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    Home » Recipes » Appetizers/Sides

    Chinese Garlic Bok Choy

    Modified: May 7, 2025 · Published: May 10, 2022 by Christie Lai · This post may contain affiliate links · 31 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Video

    Tender bok choy blanched and dressed in a savoury garlicky soy sauce with a hint of sesame. This quick and easy Chinese Garlic Bok Choy is ready in 10 minutes with simple ingredients. Great as a healthy vegetable side dish for the family!

    Chinese Garlic Bok Choy
    Jump to:
    • Ingredients & Substitutes
    • Expert Tips
    • Instructions
    • Storage 
    • Pairing Suggestions
    • FAQ
    • More Like This
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Reviews

    Garlic Bok Choy features bok choy leaves blanched and topped off with a thick brown sauce made of garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, cooking wine, sugar, water and cornstarch. It's absolutely delicious!

    This is a very popular Chinese vegetable dish that is served at many Chinese restaurants or for takeout for good reason!

    The bok choy is packed with flavor thanks to the garlic sauce, making it a delicious way to add more fibre to your diet!

    Chinese Garlic Bok Choy

    If you like a spicy version of this dish, try my Spicy Garlic Bok Choy instead. This version here is not spicy, making it more suitable for kids and those who can't tolerate spice.

    Why you'll love this recipe:

    • packed with umami flavor!
    • easily made with minimal ingredients in little time!
    • made in one-pan for easy cleanup.
    • great for large families and picky eaters.
    • a fantastic way to add fibre to your diet.
    • better and cheaper than takeout!

    Ingredients & Substitutes

    Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements. 

    ingredients to make this recipe
    • Regular Bok Choy: or substitute with baby bok choy and slice into halves. Or substitute with yu choy sum or gai lan. Bok choy is available at most Asian grocery stores.

    Garlic Sauce

    • Garlic Cloves
    • Oyster Sauce: or substitute with vegetarian stir fry sauce. If you're gluten-free, substitute with a gluten free oyster sauce.
    • Regular Soy Sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you're gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
    • Shaoxing Wine: a Chinese rice cooking wine available at Asian grocers. Or substitute with dry sherry wine, dry white wine or chicken broth.
    • Sesame Oil
    • Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch or tapioca starch to thicken the sauce.
    • White Granulated Sugar: or substitute with cane sugar.
    • Water: room temperature or cold.

    Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients.

    Expert Tips

    • Rinse bok choy very well with cold running water, especially in between the leaves to remove hidden dirt or insects.
    • Only blanch greens until vibrant green for at most 30-45 seconds or until it turns vibrant green. You don't want to over cook them or they will turn soggy.
    • Add neutral oil to boiling water. This is optional but by adding 1 teaspoon of oil into the water, it’ll help make your greens shiny and vibrant. I use any neutral tasting oil, like avocado or vegetable oil.

    Instructions

    Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make garlic bok choy:

    Slice regular or baby bok choy into halves. Wash in-between the leaves of your bok choy to remove hidden dirt, until water runs clear.
    1. Slice bok choy into halves. Wash in-between the leaves of your bok choy to remove hidden dirt, until water runs clear.
    In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
    1. In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
    Fill a large pan or wok with enough water and bring to boil on high heat. Then blanch the bok choy until the leaves turn vibrant green, about 30-45 seconds. Strain immediately.
    1. Fill a large pan or wok with enough water and bring to boil on high heat. Then blanch the bok choy until the leaves turn vibrant green, about 30-45 seconds. Strain immediately.
    Transfer the bok choy to a large serving plate.
    1. Transfer the bok choy to a large serving plate.
    In a dry pan on medium heat, pour in the sauce and simmer to thicken.
    1. In a dry pan on medium heat, pour in the sauce and simmer to thicken.
    Pour the thickened sauce over the greens and enjoy!
    1. Pour the thickened sauce over the greens and enjoy!

