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Miso Grilled Baby Bok Choy

This Miso Grilled Baby Bok Choy recipe, covered with this special miso paste is literally the bomb! The Asian flavors are front and center when you use miso paste in the sauce. Just brush that on and it will make the bok choy sing; it is wonderful!

Just after we developed this creation I gave the recipe to Jill, a friend of mine. She tried it and called the next day raving about how good it was. Needless to say, I had to get the recipe out there as soon as I could!

What part of bok choy do I eat?

The simple answer is all of it! Bok choy is a Chinese cabbage and grows much the same as what we think of as regular cabbage or iceberg lettuce. It is harvested by cutting the plant just above the soil level. I like to trim the base of the bok choy as it can be hard, but the body and bok choy leaves are wonderfully flavorful.

If you are growing bok choy you can, in most places in North America, get two crops a season. Baby bok choy is simply harvested when the plants are 6 – 10 inches tall.

I was first exposed to bok choy stalks as a staple ingredient in Chinese soups like wor won ton soup. Bok choy is so much more versatile as a vegetable than that!

How do you prepare bok choy?

How do you prepare bok choy? Great question! Wash the whole bok choy and shake off the excess water. Trim a little off the bottom and remove any of the outer leaves that are old, damaged, or brown.

For this recipe, you need to slice the bok choy in half vertically. Then mix up the sauce by combining the miso paste, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. Stir so that it is well combined.

Using a brush, liberally apply half the sauce to the cut side of the bok choy, making sure that you work it into the spaces between the leaves. You can also get in there with your fingers and really work that sauce in.

Place the halves cut side down on a preheated charcoal or gas grill and brush the top side with the remaining sauce, cover, and grill. Once the one side has nice grill marks, turn the bok choy and allow the other side to cook. This should take no more than 15 minutes.

Remove the grilled bok choy and arrange them on a serving platter. For a little more zing you could dash some rice vinegar or soy sauce on just before serving. If you like it a little sweeter you could add some brown sugar to the sauce. But we think the sauce is just fantastic the way it is. 

Ingredients

• Baby bok choy
• Organic miso paste
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Sesame oil
• Red pepper flakes
• Salt and black pepper

Bok choy is perfect for creating side dishes for any occasion. You can serve this with any Asian inspired dishes from teriyaki pork to ginger chicken. I find that a grilled vegetable pairs so well with just about everything, this recipe is excellent with steak.

If you want to remain vegetarian you can serve this as part of an entire meal of grilled veggies! 

Look at the beautiful grill marks!! The body of the bok choy will be soft and the outer leaves get charred and crispy from the grill. A perfect combination all in one bite!

What does bok choy taste like?

The taste of bok choy is very mild and mellow. Bok choy has its own unique slight peppery spice to it. It is a little bit similar to regular cabbage but not sour tasting, and it has a slightly sweet taste.

The leaves of the bok choy are very tender and become crisp when you get farther down the leaf towards the base. The stalks of the bok choy are crunchy and firm, and very juicy!

How do you use baby bok choy?

Because bok choy has a mild flavor, you can use it in a variety of ways from grilling as I did here in this recipe, but there is so much more you can do with it.

It is the perfect vegetable to add to a stir fry or include it with a pan of roasted veggies. Bok choy tends to absorb and enhance the flavors you cook it with so it pairs very well with Asian and non-Asian dishes alike!

Whether you are enjoying bok choy on its own or you are pairing it with other veggies or proteins like beef, pork, or chicken, it works. As a side dish, or part of the main dish, you need to try this underused veggie more! I know you will come to love it, we have here at BBQing With The Nolands!!