Bok choy

Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis

vegetable · leaf

An Asian cabbage with fleshy white stalks and dark green leaves, a close relative of napa cabbage, cooked in minutes, stir-fried or steamed. It provides calcium, vitamin K1, lutein and glucosinolates.

Origin

Southern China

Season (United States)

September to March · grows in your region

Preparation

Everything is eaten, stalks and leaves: it is halved or quartered lengthwise, the grit rinsed out from between the stalks, then stir-fried or steamed for two to four minutes. It grows at ground level and catches the splashes of watering: washing it leaf by leaf, in plenty of water, beats a quick rinse of the whole bunch. Most of its goitrogens go with cooking, even a short one.

Molecules

Lutein and zeaxanthin · Glucobrassicin → I3C · Vegetable nitrates · Vitamin K1 · Calcium · ChlorophyllWhat slows things down Goitrogens

Did you know?

Its name comes from the Cantonese baak choi, “white leaf vegetable”.