A Fresh Take

There is a green leafy veggie that is fully embraced by all ages in our household, no matter how it's prepared.

It's called bok choy.

Or you can call it pak choi, bok choi, or pak choy. Or Chinese cabbage, though that sounds far too broadly applicable.

Maybe it's the high water content and minimal bitterness. It could be the proximity to celery, but sans stringy residua. Or perhaps the "white vegetable"(literally, from the Cantonese word) is just crisp & sweet enough to win us over. I'll give it this: it's pretty versatile- soups, stir fries, steamed, or pan fried with noodles. We don't often go for kimchee, but yes, it's a staple in that, too.

I'd never tried raw bok choy in a salad, though. Call me sheltered.

We'd received a few baby bok choy (though honestly, they looked adolescent to me) in our most recent CSA delivery. And I wasn't in the mood for futzing around with another trial tofu recipe. So I when I saw an idea for a bok choy salad, I thought, "Well, why not?!"

The flavors in this are easily accessible, savory, and easy to locate in most any supermarket. We devoured this post-haste and dug into seconds. If you don't mind trekking to your local Asian Market, you can almost always find fresh, refrigerated (or if not, dried) chow mein Chinese egg noodles.

Mix it up a bit by shredding in some carrot, sprinkling on cilantro, or shaking some grated fresh ginger root or a pressed clove of garlic into the dressing... I honestly don't think you can go wrong here. I particularly enjoy the texture contrast of toasted almonds in this.

I do believe I've found another keeper!

Raw Bok Choy & Noodle Salad

serves 4-5

1/4 c rice wine vinegar

3 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp c vegetable oil

3 Tbsp agave nectar

3 Tbsp soy sauce

3 baby bok choy, thinly sliced

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

3 Tbsp toasted almonds

3 Tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)

1 tsp sesame oil

8 oz fresh chinese egg noodles (chow mein or lo mein)

Pour liquid ingredients into a jar. Close lid and shake vigorously to emulsify the vinaigrette.

Toast slivered or sliced almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden and fragrant. Remove toasted almonds to a small bowl. Wipe out skillet once it's cool enough to touch.

Bring a pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, thinly slice bok choy and red bell peppers. (Optional: chop cilantro and prep any other desired veggies.) Toss veggies in 1/2 c vinaigrette to coat.

Cook fresh or dried Chinese noodles in boiling water (as per package instructions). Drain.

Heat sesame oil in same skillet over medium heat. Add noodles, tossing to coat in warm oil. Pour several Tbsp of vinaigrette over the noodles and toss.

Remove noodles to serving platter or divide amongst individual plates. Top with tossed, dressed veggies. Sprinkle with toasted almonds (and extra cilantro, if desired). Serve with any remaining vinaigrette on the side.