This is a classic Chinese dish that works well as a vegetable side dish for rich, full flavored meat dishes (especially beef), but is equally good on its own. If you want to, you can make this a completely vegetarian dish by substituting vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock and using a vegetarian oyster sauce. I like to add a little extra flavor and texture to this dish by adding a few cloves of thinly sliced garlic and a handful of dried shiitake mushrooms (also called black mushrooms- just rehydrate, remove the tough, woody stems, slice, and cook as usual). I just give the mushrooms and garlic a quick stir-fry before combining them with the blanched baby bok choy, just long enough to heat all the ingredients, and then pour the sauce into the wok to coat all the vegetables evenly and bring all the flavors and textures in the dish together. This recipe makes four servings.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 3 tablespoons chicken stock
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch, mixed with
- 1 tablespoon chicken stock
- 1 bunch baby bok choy, bottoms trimmed but stalks left whole with some still ‘stuck together’,washed (about 3/4 lb.)
Method:
- In a small saucepan, combine oyster sauce, stock, soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch mixture.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sauce bubbles and thickens; remove from heat.
- Blanch bok choy in a saucepan of boiling water for 1 1/2 minutes; remove from pan with a slotted spoon and place on a serving plate.
- Pour oyster sauce over it and serve.