Orange Ginger Tofu with Sesame Ginger Bok Choy (and red peppers)

A delicious start to the year!!


My first cooking experiment in the kitchen of my vegan co-op turned out quite well. My cooking partner and I split up the task--she chose the tofu recipe, I prepared the veggies. The farmers market pickings were a bit slim Wednesday night (though 3 large beautiful red peppers proved a good addition to the dish), but I had picked up some (surprisingly) beautiful bok choy from both ACME and Trader Joe's. Bok choy is probably my favorite green, with refreshing crunchy stems as well as leafy tops (it also happens to be quite easy to cook).


I found this recipe quoted on another blog, but I approximated amounts and left out ingredients we didn't have.


Here's my version:


Sesame Ginger Baby Bok Choy
































Bok choy (I used 1 large and 3 heads baby bok choy)
3 large red peppers
~1 to 1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
~1 1/2 tbs tamari
~1 1/2 tbs mirin
~3 1/2 to 4 1/2 tbs sesame oil (or mix w/ toasted if you like)
1 tsp maple syrup (NOT fake...)


3 1/2 cloves of garlic, minced.
3 tbs fresh ginger, minced (I used ~1 root as sold at Trader Joe's)


Sesame seeds (as garnish)
Pinch of red pepper flakes




1. Cut the baby bok choy into chunks. Separate the bulb and the tops.


2. Cut up the red peppers into bite-sized pieces.


2. Combine the lemon, tamari, mirin, sesame oil, and maple syrup in a bowl. Reserve.


3. Heat a skillet. Add ~1 tbs sesame oil. Stir-fry ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add red peppers and chili flakes. Cook until red peppers are sweetened and softer with still a bit of crunch (close to done). Add 1/3 of sauce mixture, then add the boy choy stems and sauté. Add another 1/3 of sauce mixture and simmer until bok choy stems are done (they become more clear but still a bit crunchy to taste)


4. Add bok choy greens and stir fry until done. Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds over the boy choy and serve immediately.


Here's our final version along with the orange ginger tofu (recipe to come):



































**One thing to note about bok choy is that it cooks down a lot--it may look like a huge amount of greens, but when done will seem like much, much less.