Bok Choy and Mushroom Stir Fry

For 2014, be adventuresome! Walk into an Asian grocery store and pick some vegetables you have never tried before. Pick a basic stir-fry sauce (black bean or oyster sauce), and create a dish! You might fall in love with your new dish like I have and you might find yourself loving a new vegetable as I have many times. Do not, however, buy bullfrogs or red-eared slider turtles. They are not to be used as pets and you will not find me posting any recipe using their meat! Here’s the baby bok choy recipe I promised; in the future, I’ll be posting more recipes using different vegetables found in Asian grocery stores.

Baby Bok Choy and Shiitake Mushrooms in Oyster Sauce

Ingredients:

1 lb of baby bok choy or regular bok choy
1 lb of fresh Shiitake mushrooms (can substitute with Crimini), sliced. 4 cloves of garlic, chopped. (garlic amount depends on your taste)
1 inch of fresh Ginger, chopped (optional)
2 stems of Scallions, chopped.
2 tsp of Oyster sauce
4 tsp of olive or vegetable oil
Black pepper to taste
1 Tsp of butter (optional)

Directions:

1. In a hot frying pan, pour in half of the oil and half of the garlic until golden brown. Add the mushrooms and stir occasionally. When mushrooms are almost tender, add half of the Oyster sauce and stir well. Remove mushrooms and put on a plate.
2. In the frying pan, add the rest of the oil and butter. Add garlic and stir until garlic is golden brown. Add bok choy and as it turns bright green, add the remaining scallions and oyster sauce. Continue to stir occasionally until the bok choy is tender.
3. Add the mushroom mixture and turn off heat. Sprinkle in some black pepper. Remove from frying pan and put on a plate and serve.

Note: for those who own a very large frying pan, you can combine the two step-process above into one even quicker process. You should stir fry the mushrooms first since this step takes longer. Once the mushrooms are tender, toss in the bok choy as it turns green and is ready after just a minute or two.

Enjoy this healthy dish!