Bok Choy Salad Recipe

Recently I learned that bok choy is the number one vegetable in China. It seems to be the number one vegetable in my CSA box lately. It's a very healthy vegetable with a ton of vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K plus and is even a good source of calcium and iron, but I have to admit, after serving it steamed or sautéed again and again, I was looking for a new way to prepare it.

As luck would have it, at a Chinese New Year's dinner I stumbled upon a terrific dish at Fang restaurant. It was served raw, as a salad with a soy and sesame vinaigrette alongside some chunks of short rib. Bok choy is very mild flavored but it has great texture. The leaves are tender and somewhat herbal without being bitter, and the stems are very juicy and crisp. I had never considered using bok choy in salad but after trying that dish, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Looking around online I found plenty of Asian inspired recipes for bok choy salad, and a few takes on coleslaw and even a chopped salad. My idea was to make a more Italian style salad using extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and Parmigiano Reggiano. The result is a salad at once familiar and yet fresh. It's a great choice for a potluck or dinner party, because it is very sturdy and won't easily wilt. You could mix in other greens, add cherry tomatoes or even fresh fava beans when in season.

Bok Choy Salad
1 serving (multiply for as many servings as you like)

Ingredients

1 cup sliced bok choy
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Parmigiano reggiano, preferably young less than 18 months
Croutons
Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Toss the bok choy in a bowl with the lemon juice and olive oil and a tiny pinch of salt. Shave long strips of Parmigiano using a vegetable peeler and add those and about five or so croutons to the bok choy. Season with pepper before serving.

Enjoy!


More inspiring bok choy salad recipes:

Bok Choy and Avocado Salad

Thai Steak and Bok Choy Salad

Bok Choy Salad with Corn & Edamame

Turkey Bacon & Bok Choy Salad with Shaved Parmesan (chopped salad style)

Bok Choy with Sesame Soy Vinaigrette

Bok Choy Salad (with ramen noodles and almonds)

Crunchy Bok Choy Slaw (like coleslaw)

A16 turns 10

A16 restaurant is celebrating a 10 year anniversary. That’s a huge accomplishment in any city, especially San Francisco. A16 focuses on the food and wine of Southern Italy. When it opened, the idea of a regional Italian restaurant was a bit of an anomaly in San Francisco. And Neapolitan style pizza was nonexistent. Needless to say a lot has changed in 10 years (including the expansion of A16 to locations in Oakland and Tokyo).

Recently I got the chance to speak with Wine Director and Owner, Shelley Lindgren to talk about Italian food, wine and the success of the restaurant. 

How much does travel play a role at A16? 

A lot! This year I’ll be going to VinItaly. I’ve been able to send people, but it’s been years since I’ve gone. Most people catch the bug when they go to Italy and want to get back there again. It’s important because it’s where things start clicking. We try to make wine trips happen. It brings the products to life. It’s the stories you hear and every winery has stories. Investing in our people makes us better. Going to Naples to get our pizzaiolo certified was a big deal too. 

When chefs change at A16, how do you maintain consistency? 

This is a really important question, it’s the way our first chef Christophe (Hille) set up the kitchen, the prep, which is big because we use very fresh ingredients. Certain dishes have stayed on the menu since day one, burrata, the meatballs, the tripe, but there has to be room for changes in emphasis too. When Nate (Appleman) was promoted he wanted to make his own mark with meat. Liza (Shaw) was more into pasta. Everyone wants to do their own thing and I understand that. 

How has the wine list changed at A16 over the last 10 years? 

Our opening list was less than a quarter of what’s on the list now. There is so much more available. Fianos, Tauarasi, when we opened there were something like only 3 Etna Rossos available, now there are around 50. Even Chianti is going through a renaissance. There are more great wines and better prices. People have a much better understanding of Italian wine now and I’m still researching Southern Italian wines and varietals. 

Italian food has changed in the Bay Area, who do you think is doing a good job? 

There’s so much good Italian food now. La Ciccia and La Nebbia. Owner and chef Massimo helped me edit our first wine list. Acquerello. Quince and Cotogna. Delfina. Sociale does a great job, a perfect neighborhood place. And I love Una Pizza Napoletana.

What makes a restaurant a classic? 

