Garlic – Use fresh garlic for best flavor or frozen garlic cubes for an easy shortcut. I prefer the cubes over jarred garlic, but if you like jarred garlic, you can also use that!
  • Ginger – Use fresh ginger for best flavor or frozen ginger cubes for an easy shortcut.
  • Garnish – Finish the bok choy stir-fry recipe with sesame seeds and red pepper flakes if you like a little heat.
Ingredients to make stir fry bok choy recipe

How to Make Stir Fry Bok Choy

This is an overview on how to cook bok choy stir fry, the detailed instructions can be found below in the recipe card.

Prep bok choy. Thinly slice bok choy into about 1-inch wide slices, discarding the root end of the stem.
Sliced bok choy on a cutting board
Saute bok choy. Heat butter and sesame oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat and add bok choy to pan. Let any excess water cook off the sautรฉed bok choy.
Bok choy in a skillet with garlic and ginger
Season bok choy. Add soy sauce, minced garlic, and ginger to bok choy. Stir and cook until bok choy is softed and wilted.
Bowl of bok choy stir fry

FAQs

How should I cut bok choy for stir fry?

I like to thinly slice the bok choy in about 1-inch wide strips, but you could also roughly chop if you prefer. If you are using a regular-sized bok choy (not baby bok choy) You may also need to cut some of the strips so they aren’t too long. Whatever type of bok choy you are using, you will want to discard the end of the stem.

What part of bok choy do you eat in stir fry?

Bok choy has a top that is made up of dark leafy greens and the white stems, which is the crunchy stalk. Both are delicious in the stir fry and the only part of the bok choy you will need to omit and discard is the very end of the root end.

Is pak choi the same thing as bok choy?

Bok choy and pak choi are both types of Chinese cabbage and are typically used interchangably (a lot of what I found online actually says they are the same thing!) but they are slightly different. The stem on a bok choy plant is white and pak choi (choy) has a green stem.

Storage Instructions

Store leftover bok choy stir fry in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

How to reheat

Reheat stir fry in a hot skillet until heated through.

Dish of bok choy stir fry

What to Serve with Baby Bok Choy Stir Fry

This bok choy stir fry recipe makes a great side to Asian dishes or stir fry:

How to Feed Stir Fried Bok Choy to the Whole Family

I get it, feeding kids can be tough! But following the Division of Responsibility and knowing your job and your childโ€™s job makes it SO much more enjoyable. Youโ€™ll be able to feed your kids any meal, which will help ensure that they are eating a variety of nutritious foods โ€“ with plenty of play food sprinkled in.

I would recommend serving the bok choy in a pinch bowl (taster bowl) if itโ€™s a new or learning-to-like it food. Serve it as an optional side dish.

Want More?

Follow Emily on Instagram or TikTok for family dinner recipe videos and tips for feeding kids.

Bowl of bok choy stir fry

More Easy Veggie Sides

If you like this bok choy stir fry recipe, you might also like some of these other easy veggie sides next time:

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Bok choy stir fry in a bowl with chopsticks

Bok Choy Stir Fry Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review

Description

This bok choy stir fry recipe is delicious, nutritious, and incredibly easy to make as it’s ready in just 10 minutes. Great dinner side dish.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 lbs. bok choy (can use baby bok choy or regular)
  • 1 Tbsp. butter
  • 1 tsp. sesame oil
  • 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp. ginger, grated
  • sesame seeds


Instructions

  1. Thinly slice bok choy (about 1โ€ wide), discarding the end of the stem.
  2. Heat butter and sesame oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add bok choy to the pan, cooking for about 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let any excess water cook off/evaporate.
  3. Add soy sauce, garlic, and ginger to bok choy, stir to combine and cook another 2-3 minutes, until bok choy is soft and wilted any excess liquid has evaporated.ย 
  4. Garnish with sesame seeds.


Notes

  • I’ve used baby bok choy here, but you can also use regular bok choy, slice the same way into 1-inch slices.

Food styling and photography by Loren Runion.

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One Comment

  1. This was delicious ~ weโ€™ll definitely make it again! This time, with two or three bok choys so we can have a satisfying amount. One was just too small.

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