Bok choy (also hakusai, bai cai, pak choi, Chinese white cabbage)

Botanical name: Brassica rapa, primarily Chinensis Group
Bok choy, sometimes referred to as Chinese cabbage, and all the closely related leafy greens, are as difficult to identify by name, as they are easy to eat. Bok choy is thought to be the oldest of the Asian greens. It has been cultivated in China since at least the 5th century and in Europe since the 18th century. While we in the West are most familiar with one type of bok choy, the one with large green leaves and thick ivory stems that come to a bulbous base, Hong Kong farmers grow over 20 kinds of bok choy. Many more varieties can be found across the mainland and in Taiwan. The problem with differentiation and identification may have come about in translation from the Chinese language as the Cantonese character “choy” means vegetable and the character “bok” (or “pak”) means white. So directly—bok choy is a white vegetable.
The general term bok choy embraces several growth stages of the same plant: seeding, mature and flowering. Confusion arises because each stage may look like a distinctly different vegetable. The term also designates scores of varieties of bok choy, the bulk of which fall into these general groups: large white-stemmed, dwarf white-stemmed and green-stemmed. The bok choy you are receiving today is the mature stage.

Nutritional Information: As a member of the crucifer family, bok choy offers nutritional assets similar to those of other cabbages. It is rich in vitamins A and C and contains significant amounts of nitrogen compounds known as indoles, which appear to lower the risk of various forms of cancer. Bok choy is also a good source of folic acid. With its deep green leaves, bok choy has more beta-carotene than other cabbages, and supplies and depending on the soil it’s grown in, it can have a fair to good amount of calcium, potassium, phosphorous, and iron.

Selection and Storage:  Choose bok choy with firm crisp stalks and unblemished leaves. Reject plants with wilted, bruised, or slimy leaves and bottom stems that are dried out. Keep unwashed bok choy in a perforated plastic bag in the vegetable crisper for no more than a few days; it wilts much more rapidly than head cabbage.

Preparation: Whatever the variety, the stalks are mild and crunchy and the leaves pleasantly tangy. If small, do no more than trim a little from the base. If large, cut bite-size pieces, slice stalks into 2- inch diagonals, halving the stem lengthwise. The stalks and leaves have quite different textures and cooking times, so in culinary terms, it's like getting two vegetables for the price of one. Be sure to give the stems a minute or two to cook before you put the leaves in so that each part cooks to perfection.