Salty, Sweet, Spicy-Heat Bok Choy

What can I say, I love the salty, sweet, spicy heat flavors in this Asian-inspired bok choy.  Not a fan of the heat?  No problem, just omit the sriracha and you'll still have an awesome side dish that everyone will think came from the local take-out restaurant.    

Start by prepping the bok choy by trimming the ends and separating the stalks.  I like to get heads that are no longer than 8 inches in length.  Sometimes there's a bit of dirt between the stalks so rinse them well. 

Place the stalks in a pan with 1/4-inch water and steam for 3-5 minutes or until tender.

Immediately rinse plunge the steamed bok choy in ice water to stop the cooking.  Drain well.

Mince garlic and scallions.

Gather the ingredients to make the sauce - water, soy sauce, sugar, and corn starch.

Whisk the sauce ingredients together and set aside until needed.

In a skillet over medium-low heat, saute the garlic and scallions in some oil.

Saute, stirring constantly, just until the garlic started to turn golden brown.

Rewhisk the sauce ingredients and pour them into the skillet.

Stir rapidly until the sauce thickens.

Add the drained bok choy, stirring and tossing until heated through.

Serve with a drizzle of Sriracha.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• mini whisk https://amzn.to/3DTw8j4

• santoku knife https://amzn.to/3FGw1sg

• sriracha https://amzn.to/3T20O5O

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Salty, Sweet, Spicy-Heat Bok Choy

makes 4 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound baby bok choy, washed, trimmed, and leaves separated

• 1 tablespoon water

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

• t tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil

• 2 tablespoons scallions, finely chopped (whites and greens)

• 1 tablespoon minced garlic

• Sriracha (optional)

Directions

1. In a large covered skillet, steam bok choy in 1/2-inch of water for 3-5 minutes until tender, rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process and drain well; set aside until needed.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together water, soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch until the sugar is dissolved; set aside until needed.

3. Dry the skillet you steamed the bok choy in and add oil, heat the oil over medium-low heat, saute garlic and scallions for 1-2 minutes until very fragrant, stirring constantly to prevent burning.

4. Re-whisk soy sauce mixture and pour into skillet; stir or whisk vigorously until sauce forms.

5. Immediately add steamed bok choy and toss well until heated through. Drizzle with Sriracha if desired.

Vietnamese Iced Coffee

It has been unseasonably warm this week and that makes me long for Spring to arrive.  I'm already thinking about all the warm weather recipes I want to share with you.  For example, this Vietnamese Iced Coffee - it's sweet and full of warm spices like cinnamon and cardamom, but it's served over ice which makes it very refreshing.  

Here's what you'll need:  ground cinnamon, whole cloves, ground cardamom, ground coffee, sweetened condensed milk, and grated whole nutmeg (it's like a gazillion times better than ground).

I love fresh nutmeg - the flavor and aroma is so much better than any brand of pre-ground stuff you can find.... and check out what the inside of the nutmeg looks like after it has been grated on a microplane.  So cool.  

And here are the coffee and spices measured out.  Even before steeping, the room smells amazing!  

I like to mix the coffee and spices together.  You don't really need to, but it's quite satisfying - like playing with an aromatic zen sand garden.  I need a little sand rake!

Heat the water until it boils.

Turn off the heat and add the ground coffee and spices.

Stir it will until no sign of dry ingredients remain.

That looks about right.  Now allow the mixture to steep for 10 minutes.

Using a sieve, strain the large solids from the steeped coffee mixture.  I find that's enough straining, but if you want to remove the ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom, continue with the next step.

Pour the remaining coffee mixture through a coffee filter (I like to use a pour over system).  Because the ground spices are so finely milled, they will clog the coffee filter quickly so this step will take a long time.   

Oh how I wish you could smell this!

We're almost done - can't wait!!! 

Pour sweetened condensed milk (amount below) into a large glass pitcher.  I start with 10 ounces - you can always add more if you want your iced coffee to be sweeter, but you can't take it away so start with less.  

Add the strained coffee mixture and stir to combine.  

Serve over ice and enjoy! 

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• microplane https://amzn.to/43YdXTO

• pour over coffee strainer https://amzn.to/3gE34zr

• sieve https://amzn.to/3r7wlek

• pitcher https://amzn.to/337bX1z

• sweetened condensed milk https://amzn.to/3B5kGOm

• whole nutmeg https://amzn.to/3GuQFIQ

• whole cloves https://amzn.to/34LGSkx

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Vietnamese Iced Coffee

makes 8 cups

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup ground coffee

• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

• 5 whole cloves

• 8 cups water

• 10 to 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk (start with 10 and add more if you like)

• ice

Directions

1. Combine coffee, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and cloves in a bowl; set aside.

2. In a 4-quart saucepan, bring water to a boil; remove from heat.

3. Stir coffee and spice mixture into hot water and steep for 10 minutes; strain and discard the coffee grounds.

4. Stir strained coffee and sweetened condensed milk together and serve over ice (add only 10 ounces of sweetened condensed milk to begin, then add more if you like).