Bok Choy Salad Made in an RV
01-12-2015
My mother was a modern gal when it came to cooking. She was the dearest woman on the planet and my best friend always, but her idea of making dinner was opening a bunch of cans or grabbing bags of frozen stuff from the freezer. A staple dinner in my New Jersey home was canned corned beef hash and canned green beans. Cans of soup, Dinty Moore beef stew, and Chef Boyardee canned ravioli with the worst, mealy mystery meat inside. The modern woman doesn’t have time for cooking when she’s busy with kids and career! Of course this left me pathetically with zip in the culinary skills department and a lot to learn when I got my first apartment during college. I started by boiling mushrooms. No internet to help. Kitchen disasters piled up. The long learning curve had begun.
Coming to my rescue was Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe, a radical classic and inspiration for this column. The author proposed that we eat lower on the food chain, cook with fresh vegetables and whole grains. I parted with mom, grabbed a wok, and marched fearlessly toward the produce section and into the kitchen to relearn the basics.
Cruciferous vegetables, aliens in most 50’s kitchen, were my first stop. And what powerhouses they are. For starters, they fight cancer, they’re readily available all year round, and they are the basis for pretty inspiring dishes. I’m talking bok choy, broccolini, chard, cauliflower, just to name a few among 39 vegetables that are considered cruciferous. Cruciferous refers to the “cross” that is the shape of each vegetable’s flower.
One of my favorite cruciferous vegetables is bok choy -- it’s not standard fare for most Americans but it’s in every grocery store. A great way of making it is in a hot wok -- stir-fry chopped bok choy over high heat for no more than 2 minutes in a little peanut oil with garlic and ginger. (Prep the ginger by peeling it with a spoon, shredding it with a fork.)
Here is my favorite bok choy recipe. It’s surprisingly delicious and we have this for dinner some days. It’s light and tasty and has been spied at potlucks across American for at least a decade. This slightly lower-fat recipe serves 4. Plus it only needs a skillet, a cutting board, and a jar for assembly, easy to make in an RV!
Crunchy Bok Choy Salad
Ingredients
Dressing:
In a large skillet, melt the margarine or butter over low heat. Add almonds, sesame seeds, and ramen noodle pieces and stir-fry the mixture until almonds are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar and cook one minute over low heat, stirring constantly. Set aside to cool.
Coarsely chop the bok choy into bite sized pieces. Discard ends of stalks but use leafy parts and stems. Thinly slice green onions, using both the white and green parts and combine with bok choy.
In a small jar with lid put all the dressing ingredients and shake well.
Just before serving pour dressing over bok choy and add almond/noodle mix. Toss and serve.
COMMENTS WELCOME!
About Blog Author Wendy Gorski: I'm a full-time traveler with my husband Nick, and we live in a 2011 Airstream travel trailer. In 2012, we sold our 4,000-square-foot house with its gourmet kitchen and bought our 100-square-foot tiny Airstream house. In this blog, I'll share recipes, tips, thoughts, and experiences as we careen across the country in search of adventure. All my recipes will be primarily plant-based, fast to cook, easy to clean up, and delicious!
Coming to my rescue was Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe, a radical classic and inspiration for this column. The author proposed that we eat lower on the food chain, cook with fresh vegetables and whole grains. I parted with mom, grabbed a wok, and marched fearlessly toward the produce section and into the kitchen to relearn the basics.
Cruciferous vegetables, aliens in most 50’s kitchen, were my first stop. And what powerhouses they are. For starters, they fight cancer, they’re readily available all year round, and they are the basis for pretty inspiring dishes. I’m talking bok choy, broccolini, chard, cauliflower, just to name a few among 39 vegetables that are considered cruciferous. Cruciferous refers to the “cross” that is the shape of each vegetable’s flower.
One of my favorite cruciferous vegetables is bok choy -- it’s not standard fare for most Americans but it’s in every grocery store. A great way of making it is in a hot wok -- stir-fry chopped bok choy over high heat for no more than 2 minutes in a little peanut oil with garlic and ginger. (Prep the ginger by peeling it with a spoon, shredding it with a fork.)
Here is my favorite bok choy recipe. It’s surprisingly delicious and we have this for dinner some days. It’s light and tasty and has been spied at potlucks across American for at least a decade. This slightly lower-fat recipe serves 4. Plus it only needs a skillet, a cutting board, and a jar for assembly, easy to make in an RV!
Crunchy Bok Choy Salad
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. margarine or butter (Earth Balance non-dairy margarine for vegan)
- 2 tbsp. sesame seeds
- 1 package uncooked ramen noodles (3 oz) crumbled up by hand (discard seasoning packet) -- I have been known to add more! Yum!
- 1 bag (2 oz) slivered almonds
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1 head of bok choy (about 1 pound) cleaned of any grit
- 2 scallions
Dressing:
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. vinegar (I use rice vinegar but any will do except balsamic)
- 1/4 cup sugar
In a large skillet, melt the margarine or butter over low heat. Add almonds, sesame seeds, and ramen noodle pieces and stir-fry the mixture until almonds are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar and cook one minute over low heat, stirring constantly. Set aside to cool.
Coarsely chop the bok choy into bite sized pieces. Discard ends of stalks but use leafy parts and stems. Thinly slice green onions, using both the white and green parts and combine with bok choy.
In a small jar with lid put all the dressing ingredients and shake well.
Just before serving pour dressing over bok choy and add almond/noodle mix. Toss and serve.
COMMENTS WELCOME!
About Blog Author Wendy Gorski: I'm a full-time traveler with my husband Nick, and we live in a 2011 Airstream travel trailer. In 2012, we sold our 4,000-square-foot house with its gourmet kitchen and bought our 100-square-foot tiny Airstream house. In this blog, I'll share recipes, tips, thoughts, and experiences as we careen across the country in search of adventure. All my recipes will be primarily plant-based, fast to cook, easy to clean up, and delicious!
Comment
WanderLusterFebruary 4, 2015 | 10:46 AM
I can't wait to make this!
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