The primary inspiration for this Bok Choy with Lemongrass recipe came from some spices that I bought a while back from one of my favorite online small businesses – Season with Spice (SwS), an Asian Spice Shop, which unfortunately, is now closed. Being a lover of a variety of herbs and spices, I purchased quite a few new spices, some of which I had never heard of before. One of those spices was galangal powder, which comes from the fibrous rhizome galangal plant. The flavor (to me) is earthy and peppery with a hint of ginger. I found it was a nice complementary spice with another of my favorites from SwS – lemongrass powder.
This bok choy recipe uses SwS’s lemongrass powder, galangal powder and Sweet Ginger Sea Salt to make a very simple side dish of bok choy and pecans. The idea of combining bok choy with pecans comes from a recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks – Great Greens by Georgeanne Brennan.
Bok Choy with lemongrass makes a great side for any Asian seasoned meats such as pork or chicken, curries or satays. For a vegetarian meal we serve it over brown rice with a touch of soy sauce and toasted coconut flakes. This dish also goes great with Coconut Rice with Pickled Peppers.
This is another of those recipes that you can do some minor tweaking of ingredients and seasonings that lead to be changes in the finished flavor. I change it up quite often depending on what I’m serving it with. So please be sure to check the Kitchen Notes for a few variations of this dish.
Bok Choy with Lemongrass and Pecans
A simple and tasty side dish. Serve with rice, orzo, or your favorite whole grain.
*See Kitchen Notes for more information.
- 2 Tbsp. coconut oil*
- 1 pound baby Bok choy, ends removed and leaves / /stalks sliced vertically
- 4 large garlic cloves*, thinnly sliced
- 1/2 cup pecans*, cut vertically
- 1/4 tsp lemongrass powder*
- 1/4 tsp galangal powder*
- 1/4 tsp sweet ginger sea salt* or to taste
- Cracked pepper*
Heat the coconut oil in a skillet on medium heat.
Add the Bok Choy, garlic and pecans. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes. (The amount of time depends on how crispy you like your bok choy stalks.)
Season with lemongrass powder, galangal powder, sea salt and pepper. Toss and sauté for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and serve.
Bok Choy – This recipe calls for baby bok choy, but if you can’t find it, use regular bok choy. Just slice it vertically into thin strips. You may also need to cook it a minute or two longer since the stalks will be thicker.
Cooking Oil – Here’s where you can really be creative. I’ve used just coconut oil, or 1 Tbsp. coconut oil + 1 Tbsp. butter, or to really change it up – 1 Tbsp. unrefined peanut oil + 1 tsp. sesame seed oil. All are delicious and with completely different flavor profiles.
Roasted Pecans – Roasted, salted peanuts make a good substitution for the pecans. However, don’t cook them. Just chop them up and top each serving with a few chopped peanuts. The nuts contribute flavor a a nice crunch to the dish. If you use pecans already roasted, then add them at the end with about 1″ left to saute’.
Garlic Substitution – I know, why would I want to eliminate the garlic?! However, if you can find some beautiful spring onions, use them instead. Slice the onions vertically as you do the bok choy and sauté with the bok choy. Spring onions and bok choy with the sesame and peanuts oils, make a fabulous dish!
Seasonings – If you don’t have the three seasonings that I use in this dish, then there are alternatives. If you can find lemongrass, it should work to slice a small stalk and sauté with the bok choy. For the galangal and sweet ginger sea salt, just grate some fresh ginger and sauté with bok choy or use a little ginger powder and Chinese ground mustard. Add sea salt to taste.
Other toppings – As with any side dish, you want the flavors to complement whatever you’re serving it with; therefore, other ingredients can be added. One of my favorites is toasted coconut. Toasted coconut goes very nicely with the peanuts, peanut oil and sesame oil version.
If you like this Bok Choy with Lemongrass dish, then you’ll also enjoy these dishes:
I wish I would cook bok choy more often. I love how light and delicious it is. This looks amazing MJ!
Thanks Asmita! Baby bok choy has been very available this year so we’ve been eating a lot of it.
I buy bokchoy and stir fry sometimes. I love lemongrass, and I can imagine its wonderful flavor with the vegetables!
Thanks Nami! I think bok choy has become our favorite green to stir fry. I love the spiciness of it! 🙂
Bok choy is one of my favourite vegetables, so this is a must try 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
There’s something about bok choy that’s so light and refreshing. I don’t know why I don’t cook with it more often. This sounds lovely!
Thanks Vicki! You’re right. Bok choy is not like other greens at all. I do like the spiciness of it.
I have some baby bok choy in my fridge right now and was wondering how to prepare it. This looks delicious!
Thanks Beth! I hope you get a chance to try this.
Thanks for the new list of spice mixtures to try! Your bok choy looks wonderful…and adding crunchy pecans sounds delightful!!!
You are most welcome Liz! I can’t get enough of SwS’s spices. They are so good! Thanks for stopping by!
That’s a lovely fresh and fragrant stir-fry. I don’t like to substitute garlic either but I have heard spring onions make a good substitute xx
Thanks Charlie! When we were finding spring onions earlier, I was using them and loved it, but then switched to garlic once the spring onion disappeared. Both work great!
I love the addition of pecans and the lemon grass has such a unique airy flavor!
Thanks Katerina! The pecans are pretty amazing in this dish.
I never had thought of using pecans on bok choy, truly a magnificent recipe
Thanks so much Raymund!
