Bok choy

Bok choy(American English,Canadian English, andAustralian English),pak choi(British English,South African English, andCaribbean English) orpok choiis a type ofChinese cabbage(Brassica rapasubsp.chinensis) cultivated as aleaf vegetableto be used as food. Varieties do not form heads and have green leaf blades with lighter bulbous bottoms instead, forming a cluster reminiscent ofmustard greens. Its flavor is described as being betweenspinachandwater chestnutsbut slightly sweeter, with a mildly peppery undertone. The green leaves have a stronger flavor than the white bulb.
Chinensisvarieties are popular insouthern China,East Asia, andSoutheast Asia. Beingwinter-hardy, they are increasingly grown inNorthern Europe.Originally classified asBrassica chinensisbyCarl Linnaeus,they are now considered a subspecies ofBrassica rapa.They are a member of the familyBrassicaceae.
Other than the term "Chinese cabbage", the most widely used name in North America for thechinensisvariety isbok choy(Cantonesefor "white vegetable") orsiu bok choy(Cantonese, for "small white vegetable", as opposed todai bok choymeaning "big white vegetable", referring to the largerNapa cabbage). It is also sometimes spelled aspak choi,bok choi, andpak choy. In the UK, South Africa, and theCaribbeanthe termpak choiis used. Less commonly, the namesChinese chard,Chinese mustard,celery mustard, andspoon cabbageare also used.
There are two main types of bok choy, collectively called小白菜xiǎo bái cài("small white vegetable") in Mandarin. One is white bok choy (Chinese:奶白菜;lit.'milky white vegetable') with dark green blades and white stalks, which is primarily cultivated inSouth China, and inCantoneseit is simply calledbaak choi(Chinese:白菜;lit.'white vegetable'; the same characters pronouncedbái cǎiby Mandarin speakers are preferably used forNapa cabbage). The other is green bok choy (Chinese:青白菜;lit.'green white vegetable';Chinese:青菜;lit.'green vegetable';Chinese:上海青;lit.'Shanghai green';Chinese:青梗菜;lit.'green-stalk vegetable';Chinese:小唐菜;lit.'small Chinese vegetable') with light green stalks, which is more common inEast China; the young and tender plants of green bok choy is called baby bok choy (Chinese:雞毛菜;lit.'chicken-feather vegetable'), which is less crisp and therefore may become too soft if overcooked.
In Australia, theNew South Wales Department of Primary Industrieshas redefined manytranscribednames to refer to specific cultivars. They have introduced the wordbuk choyto refer white bok choy and redefinedpak choyto refer to green bok choy.
Bok choy cooks in 2 to 3 minutes by steaming, stir-frying, or simmering in water (8 minutes if steamed whole). The leaves cook faster than the stem. It is often used in similar ways to other leafy vegetables such as spinach and cabbage.It can also be eaten raw.It is commonly used in salads.
Dried bok choy is saltier and sweeter. Pickled bok choy remains edible for months.Immature plants have the sweetest, tenderest stems and leaves.
The raw vegetable is 95% water, 2%carbohydrates, 1%proteinand less than 1%fat. In a100-gram (3+1⁄2-ounce) reference serving, raw bok choy provides 54 kilojoules (13 foodcalories) offood energyand is a rich source (20% or more of theDaily Value, DV) ofvitamin A(30% DV),vitamin C(54% DV) andvitamin K(44% DV), while providingfolate,vitamin B6andcalciumin moderate amounts (10–17% DV).
Bok choy evolved from themustard plantin China, where it has been cultivated since the 5th century CE.It can be traced to theYangtze River delta area, one of the world's oldest agricultural regions.It also has been traced to theYellow RiverValley where archaeologists found Chinese cabbage seeds dating back 6,000 years.
As bok choy grew in use, it spread to other parts of Asia and was eventually cultivated in countries such as Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Bok choy plantations were present in Japan and Malaya by the early 19th century. In Malaya, bok choy was not commonly consumed by the poor.
The vegetable was introduced to Europe in the mid-18th century. A Swede named Osbeck brought bok choy seeds to Europe during the same time period Jesuit missionaries brought similar strains of the vegetable to German scientists working in Russia.Bok choy was introduced to North America in the 19th century, but did not gain in use for another century.