Crop of the Week: Bok choy
January 14, 2012 6:44 PM
• Bok choy, also known as pac choi and Chinese white cabbage
among other names, is in the mustard family. It is an important Asian
vegetable that has been cultivated in China since the fifth century.
• Bok choy acreage in the Yuma area is minimal, roughly 200 acres. It is among the vegetables produced in the area in the winter months.
Bok choy is actually a non-heading cabbage with an erect spiral of dark green leaves and thick white/light green petioles, both of which are eaten.
• There is much confusion over the different types of bok choy. To simplify the problem they have been divided into four major groups, based on appearance: 1) The Chinese white bok choy is a sturdy-looking variety with thick green leaves curling outwards. The leaf stalks are bright white, curved slightly and thin. 2) The green leaf stalk type, Shanghai bok choy, has leaf stalks which are light green in color, broad, flat and widen at the base like the other bok choys. 3) The soup spoon type has thinner leaves and leaf stalks. 4) The squat or Canton variety is the most compact. It is short with convoluted dark green leaves. The leaf stalks are white, short and thick.
• Cooked bok choy has 20 calories and 144 percent of daily requirements of vitamin A and 74 percent of vitamin C.
• Look for clean, crisp, white stalks and beautiful green leaves. The Chinese are known to dip the leaves in boiling water and hang to dry for storage through the winter.
• Bok choy has a nice mustard flavor to add to many dishes. It is stir-fried, boiled, steamed or added to stir fries, soups and noodle and meat dishes. Use young leaves in salads and pickle larger, coarser leaves. Ginger, hoisin sauce and soy sauce are great flavor enhancers.
• Don't cook bok choy in an aluminum pot as it causes a chemical reaction that alters its color and flavor.
• Bok choy at one time was also known was ice cabbage because of its translucent color. This particular color, as well as the shape created by its long blond leaves, has inspired many Chinese artists to reproduce it in high-quality jades.
Source: Kurt Nolte is an agriculture agent and Yuma County Cooperative Extension director. He can be reached at knolte@cals.arizona.edu or 726-3904.
• Bok choy acreage in the Yuma area is minimal, roughly 200 acres. It is among the vegetables produced in the area in the winter months.
Bok choy is actually a non-heading cabbage with an erect spiral of dark green leaves and thick white/light green petioles, both of which are eaten.
• There is much confusion over the different types of bok choy. To simplify the problem they have been divided into four major groups, based on appearance: 1) The Chinese white bok choy is a sturdy-looking variety with thick green leaves curling outwards. The leaf stalks are bright white, curved slightly and thin. 2) The green leaf stalk type, Shanghai bok choy, has leaf stalks which are light green in color, broad, flat and widen at the base like the other bok choys. 3) The soup spoon type has thinner leaves and leaf stalks. 4) The squat or Canton variety is the most compact. It is short with convoluted dark green leaves. The leaf stalks are white, short and thick.
• Cooked bok choy has 20 calories and 144 percent of daily requirements of vitamin A and 74 percent of vitamin C.
• Look for clean, crisp, white stalks and beautiful green leaves. The Chinese are known to dip the leaves in boiling water and hang to dry for storage through the winter.
• Bok choy has a nice mustard flavor to add to many dishes. It is stir-fried, boiled, steamed or added to stir fries, soups and noodle and meat dishes. Use young leaves in salads and pickle larger, coarser leaves. Ginger, hoisin sauce and soy sauce are great flavor enhancers.
• Don't cook bok choy in an aluminum pot as it causes a chemical reaction that alters its color and flavor.
• Bok choy at one time was also known was ice cabbage because of its translucent color. This particular color, as well as the shape created by its long blond leaves, has inspired many Chinese artists to reproduce it in high-quality jades.
Source: Kurt Nolte is an agriculture agent and Yuma County Cooperative Extension director. He can be reached at knolte@cals.arizona.edu or 726-3904.
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