Photo by Mackenzie Smith Kelley. All Rights Reserved

Photos and Recipes by Mackenzie Smith Kelley. 

I am always stoked to find a few heads of baby boy choy in our CSA. The leaves are tender and the stalk is mild and crisp, a solid foundation for an easy winter salad. One of my favorite ways to prepare these verdant, cool weather gems that originate from the Yangtze River Delta area in China, is to serve them raw and chopped, sort of like you might do with celery, tossed in a sweet and sour dressing. This results in a spoonable salad great for topping hearty stews that could use a crisp zing, or served on the side of a meaty dish (beef short ribs, maybe?) that needs some acid to cut the fat.

The sweet in this recipe comes from Nuoc cham ga, or sweet chili sauce, a very tasty Thai condiment/marinade studded with vaguely spicy red chiles and garlic. The sour comes from rice vinegar, and a dash of sesame oil for good measure. I made the batch pictured with scallions, but if I had mint and cilantro on hand, a handful of each would have been added to the mix.

• 2 heads of baby bok choy, washed and chopped into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (could sub lime or lemon juice, or another type of vinegar)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon salt, more to taste
• 2 scallions, chopped
• Mint and cilantro (bonus!)

On Washing Bok Choy

Place bok choy in a large bowl and fill with water. Agitate the water with your hands, then let sit for 10-15 minutes so the water can loosen up any dirt on the veg. Most of the dirt will sink to the bottom of the bowl. When you remove the bok choy from the water, do so by picking it up and placing it in a colander to give it one more rinse. When you see the the dirt at the bottom of the water bowl, pause for a moment to thank the farmers that pull our food from the ground. Water houseplants with what's left in the bowl-- they don’t mind the dirt.

Photo by Mackenzie Smith Kelley. All Rights Reserved

Roughly chop bok choy into a size that would make the pieces easily spoonable. Chop scallions and herbs if you have them.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine sweet chili sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and salt. Add bok choy and scallions (and herbs if you have them.) Taste, and add salt if needed.

Sweet chili sauce is available at most asian grocery stores in Austin -- I buy mine at 99 Ranch Market on Airport and Lamar, and I have occasionally seen it for sale at various HEBs. You could also make your own.

Photo by Mackenzie Smith Kelley. All Rights Reserved