    Storage 

    • Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
    • Freezer friendly? I don't recommend freezing this dish as the leaves may turn mushy.

    Pairing Suggestions

    Garlic bok choy serves well with:

    • starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
    • white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, or fried rice
    • chow mein, lo mein, plain noodles, soup noodles 
    • protein dishes like Sweet Chili Chicken, Szechuan Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Bang Bang Shrimp, Shrimp Omelet, Soy Garlic Tofu, Chinese Braised Tofu and more!

    FAQ

    Can I make this in advance? 

    Garlic bok choy can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat until hot.

    More Like This

    • Chinese Broccoli Stir Fry
    • Steamed Garlic Bok Choy
    • Stir Fried Snow Pea Leaves
    • Easy Garlic Green Beans
    • Chinese Broccoli with Garlic Sauce
    • Chinese Garlic Yu Choy

    📖 Recipe

    Easy 10-min. Chinese Garlic Bok Choy

    Christie Lai
    Chinese Garlic Bok Choy. Tender bok choy blanched and coated in a savoury garlicky oyster soy sauce with a hint of sesame. Ready in 10 minutes with simple ingredients!
    5 from 17 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Prep Time 8 minutes mins
    Cook Time 2 minutes mins
    Total Time 10 minutes mins
    Course Main Course, Side Dish
    Cuisine Chinese
    Servings 4 as a side
    Calories per serving 79 kcal

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 1.50 lb Bok Choy or baby bok choy

    Sauce

    • 6 cloves garlic minced
    • 2 tablespoon oyster sauce or vegetarian stir fry sauce
    • 2 tablespoon regular soy sauce or light soy sauce
    • 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine or Dry Sherry Wine / sake / dry white wine
    • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
    • 1 teaspoon cornstarch or potato starch / tapioca starch
    • ½ teaspoon white granulated sugar or cane sugar
    • ½ cup water cold

    Instructions
     

    • Slice bok choy into halves. Wash in-between the leaves of your bok choy to remove hidden dirt, until water runs clear.
    • In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
    • Fill a large pan or wok with enough water and bring to boil on high heat. Then blanch the bok choy until the leaves turn vibrant green, about 30-45 seconds. Strain immediately.
    • Transfer the bok choy to a large serving plate.
    • In a dry pan on medium heat, pour in the sauce and simmer to thicken.
    • Pour the thickened sauce over the greens and enjoy!
    Enjoyed my recipe?Please leave a 5 star review (be kind)! Tag me on social media @christieathome as I'd love to see your creations!

    Suggested Equipment & Products

    • Wok
    • Cutting Board
    • Santoku Knife
    • Steel Colander
    • Measuring Set
    • Kitchen Scale
    Nutrition
    Calories: 79kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 861mg | Potassium: 472mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 7600IU | Vitamin C: 78mg | Calcium: 193mg | Iron: 2mg

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    Reader Interactions

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Kathy Wesserling

      July 29, 2025 at 2:29 pm

      5 stars
      One of my favorite 3 Green Vegetables, with Broccolini and Baby Spinach. I imagine that Sauce would be lovely on all three. I have most of the ingredients ( no wine, sugar yet.) I need to go to one of our markets soon (so many in Macomb County, Michigan.)

      Reply
      • Christie Lai

        August 07, 2025 at 4:47 pm

        Yes, the sauce would be lovely on broccolini, broccoli or any leafy greens with a slightly thicker stalk. You could also try it with spinach 🙂 All the best in finding the ingredients and hopefully it's all easily accessible!

        Reply
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    Christie

    Christie is an Recipe Blogger with an expertise on Asian recipes! She makes Asian cooking approachable with step-by-step pictures, ingredient & recipe tips and a helpful cooking video. Her quick and easy recipes have been featured on BuzzFeed Tasty, Food52, The Kitchn, The FeedFeed, Sur La Table, Yummly and more! With a following of over 1M+, her recipes are made repeatedly by her loyal readers.

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