This a delicious appetizer that really showcases the beautiful bok choy. The leaves are sautéed and placed on the bottom of the plate, and the stems are soaked in ice water to crisp up and then used on top to give it some shape and height. The great thing about this dish is that the whole head of bok choy is used; we use 2 different methods for the stems and the leaves to create 2 different textures.
It’s very quick to make—you can pull it together in about 15 minutes and you can always soak the ribbons in the ice water overnight.
This appetizer can also be made into a salad (just omit sauteéing the leaves with garlic and ginger) to make it a 100% raw vegan dish.
Minimal equipment is needed for this recipe. The only extra tool is a mandolin to slice the book choy ribbons nice and thinly, which you wouldn’t be able to do with a knife. If you don’t have a mandolin, you can use a peeler. Just lay the stems flat on your cutting board and run the peeler through them as many times as you can to achieve paper-thin strips that you can then place in the ice-bath.
This dish makes a green sharing plate (maybe double the recipe, depending on how many people you’ll be serving), or serve as an individual salad.
Note: Use organic book choy if possible, as greens are often sprayed with pesticides and there is no outside layer to protect them.
1 large head bok choy, stems only (each about 3-5” long)
Large ice-bath
26g chickpea miso
90ml freshly-squeezed orange juice
15ml tamari (use salt for soy-free)
25ml olive oil
3ml toasted sesame oil
7ml olive oil
13g fresh ginger, brunoise
2g orange zest
6g garlic, minced
1 large head bok choy, greens only
Juice of 1/3 lemon
Sea salt, to taste
Any bok choy leaves remaining from 1 large head bok choy
15g toasted sesame seeds
5-10 mint leaves
Use a mandolin or vegetable peeler to slice bok choy stems into thin ribbons. Place them in your ice-bath, making sure there’s enough water to completely cover the stems. This will help firm them up. Tip: Place the ice-bath with the ribbons inside the freezer for 1 hour, to accelerate the process. Once the ribbons are firm, drain and set aside.
Make the vinaigrette by placing the miso and orange juice in a bowl and combining using a whisk. Add tamari and olive, and whisk again to emulsify (the emulsion will be temporary, so remember to whisk again before serving). Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. To make it extra smooth, transfer vinaigrette into a tall container and blend using an immersion blender for 20 seconds. Set aside.
Heat a large pan on medium flame and add the sesame oil, olive oil, and ginger. Stir to coat the ginger and cook for 1 minute. Stir in orange zest and cook for 30 seconds. Then add garlic and cook until slightly golden. Add bok choy leaves and stir to combine. Cook until the greens have wilted, about 1 minute. Season with salt and lemon juice.
To plate, spread the sautéed leaves onto the bottom of the plate to make a bed of greens. In a medium bowl, season the bok choy ribbons with olive oil, sea salt, and lemon juice and add them on top of the greens. Top with a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette all around the plate, mint leaves, baby bok choy leaves, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
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