... Chicken and Bok Choy Stir-Fry

Here we are, dairy-free day 7.  I'm surprised, it's really been pretty easy.  I haven't cheated once.  Shocker, I know.  Now, don't get all freaked out, I'll be bringing cheese back, but most likely in limited quantities and mostly so that I can cook all these fab recipes I've been finding.  Isn't that always the case - when you can't have something it's all over the place?  Anyhoo, look forward to that.  But for now - a great, easy cheese-free one for you to try...

Although I'm a fan of bok choy, this is the first time I've ever cooked with it.  Next time I'll definitely look a little harder for baby bok choy as the full-grown version was a little overwhelming for this particular recipe.

The soy sauce / barbecue sauce / scallion mixture added a great tangy flavor to the chicken and choy.  

It's not the most beautiful of dishes, but the flavor made up for that.  It's also a pretty healthy dish and, as we're heading into swimsuit season, that's never a bad thing.

Chicken and Bok Choy Stir-Fry
serves 4

1 cup long-grain white rice (or brown rice, like I did)
1 tablespoon canola oil
4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
kosher salt and black pepper
4 heads baby bok choy, quartered lengthwise
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup store-bought barbecue sauce
4 scallions, thinly sliced

Cook the rice according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, tossing occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes.  Transfer to a plate.

Add the bok choy and 1/4 cup water to the skillet.  Cover and cook until the bok choy is just tender, 3 to 4 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, barbecue sauce, and scallions.  Add to the skillet and bring to a boil.  Return the chicken to the skillet and cook, tossing, just until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes.  Serve with the rice.

Taylor's Notes:
I halved this recipe where the chicken and bok choy are concerned, but kept the full amount of soy sauce, barbecue sauce, and scallions.  I'd definitely do that again as it adds great flavor and I felt like it really pumped up the chicken and veggies.  


Interestingly enough, one note of mine was going to be to reduce the amount of water that you use to steam the bok choy.  I thought 1 cup was way too much and it really thinned out the soy/barbecue/scallion sauce.  Funny enough, as I was typing this recipe above I realized I should have only used 1/4 cup of water.  Oops.  That'll teach me to pour a glass of wine while trying to read a recipe...  Lesson Learned.


I couldn't find baby bok choy, so ended up just using a few stalks of mama bok choy... baby would be much better, but hey, you do with what you can.  Right?  If you have to use mama bok choy, too, just cut the stalks down into thirds or fourths to get the pieces into a more manageable size.


Enjoy!