Pak choi is nothing new. In fact, the vegetable has been cultivated since at least the 3rd century in China. In recent years, however, it has become immensely popular in Sweden and is soon included in every cookbook. There’s probably a lot you didn’t know about this amazing cabbage.
What is pak choi?
| Other names | Celery cabbage, leaf cabbage, Chinese cabbage, bok choy |
| Origin | China |
| Applications | Wok dishes, kimchi, steamed vegetables and more |
| Fun facts | Sometimes used as a spoon for soup, because of the shape of the leaves |
Cooking pak choi quickly
If you haven’t yet tried this cabbage, you really should try some pak choi recipes. The vegetable has a lovely crunch and mild pepperiness, which makes it ideal for a whole range of dishes:
- Pak choi wok with noodles
- Oven-roasted pak choi with chilli
- Grilled pak choi
- Ramen with pak choi
- Pak choi on a sandwich
- Pak choi in salad with coriander and lime
Cooking pak choi is easy. The best way is to break the cabbage apart so that the leaves are separated from each other. You can then leave the individual leaves as they are, shred or slice them. If you are cooking pak choi in the oven , it is best to leave the leaves whole, but if you are roasting pak choi, it is better to cut the leaves into pieces. Pak choi can be eaten raw but is best when quickly cooked.
What to eat with pak choi?
Cooking is all about combining flavours and textures. Different ingredients go well together. When two or more foods go particularly well together, they are known as “taste buddies”. Pak choi definitely has some flavour friends and goes particularly well with, for example:
- Sesame seeds
- Chili
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Cashew nuts
- Carrot
- Soy sauce and fish sauce
Why not combine them all and have a new version of pytt in a pan?
Growing pak choi
One of the main reasons for the popularity of pak choi in Sweden is that it is growing like crazy in our northern latitudes. Pak choi simply thrives with us.
It can be sown really early in the spring and you can also get a harvest in several batches. Nevertheless, until late summer you can set seed for pak choi. The cabbage is not very fussy, as long as you protect it from butterflies and other insects that also want to eat pak choi.
Also, don’t wait too long to take your pak choi once the heads have formed. When the pak choi goes into flower, it is no longer as tasty. Like most cabbage varieties, it is frost resistant, so you can keep growing it for a long time.
Pak choi – healthy and popular
In China and Japan, pak choi is very common and can almost be said to be a staple food. In Europe, we have only been growing it since the 1980s, so we are relatively new to it. That’s not surprising, considering that pak choi is filling and is like a whole dish on its own.
Most people know that cabbage vegetables are healthy and pak choi is no exception. It contains a wealth of nutrients:
- Vitamins A, K and C
- vitamin B6
- Folat
- Calcium
How long does pak choi keep?
Pak choi has a fairly good shelf life in the fridge, but it doesn’t keep as long as kale, for example. You could say that it is somewhere between spinach and cabbage in terms of its tolerance after harvesting. It will last at least a week.
One tip is to freeze pak choi, whole or cut, and then defrost it when you want to use it. It can be frozen and will be almost as fresh again. Once frozen, it is possible to substitute chopped pak choi for spinach in a recipe, for example.
