How sweet is it that our little co-op is now selling produce from Full Circle Farm in Carnation and Nash’s on the peninsula? I can hardly restrain myself. Among recent pickings was a bundle of baby bok choy, with dense stems that looked downright puny compared to what you find in Chinatown, but I’m of the belief that most good organic vegetables come that way.
I set my sights on a favorite bok choy preparation, flat rice noodles with sliced beef and oyster sauce and chopped thai basil stirred in at the finish. It happened that we were missing some of the key ingredients, though, and then Charlie reminded me he was headed out to play hockey, prompting a swift relaxation of standards.
In short order I’d prepped a stir fry of baby bok choy with rehydrated Chinese black mushrooms, ginger, and ground pork, since we’ve still got about fifteen pounds of the stuff. It was great eat-alone food: speedy, great flavors, and a happy reminder to do something good for myself now and then. The bok choy was sweet and crisp with a hit of mustard, and so tasty I might just make it for other people someday. The recipe:
Recipe: Bok Choy with Mushrooms and Pork
¼ cup ground pork / 1 clove garlic, minced / 1 slice gingeroot / 1 lb baby bok choy / 4 Chinese mushrooms, rehydrated / ¼ cup stock / 1 tbl Xiaosing rice wine or sherry / 1 tsp cornstarch / 1 tsp chili paste or to taste / 1 tsp soy sauce / 1 tsp oyster sauce / splash sesame oil
Chop bok choy and slice mushrooms. Combine final 7 ingredients with about ¼ cup water and stir well to dissolve the cornstarch.
Heat wok or heavy skillet over high heat. Add ground pork and cook, stirring, until meat starts to brown and render some fat, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and stir again, then add bok choy and mushrooms. The bok choy will turn a bright green color, in 2-3 minutes. Pour in the sherry-based sauce at this point. The sauce should thicken quickly; serve over rice as just soon as vegetable is cooked through but still crisp. Feeds 2.
Check out some more growing and cooking ideas for bok choy.
5 comments
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June 6, 2008 at 7:22 am
valereee
Hey, Audrey! I’m coming through Seattle (arriving via Amtrak Sun 6/22 late evening, getting back on the train Mon 6/23 afternoon) with family and would love to find a nearby (we won’t have a car) farmers’ market and a restaurant that serves local foods — I’m thinking Pike Place Market and Matt’s in the Market? Any other advice?
Thanks for any help!
Val
June 6, 2008 at 9:33 am
audrey
Hi Val, how fun that you are visiting! Sounds like you may be too late for the Sunday neighborhood markets, which are easy to get to from downtown Seattle by bus — West Seattle FM closes at 2pm (buses 22, 54), Ballard closes at 3pm (buses 17, 18), and Capitol Hill closes at 3pm (43, or walk). Go figure, Monday there are no neighborhood farmers markets. Pike Market is open every day — they have many local things but some of the produce comes from further afield and the vendors don’t always tell you. Still, it’s worth visiting.
As for restaurants, Tilth and Sitka & Spruce are the two that promote themselves as exclusively using local ingredients. Matt’s in the Market is wonderful and he’s not so in your face about it but uses really amazing ingredients, mostly local; same with Union at 1st & Union.
Have a great visit! Audrey
June 6, 2008 at 10:54 pm
poppyandsally
Some vegetables I just want to look at – they’re so beautiful. Your bok choy photo is gorgeous. I actually eat vegetables sometimes and I’ll try this. It sounds delicious. I wonder if Wooly Pigs does a ground pork? Sally
June 7, 2008 at 9:19 am
audrey
Thanks Sally, sometimes I buy vegetables because they’re so nice to look at, then have this how-to-eat-them trouble. I bet Heath (of Wooly Pigs) would bring some ground pork for you to the farmer’s market if you asked. I couldn’t believe how much of it there was when the butcher ground the trimmings on our half-pig. But it’s come in handy.
August 3, 2008 at 2:22 pm
meat for the common man « Eat Local Northwest
[...] morphed her wonton into more improvisational cooking, adding dabs of ground meat to stir fries with bok choy and the like, and to fried rice noodles with eggplant. But I can’t help myself. I especially [...]