Many of us have been doing a lot more cooking now that we’re observing some level of lockdown and social isolation. Whether you’re working from home, out of work, currently on furlough, or newly retired, you may have found yourself eating home-cooked food more often than usual. Although I cook on a regular basis, having to cook 3 times a day most days has been wearing on me (as I’m sure it has for many of you who are now cooking more than usual!) For that reason, I’ll be publishing a series of blog posts every Friday this month that focus on making quick, healthy dishes that even mediocre, reluctant, or bored-with-the-usual cooks can easily create. Looking for something new to add to your repertoire? Then keep reading!

This Friday’s food post uses two of my favorite vegetables: cabbage and bok choy. Cabbage was the first veggie I ever tried to grow, as a new transplant to Washington while finishing up my PhD (and believe me, being in the garden was a much-needed break from working 15 or more hours a day writing up my dissertation!). The first season I tried to grow cabbage (in the temperate Seattle fall), it was a colossal failure, and I only managed to reap one good, small head. The following spring, however, I tried again and grew so much cabbage I couldn’t give it away fast enough!

This spring I’ll be trying my hand at growing cabbage again. While I haven’t tried growing it in over 20 years (for no particular reason), the other main ingredient in today’s recipe, bok choy, also known as Chinese cabbage, has been a regular crop in my spring and fall gardens for the past few years. It’s relatively easy and quick to grow, with leaves ready to harvest in as little as 30 days after sowing (for the baby bok choy varieties) or 60 days (for the larger varieties). It doesn’t need much space and can easily be grown in pots. It’s also one of those cut-and-come-again crops that will re-grow if you harvest by cutting the plant down to about an inch off the ground. Want to learn more about growing these and other vegetables? Follow me on Instagram or sign up for my mailing list to get my best growing tips and tools for producing your own best crops.

This stir-fried cabbage and bok choy recipe has an Asian flavor because it uses ingredients that are popular in Japanese cooking, including Mirin and Tsuyu. Mirin is a kind of Japanese rice wine that has a mild sweetness to it. It’s often used in Japanese cooking to flavor soups, teriyaki, and ramen. Tsuyu sauce, or soba tsuyu, is used for dipping soba noodles. Tsuyu is a kind of diluted Shoyu (Japanese soy sauce), so you can substitute Shoyu if you can’t find Tsuyu easily. Many grocery stores stock both Mirin and Shoyu these days, but if you can’t find them, there are other options! First, if you don’t have an Asian grocery nearby (where you’re most likely to find all 3 ingredients), you can order online. Otherwise, for mirin you can substitute dry sherry, a sweet marsala wine, or rice vinegar or dry white wine with ½ teaspoon of sugar added for each tablespoon of wine or vinegar. Tsuyu is a little harder to substitute, unless you have bonito flakes and mirin available, in which case you can make some from this recipe from the Japan Centre. Otherwise, mix equal parts teriyaki and soy sauce. Want to use Shoyu instead of Tsuyu but can’t find that, either? You can substitute a light Chinese soy sauce. Some people also swear by Bragg’s Liquid Aminos as a substitute for soy sauce or Shoyu.

Here’s the recipe:

Prep time: 8-10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Tools and/or vessels needed: wok or large frying pan

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb green cabbage
1 lb bok choy (I use baby bok choy but any variety of bok choy will do)
2 tbsp peanut oil for stir-frying (you can substitute coconut or vegetable oil if you like)
¼ cup Mirin
¼ cup Shoyu
2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp fresh (minced) or ¼ tsp powdered ginger
1 tbsp fresh (minced) or ¼ tsp powdered garlic
½ tsp ground black pepper

Process:

Wash, then chop the cabbage and bok choy
Heat the wok or saucepan with the 2 tbsp oil
Place the chopped vegetables in the pan and pan fry for 1 minute to coat with oil
Add dry ingredients and stir until coated, about 1 minute
Add wet ingredients and stir 5 minutes
Remove from heat and enjoy!

The sweetness of the mirin in this recipe makes it a popular dish with my kiddos, and the best thing is that this dish can be eaten for breakfast (goes great with scrambled or fried eggs), lunch (just add your favorite beans, tofu, or meat for protein), or as a dinner side dish.

Like this? Please pin!