Bok choi

Bok choy. The name itself suggests that we will talk about something related to China. And this “something” is the most that neither is Chinese cabbage. But not the one that we call Peking, but the Chinese – Petsai, and the other – leaf.

What is bok choi

Side-choi (or pak-choi) is one of the most popular vegetables in China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and other countries in East Asian regions. Not so long ago, the Western world also drew attention to this discreet in appearance, but very useful vegetable. The first to grow bok-choi began residents of China and some other regions of Asia. And this happened, as researchers believe, more than fifteen hundred years ago.

Side-choi is a leafy cruciferous vegetable. Green spoon-shaped leaves with slightly flattened stems are collected in a socket with a diameter of 30 cm and fit snugly to each other. Outside of China, as a rule, there are two varieties of this vegetable: with light-green petioles and leaves, as well as a variety with dark green leaves and white petioles.

In different regions, this cabbage is called by different names, including pak choi, Chinese kale, mustard or celery cabbage, white mustard celery, Chinese chard. And in Chinese, the name “pak-choi” means “horse’s ear”, and I must say there is something – the external similarities are obvious. And although in the official classification of plants this crop is credited with varieties of cabbage, recently, researchers who carefully studied the characteristics of this crop have come to the conclusion that bok choy is not cabbage at all. Experts say that in fact, from the point of view of botany, this is a type of turnip. Perhaps, over time, biologists will revise the official classification and enlist the “horse’s ear” for turnips, but for now, we continue to call this culture cabbage.

Chemical composition and nutritional value

The benefits of Chinese kale are determined primarily by the chemical composition of the product. And this vegetable is rich in many vitamins and minerals. In particular, it is excellent as a source of vitamins A, C, B, and K. It contains surprisingly large reserves of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, and sodium. Interestingly, this leafy vegetable contains almost as much vitamin A as it does in carrots, and in terms of vitamin C concentration, bok choy surpasses all other salad crops. In addition, bok choy cabbage is rich in fiber and essential amino acids.

Useful Properties

In the East, the healing properties of kale have been known for several centuries. Modern research indicates that side-choy can be beneficial for the immune system, it promotes proper metabolism and supports the health of the body at the cellular level. It is known that this vegetable is good for the heart and eyes, removes toxins from the body and contains more 70 antioxidant substances.

Do you think vitamin C is found only in acidic fruits? In bok choy there is also a lot of ascorbic acid, due to which the beneficial properties of the vegetable are significantly expanded. It is well known that vitamin C is essential for maintaining the immune system. But in addition to this, ascorbic acid is an indispensable participant in the process of collagen formation, which is necessary to maintain skin elasticity and the elasticity of blood vessels. Bokchoy is also useful for the circulatory system in that it prevents excessive platelet formation, and also increases hemoglobin.

Pak Choi is a low-calorie, high-fiber product. Thanks to this, it is useful for people who want to lose weight. In addition, dietary fiber makes cabbage good for the intestines. It helps to remove toxins from the body, and also helps to lower cholesterol.

Bokchoy, rich in antioxidants, is known for its ability to slow the body’s aging. It is also considered beneficial for people who often experience stress. Kale contains substances that strengthen the nervous system and the body as a whole, make a person more resistant to the damaging effects of the environment.

Side-choy, as a representative of the cruciferous group, has certain anti-cancer properties.

Research data indicates that people who eat vegetables from this group are less likely to develop lung, prostate, colon, or breast cancer.

Phosphorus, iron, magnesium, calcium, zinc and vitamin K – this is the set of nutrients that determine the strength of bone tissue. And all these substances are contained in the leaf cabbage. A combination of potassium-calcium-magnesium helps to maintain healthy blood pressure. Thanks to choline (vitamin B4), side-choi is beneficial for the central and peripheral nervous system. Regular consumption of vegetables improves memory, contributes to the correct transmission of nerve impulses, and also improves the structure of cell membranes. Thanks to selenium, the horse’s ear is useful for strengthening the immune system of the body.

Application in folk medicine

Even in ancient times, eastern healers used bock-choy juice to heal the wounds of warriors. They say that after this the wounds healed much faster. And some healers used a mixture of egg white and fresh kale juice to heal wounds. This vegetable is also useful for healing burns. In eastern medicine, fresh leaves of bok-choy were used for such purposes, which were tightly attached to burnt places.

To our times, information has also reached that Tibetan healers also used box-choi for treatment. This culture played the role of an anti-inflammatory agent as well as a natural medicine against oncological diseases in the phytoherapy kit of monks.

Side effects and harm to the body

Bok choy is a healthy product, but in some cases it can be harmful to the body. For example, people who are allergic to different types of cabbage. It is undesirable to get involved in this vegetable for people with poor blood clotting or who use drugs to thin it. In this case, bok choy can cause heavy bleeding. An excess of vitamin K contributes to an increase in platelets, blood viscosity, and, as a result, it is highly undesirable to use foods rich in vitamin K for patients with coronavirus, varicose veins, thrombophlebitis, some types of migraines, people with high cholesterol levels (since the formation of blood clots begins with a thickening of the arterial wall due to plaque formation). Vitamin K got its name from the Latin. koagulationsvitamin – coagulation vitamin. The vitamin K group includes fat-soluble compounds that help form clots and stop bleeding.