Certain types of food that are timeless versus trendy. Like Zuni for chicken or caesar salad. Consistency. Paying attention, forging ahead and striving to improve. It’s not just pizza at A16, it’s something we hold dear. It’s important to be a part of the City, part of the community, so people feel like they’re being taken care of. We are a place where people can go and celebrate and be comfortable and leave happy! 

I walk in to A16 and I love the energy and the people we have working for us who are passionate about food and wine. We have our own built in community of people. We need to not forget our focus and help each other out. It takes effort to maintain that. 

Words to live by? 

There can never be too much pizza.

Thanks Shelley! I couldn’t agree more. 

Is Certified Chocolate Better?

The Rainforest Alliance sent me a collection of Rainforest Alliance Certified and Verified chocolate. I liked some it, including fun candy bars from Bixby and chocolate bars from Dagoba. I would love to be able to tell you that a simple logo like the Rainforest Alliance frog or one of the fair trade certifications like UTZ or Fair Trade USA guarantees that the products you are buying are better for people, animals and the environment. But I can’t. It’s just not that simple. 

Certifications are all about transparency, but I couldn’t find details on the fees on the Rainforest Alliance website and a representative of the Rainforest Alliance didn’t supply them to me (some details on the comments section). In speaking with people who work both for companies that do and don’t carry the Rainforest Alliance logo I learned that the fees that are charged for verification and certification are not insignificant and it's likely those costs are passed on to consumers.

The cost for independent certifiers who can reportedly charge as much as $750 per day, in countries where the average monthly salary is only $50. Also only 30% of cacao might meet the standards and other ingredients might not meet any of the standards, one such ingredient is palm oil which can be very destructive to the environment. So is certified better? 

I think certifications programs are intended to do good, but ultimately, knowing the company that produces your chocolate is even better than any logo. Some chocolate companies I greatly respect for their products as well as their values include Amano Chocolate, Guittard and Pacari. Some have the Rainforest Alliance certification and some don't. 

Read more about the FairTrade, UTZ and Rainforest Alliance certifications and what they mean, the positive and the negative.

Disclosure: My thanks to the Rainforest Alliance for sending me samples

The Lucky Pig Recipe

I am somewhat obsessed with a dish called the Lucky Pig, it’s served at Solbar in Calistoga and I order it almost every time I dine there. It’s basically tender roast pork served with a lot of other goodies—sesame pancakes, peanuts, jalapeños, herbs and lettuce, sauces, and even a little noodle salad. 

SolBar is a Michelin star restaurant at the Solage resort, but it’s got an approachable menu that has both healthy light options as well as more indulgent food and the staff couldn’t be nicer or more accommodating. Speaking of accommodating, to order the Lucky Pig I have to cajole other diners at my table to share it with me. The size of the roast pork shoulder varies, but it’s quite a lot of food. I also have to convince someone to go to Calistoga with me and since it’s about an hour and half drive, !’ve been working on my own version of it to enjoy at home. 

I’ve simplified the recipe quite a bit. In my opinion there are only a few elements that are really crucial, specifically the roast pork, sesame pancakes, pineapple pickles and lime wedges. You can see the original recipe from Chef Brandon Sharp as well as a scaled back version from The Mad Priest, I referred to both in creating my own recipe. It would be great for a dinner party, just be sure to start the day before. And by all means do try the original version next time you're in Calistoga. Note: The dish is on the lounge menu, but the restaurant happily serves it in the main dining room to anyone who requests it. 

The Lucky Pig

Serves about 4- 6 

Roast pork

Sesame pancakes

Pineapple pickles 

Roasted salted (or unsalted) peanuts

Sliced scallions

Butter lettuce leaves
Lime wedges
Jalapeño slices
Fresh basil, cilantro, and mint leaves
Peanut sauce

Sriracha sauce, optional 

Serve the roast pork hot, and the rest of the ingredients cool or at room temperature. Allow each guest to "roll their own" little pork stuffed pancakes with as many of the garnishes as they like. 

Roast pork

4 lbs (more or less) boneless pork shoulder
Kosher salt
10 cloves unpeeled garlic

Cut the pork into 2 pieces, pat dry, score the fat and and salt liberally on all sides. Place on a plate and let refrigerate uncovered, for 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Heat a Dutch oven and sear the pork on all sides until brown. This will take about 15 minutes. Place the garlic cloves in the Dutch oven with the pork, cover and roast for about 3 hours or until very tender. I start checking it after 2 hours. 

