Rock your Bok

Whenever I eat bok choy at a restaurant, it's prepared beautifully.  When I cook it at home, it inexplicably inevitably gets overcooked.  Not any more!

A friend recently schooled me in the art of the bok; this is my interpretation of his instructions and how I now cook it to perfection every time.  I had to scroll through all of my archived texts to find his original recipe, but now it's easily searchable and will be forever available on my blog.

First, sliver off the very butt end of the bulb and discard.

Then cut off the bulb- about an inch or so.  [UPDATE 12/10/11: This is both so that you are able to thoroughly clean the inners of your bok and to make sure the bulb and the leaves cook evenly.]

Wash the bulbs and the leaves separately.

(You'll be cooking them in stages.)

Heat a large pot with a little bit of evoo, garlic, and a pinch of salt.  Add in the butts bulbs and cook for about five minutes on medium low, stirring regularly.

Then add the leaves, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.

At this point, squirt in tamari sauce, black pepper, toasted sesame oil, and a generous squeeze of lemon juice [UPDATE 1/24/12: My friend whose recipe I adapted has admonished me for the inclusion of lemon juice and says it was never in the original recipe.  Since I usually forget it anyway, let's all do so, shall we?].  Stir and cook, uncovered, for another minute.  If the leaves start wilting on you, STOP! 

If you remember, serve garnished with sesame seeds (I didn't; that's garlic).

Feel guilty about all the extra sauce you have left over?  Serve over rice or make some tamari almonds!

Marinate your almonds in the mixture overnight and bake at 375* on a lightly greased baking sheet for about ten minutes**, tossing midway.

*Or maybe lower; I always burn mine.
**Or maybe less; I always burn mine.