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Bok Choy With Brown Sauce and Crispy Garlic

Bok Choy With Brown Sauce and Crispy Garlic recipe from chef Justin Lee
Photograph by Frank Frances, food styling by Lillian Chou, prop styling by Sophia Pappas

Steamed bok choy is taken to another level with this veganized take on oyster sauce from Fat Choy chef and owner Justin Lee. By marrying cooked-down mushrooms, rice wine, and soy sauce, Lee creates a condiment with a big umami punch—and a major payoff. “The addition of one condiment can vastly change the direction of a dish,” he says.

Ingredients

4 Servings

Brown Sauce

3

Tbsp. vegetable oil

8

oz. shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps thinly sliced

¼

cup Shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine) or medium-dry sherry

3

Tbsp. soy sauce

Bok choy and assembly

6

garlic cloves, finely chopped

3

Tbsp. vegetable oil

Kosher salt

1

lb. baby bok choy, quartered lengthwise

Preparation

  1. Brown Sauce

    Step 1

    Heat oil in a medium pot over medium-high. Cook mushrooms in a single layer, tossing halfway through, until browned, 8–10 minutes. (They may steam at first but will eventually brown.) Pour in wine, soy sauce, and ¾ cup water, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are very soft, 8–10 minutes.

    Step 2

    Transfer mushrooms and liquid to a blender and purée, adding more water by the tablespoonful as needed, until sauce is smooth.

  2. Bok choy and assembly

    Step 3

    Combine garlic and oil in a small skillet. Set skillet over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is golden and crisp, about 3 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl. Season garlic with salt; set oil aside.

    Step 4

    Heat 1 Tbsp. reserved garlic oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high. Add bok choy and 2 Tbsp. water and cover immediately (a baking sheet works great if you don’t have a lid). Cook 1 minute. Uncover and toss, then re-cover and cook until bok choy is tender at the core, about 2 minutes.

    Step 5

    Spoon some brown sauce in a large shallow bowl or on a platter; arrange bok choy over. Top with crispy garlic.

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  • Brown sauce is.. WOW, just WOW, almost too much flavor!

    • Jonah

    • Dallas, TX

    • 7/29/2022

  • Lots of oil. I cut it down and used some chicken broth when I thought it was needed. Still good, just healthier!

    • Donna K

    • Redmond, WA

    • 7/16/2022

  • this as really good......flavor was awesome, easy to make and great healthy choice

    • Hobbit

    • Ocala FL

    • 8/30/2021