Bok choy is one of several Asian cabbages, thought it doesn't look much like a cabbage. With long white stalks that sprout dark green leaves, it resembles a cross between Swiss chard and celery. Bok choy boasts higher levels of calcium and vitamin A than other cabbages, while its content of folate, potassium, and vitamin C appears similar to its brethren. You wouldn't know its heightened nutrition from its taste profile, though, because its subtle flavors blend nicely on the palate. Unlike some of the more bitter members of the Brassica genus such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts, bok choy can be enjoyed raw in salads, as well as steamed, stir-fried, or sauteed. All of the Brassica vegetables have special healing properties, including bok choy and other cabbages, turnips, beets, kale, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. Their health-boosting power comes from several kinds of special antioxidant molecules called indoles and thiols, along with sulfur. The indoles and thiols have antioxidant functions that have shown to be particularly helpful in safeguarding against breast, colon, and reproductive tract cancers, probably because they assist the body in metabolizing estrogen byproducts.
What to Look for
Choose clean heads of Bok Choy with dark-green leaves and bright-white stalks, avoiding those that are discolored. Watch out for wormholes, or for leaves that are limp or otherwise damaged. Avoid buying Bok Choy or any other cabbage that's been cut in half in the store--as soon as the plant is cut, the vitamin C and antioxidant content begins to decline.
Organically grown Bok Choy is often more flavorful and nutritious, but fortunately, the cabbages as a group are hardy and require few pesticides, so even conventionally grown Bok Choy is likely to be relatively free of residues.
Common Pitfalls
In restaurant preparations, as well as in the home kitchen, bok choy is often overcooked. In general, only light cooking is necessary, if at all. Cooking easily destroys the beneficial and cancer-fighting compounds. One study mentioned in Conscious Eating, by Gabriel Cousens, demonstrated that up to 90 percent of the nutrition was destroyed from Brassica vegetables after 10 minutes of steaming. Since the subtle flavors of raw bok choy blend well, there's no real reason to heat or cook them, or you do, keep it to just a few minutes on low heat.
Member Comments