Sometimes the overuse of Chinese cabbage can affect the hormonal background of the body, or rather, cause hypothyroidism (lack of hormones produced by the thyroid gland) or even myxedematous coma.

Excessive amounts of glucosinolates in the bok-choe can also be dangerous to humans. In small quantities, these substances are useful because they prevent cell mutation. But when their number exceeds the permissible norms for humans, they acquire toxic properties and, on the contrary, promote the growth of tumors (especially in people who are predisposed to cancer).

Use in cooking

Side-choi is a traditional ingredient in Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese and Thai cuisines. Interestingly, at first this leafy vegetable was used only by Chinese peasants, but then the original cabbage got to the emperor’s table.

Like other varieties of cabbage, bok choy in the kitchen is always a welcome guest. Bok-choy differs from other types of cabbage not only externally, but also in taste. Its leaves are recognizable by their mustard taste and pungent aroma with light bitterness. This vegetable is suitable for preparing a wide variety of dishes. Petioles and leaves of the “horse’s ear” can be stewed, baked, fried, prepared from them side dishes and added to casseroles, soups, salads. This cabbage, as well as white cabbage, more usual for us, can be salted and pickled. Useful juices and even butter are made from it. Bok-choi goes well with different types of meat, fish, mushrooms, legumes, rice and most vegetables. One of the most famous Chinese dishes is Shanghai bok choy. This appetizer is a boiled leaf of cabbage served with fried tofu, oyster mushrooms, garlic and herbs.

Bok Choi is preparing pretty quickly. But still, until the readiness is reached, the cuttings take a little more time than the leaves. Some cooks prefer to cook herbs and petioles separately, others prefer crispy half-hot cuttings. But this is all, as they say, a matter of taste. And in order to preserve in the vegetable as much as possible useful substances, you should not expose it to too long heat treatment.

Oriental chefs, who have always been with you on their side, suggest: it’s best to use young rosettes with leaves up to 15. With age, the side stalks of choke become woody and the leaves lose their flavor.

When buying, it is important to pay attention to the freshness of the green: it should be juicy, rich green in color, and upon breaking it should crunch. To extend the shelf life, the leaves are stored in the refrigerator, wrapped in a damp paper towel.

Bok choy sauce

Necessary ingredients:

• bok choy (500 g);
• vegetable oil (1 tsp.);
• ginger (2-3 cm);
• garlic (2 cloves);
• chicken broth (120 ml);
• oyster sauce (3 tsp.);
• soy sauce (1 tsp.);
• rice wine (1 tsp.);
• sugar (pinch);
• corn starch (2 tsp.).

Add the garlic and ginger to the warmed vegetable oil, stirring to fry for half a minute. Add pre-blanched bok choy and cook for another 1 minute. Separately mix soy, oyster sauce, rice wine, broth, starch and sugar. Add bok-choy to this mixture and cook over low heat until the sauce thickens.

Bok choy with shiitake mushrooms

Shiitake pour boiling water and leave for 20 minutes. Rinse, cut into small slices and fry in olive oil with chopped garlic. After a few minutes, add the chopped bok-choy and fry all together until tender. At the end of cooking, pour a little oyster sauce, sesame oil and salt. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

How to grow

Pak-choi for our regions so far, that is exotic. But his popularity is growing rapidly.

Since climatic conditions make it possible to grow this vegetable in our vegetable gardens, many gardeners have begun to “populate” their vegetable gardens with this useful crop. And very successful. Side-choi is a frost-resistant, precocious vegetable (no more than 30 days pass from the day of sowing to harvesting). In latitudes with a warm climate, 5 harvests of kale can be harvested over a year.

The most suitable for cultivation in our climatic conditions, cabbage varieties “Prima”, “Swallow”, “Gipro” and “Four Seasons”. These varieties are resistant to pests, unpretentious to care, have excellent taste characteristics and give good yields. But for a rich harvest it is not necessary to plant side-choi on the garden, where other varieties of cabbage were growing before. By the way, the maximum yield should be expected from seeds planted in June.

It is also interesting that the side-choi in the garden makes not only gardeners and chefs, but also landscape designers happy. They use Chinese cabbage for gardening flower beds. One of the most winning combinations is bok-choi and marigolds. And by the way, this neighborhood will save cabbage from pests.

Chinese kale rapidly conquers the Western world. Having tried once this amazing salad vegetable, it is difficult to abandon it in the future. Side-choi is the case when nature has combined an incredible amount of useful properties in one plant. And the man needed only to learn how to cook this greens and enjoy its benefits.