All About Bok Choy

Learn all about Bok Choy! From bok choy and nutrition, how to pick bok choy, even delicious bok choy recipes!

FUN FACT: Bok choy is sometimes called a “soup spoon” because of the shape of the leaves and bulbous bottom.

WHAT IS BOK CHOY?

Boy Choy is a type of Chinese cabbage. It doesn’t form a head and instead sprouts leafy greens with a bulbous bottom.

WHAT PART OF BOK CHOY DO YOU EAT?

The whole plant is edible. You can trim some of the bottoms off, give a good cleaning and then enjoy raw or cooked.

BENEFITS OF BOK CHOY

Whether you’re eating baby bok choy or regular bok choy, it’s definitely a cruciferous leafy green vegetable you want in your diet. Bok Choy is rich in antioxidants and has been studied for its cancer prevention. (1) (2) It’s rich in vitamin K, C, A, B6, folate, calcium, and potassium. It also has iron, manganese, vitamin B2, phosphorus, and fiber.

BOK CHOY NUTRITION

100g of raw bok choy contains (3)

13 calories
2.2 g carbohydrates
1.5 g protein
0.2 g fat
1 gram fiber
4,468 IU vitamin A (89%DV)
45 mg vitamin C (75%DV)
45.5 mcg vitamin K (57%DV)
66 mcg folate (16%DV)
105 mg calcium (11%DV)
0.2 mg vitamin B6 (10%DV)
0.2 mg manganese (8%DV)
252 mg potassium (7%DV)
19 mg magnesium (5%DV)

WHEN IS BOK CHOY IN SEASON?

Bok Choy can be found year-round. Here in NJ, we see it in season from mid-April to late June.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GROW BOK CHOY?

Bok Choy from seed to harvest takes about 45-60 days. This greatly depends on weather conditions. To harvest bok choy you’ll slice right about an inch above the ground so they can resprout a smaller bok choy.

bok choy and baby bok choy on a marble board

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOK CHOY AND BABY BOK CHOY?

Baby Bok Choy is smaller, sweets, and the leaves are more tender, which means you can use them in fresh salads and lightly cooked dishes. Regular bok choy is best in cooked dishes and is usually in a lot of Chinese dishes.

HOW TO STORE BOK CHOY

We store in a bag in the bottom drawer in our refrigerator for 3-5 days.

HOW TO PICK BOK CHOY

When choosing bok choy you want to look for rich green colored blades and the stems should be firm.

CAN YOU FREEZE BOK CHOY

Absolutely! It’s great for adding to dishes that are cooked, we recommend cutting it down to the desired size and then we like to steam bok choy. After quick steam, you then will blanch the bok choy, dry it and then store it in a freezer safe bag. (For a full method on steaming, blanching, and freezing see our method on steamed broccoli)