Sesame pancakes 

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup bread flour
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
5 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
5 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
2 teaspoons black sesame seeds

Blend all the ingredients except the sesame seeds, until smooth. Add the sesame seeds and transfer the mixture to the refrigerator to rest for up to 8 hours. Heat an 8 inch non-stick pan and make the crepes using about 2 Tablespoons of batter, be sure to stir the batter so each crepe has plenty of sesame seeds.

Pineapple pickles 

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon sriracha sauce

20 ounce can pineapple, drained

Whisk together the apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt and sriracha sauce in a bowl. Add the pineapple and let marinate in a covered container in the refrigerator for 8 hours.

Enjoy! 

More Favorites from the Winter Fancy Food Show 2014

Here is another round up from the Fancy Food Show, the last one actually. It’s a mishmash of products that didn’t really fall into the other categories (or somehow slipped through the cracks). 

While not new, I don’t remember ever tasting the fabulous Blenheim apricot preserves from B&R Farms in previous years. I’m pretty sure I would have remembered. The intensely bright, sweet and tangy fresh flavor of these heirloom apricots is such a treat. I liked the preserves best but all the products were great including the chutney and apricot red pepper preserve.

A winner at the Good Food Awards, Rick’s Picks Smokra is a unique smoky okra pickle with a nice texture. I asked how they got the smoky flavor and was told “just smoked paprika.” These would be great in a sandwich or served as part of an antipasti. They really tasted like okra, not just pickling juice. 

It’s been a few years since everyone went nuts for Skillet’s bacon jam an oniony bacon condiment that makes everything better. Now Skillet also offers a fennel and black pepper version as well as a line of pumpkin ketchups. They definitely have that ketchup sweet and sour tang. They come in Chipotle, Thai Coconut and Brown Sugar and Apple Vinegar. I tried the Thai Coconut Pumpkin version and liked it a lot. 

Since I’m a fan of cocktails with tea I was intrigued by Owl’s Brew teas for cocktails. These brewed teas are lightly sweetened and designed to be mixed with liquor. I tried the English Breakfast which had nice citrus notes from lemon peel and just the right balance of sweetness from agave syrup. I look forward to trying the rest of the line which includes more complex fruit, spice and tea combinations 

Apparently GoodPops popsicles were at the Fancy Food Show last year, but I don’t remember trying them. These all organic popsicles are really outstanding, they have a great texture as well as flavors. I tried the Hibiscus, Strawberry and Coldbrewed Coffee and liked all of them. The use of high quality ingredients really does make all the difference.

Grain-free Seedy Crackers from Keep It Real are made from chia, flax, sesame, salt and black pepper only. They are very crisp, peppery and quite good. I haven’t seen them in stores yet, and will be experimenting to come up with my own recipe soon.

Coquet makes a traditional Spanish tapa, marinated sweet white garlic in a variety of styles and flavors including a spicy and olive version. The amazing thing is, you would never know it was garlic. The garlic tastes almost like almonds, sweet and nutty. I hope I can find these on the shelf soon. 

I adore honey and the best I’ve ever had was in Greece so I was excited to try the honey from eco-friendly Melia. Their Wild Forest honey is thick and bold with a luscious caramel texture and a slight herbal bitterness, a bit reminiscent of pollen. This honey definitely takes me back to my time in Greece. I hope they find distribution because I would be their first customer! 

In the French pavilion I tried a lovely Chardonnay jelly. A few aisles away I discovered The Preservatory, a line of jams from the Vista d’oro farms in British Columbia that include Craft Beer Jam, which is really a jelly. It’s made from nothing more than heirloom apples grown on their orchard, craft beer, lemon juice and sugar. It has a great balance of sweetness and depth. After that I was intrigued by the rest of their creative seasonal flavors like Green Heirloom Tomato and Garam Masala, Heirloom Beet with Orange and Pink Peppercorns or the summery Peach and Lemon Verbena with Champagne. Pretty cool stuff! 

Last but not least, I forgot to mention this crazy cheese I tried in my cheese post. It's made with kimchi. Yes, kimchi! If you love kimchi quesadillas, then this cheese a blend of kimchi and jack from Beechwood Cheese will definitely make you happy.