Oh my goodness MJ, you know what the saying “You Had Me At: ” LEMONGRASS! I have got to go to this website you mentioned to buy my Asian spices in some preserved manner because I sure can’t find the fresh ingredients anywhere in SC! Thank you also for an AWESOME recipe!
Roz
Oh Roz – thank you!! Please be sure to check out Season with Spice. It is my favorite spice shop and my favorite people!
Looks fantastic MJ! Galangal and lemon grass are some of my favorite ingredients!
Thanks Tessa! Just discovered galangal and love it!
I adore bok choy, put usually eat it raw. I can’t even imagine how aromatic this dish is,
Thanks Debra! I’ve never eaten it raw. I’ve tasted it, but just eating it raw – need to give it another try.
I have been recieving SO much bok choy in my CSA boxes this year. Thank you for the inspiration!
Oh you lucky girl! They don’t supply bok choy in CSA boxes around here. Thanks for commenting!
Delicious, love this bok choy peacans lemongrass recipe. I will try this.
thanks Swathi! Hope you do give a try.
lovely to see bok choi prepared so tenderly and lovingly, it is a vegetable that does not need much dressing right? x
Totally agree Deena. It doesn’t need much. It’s pretty spicy and flavorful on its own.
I have a huge love for bok choy! Everytime I see a recipe, I have to make it. You made a great recipe here and I CAN’T wait to try it.
Thanks so much! I hope you do get a chance to try it. Let me know how you like it if you make it.
Beautiful recipe. I’m in love with the simplicity and versatility. I enjoy working with lemongrass but have never experimented with the powder. I suspect a little powder goes a long way to delivering taste — I have to try it! (it would be practical too as I can’t always get my hands on lemongrass stalk depending on where I’m shopping, etc.) great idea. I’m mesmerized by how the light is hitting your photos MJ.
Thanks Kelly! I’ve worked with lemongrass in the past and that’s exactly what it is – work. 🙂 The powder is SO much easier to use and still delivers that wonderful refreshing flavor of lemongrass without the hassle. Thanks for the compliments on the photos!
Very nice recipe, MJ. I love bok choy and combining it with pecans is great idea. Love the combination of textures. It’s also simple, so it’s a great side dish for weeknights. I’ll have to check out the spices. I’ve used fresh lemongrass but never dried. Thanks for the tip. Great post!
Thanks Bill! This does make a great weeknight dish. It’s go quick to throw together. Please do check ou the lemongrass powder. It’s pretty awesome stuff!
Gorgeous, healthy and light… just what I am looking for in a meal this hot summer. 🙂
I know Bok Choy is extremely healthy. I just never think to enjoy it like this. What a fun, delicious side dish! I bet you could grill the Bok Chok, that sounds delicious! Yum, Hugs, Terra
Thanks Terra! We’ve become huge fan of sauteed Bok Choy. I love the contrast you get from the soft, wilted leaves and the crunchy stems. There’s so much you can do with it. I hope you give it a try.
Missing the galangal powder and that amazing sounding salt but I have a stalk of lemon grass in the fridge 🙂 Great recipe, love bok choy and pecans is a great additions.
Thanks Evelyne! Lemongrass, bok choy and pecans will make a very nice dish! 🙂 Hope you get a chance to try it.
Jim and I really like bok choy and I’m always on the lookout for new ways to fix it. This sounds excellent, sans the coconut and coconut oil, of course. I have some candied ginger. I wonder how that would work in place of the galangal? I’ll give it a try soon and let you know.
Thanks Nadalyn! Go with the peanut/sesame oil version. We like that just as much as using coconut oil. Not sure about the candied ginger so I’ll be interested to know how that turns out. I’m sure it will be simply marvelous!
Bok choy is such a delicate, subtle vegetable, isn’t it? I play with it all the time (I substitute many other vegetables with it and it works all the time).
I love the way you paired it with pecans and lemongrass. I have frozen or fresh galangal (sold here in Asian groceries) practically all the time in the fridge (necessary for Thai-inspired coconut soups or coconut curries) but I have never thought of drying it… Thank you for giving me this wonderful idea (I throw it away from time to time).
Yes – Bok Choy can be quite subtle and like you, I use it as a substitute for many different greens, especially Swiss chard and spinach. I actually enjoy Bok choy more because I love those crispy stems. 🙂 Until recently, I wouldn’t have recognize fresh galangal if I did see it. I think I could recognize it now because SwS had an interesting article on it. I’m going to look for some fresh next time I go to the Asian store. Thanks Sissi!
I’ve never used galangal powder! I gotta try it. This is such a nice dish — tons of flavor, and perfect for warmer weather. I don’t stir-fry enough! Lovely dish — thanks.
Thanks John! I think you would like galangal powder. It’s fun trying new spices and not really knowing how to use them because you aren’t “restricted” to the norm. You can just throw it in and hope it works and it did! 🙂
I made a stir-fried bokchoy with some garlic and chilli pepper for the lunch today. Love the idea of adding some nutty crunchiness in it too. This looks very delicious too.
Yum – garlic and chilli pepper with bokchoy sounds wonderful! I’ll be trying that next time. Thanks!
I love Bokchoy, and this looks really really good. I love the flavors, they blend beautifully. No chilies though this time I see 🙂 Lovely clicks.
Thanks Minnie! Nope – no chiles this time around, but you do get a little heat from the galangal. 🙂