Sautéed Baby Bok Choy with Honey Lime Sauce

By: Merritt Allen

Having healthy and tasty vegetables with every meal is important to me. I love to find new ways to cook, sauté, broil, and incorporate different vegetable recipes into my meals. This recipe for honey and lime sautéed baby bok choy is one of my fastest and easiest vegetable recipes. Coming together in as little as 20 minutes, these sweet and slightly spicy baby bok choy are the perfect topping for some white rice, tofu, or chicken.

Sometimes I even eat a full plate of the sautéed bok choy before they make it to the table! The ends are slightly crunchy, and the wilted tops add a leafy sweetness that absorb so much of the honey and lime sauce. The best part of the sauce is the combination of extra garlic cloves with the Gochugaru powder, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Everything comes together in a nutty, spicy, and flavorful way that the baby bok choy simply absorb. I promise you will love this recipe and use as a regular rotation for a creative, healthy, and easy vegetable dish.

Notes and Tips for Honey Lime Bok Choy:

• The best way to cook this baby bok choy recipe is to wash, cut, and cook the vegetables all in one skillet. Baby bok choy cook really fast so the sauce can be added directly to the skillet while the bok choy sauté.

• Fresh lime juice is great in the recipe. You can zest your lime before squeezing it over the skillet, and then add the zest to your bok choy when they are done cooking. The lime zest will add a brightness to the dish when it is all complete.

• I have also cooked baby bok choy with this sauce via the oven. I like this method if you have a lot cooking on the stove and you want to save space. For oven preparation, I recommend whisking the sauce together, to make sure it mixes well before pouring it over the vegetables. I bake the bok choy at 375 F until the ends are wilted and starting to brown around the edges, about 15 minutes.

How do you prepare baby bok choy for eating?

• Baby bok choy is super easy to prepare for eating. Start by chopping the ends off and cleaning out any dirt that is collected at the bottom of the bok choy. Chop the bok in half lengthwise. Then continue to chop the bok into strips until you have about 5-6 pieces per baby bok choy.

• Bok choy has the best texture when you chop it into lengthwise strips as described above. You can separate the bottoms from the tops, but I find this does not taste as good as keeping them together.

• Bok choy contains a lot of water. When sautéing, make sure the skillet is hot enough when first adding the bok choy. If you find there is a lot of water not evaporating, turn the heat up for 2-3 minutes. This will also reduce the sticky honey sauce, at the same time!

• When you first cut the ends off your baby bok choy, make sure to check them for any extra dirt. As you can see below, I gave these guys a little extra rinse to remove the remaining dirt.

What Does Bok Choy Taste Like?

• Bok choy has a mild flavor and it absorbs any flavor that you pair with it. Bok choy is part of the cabbage family, and you can find regular bok choy and baby bok choy in stores. I like baby bok choy since it has a mild sweetness while the fully grown bok choy is a little more bitter and earthy. Both are great for stir frying so do not worry if you can not find baby bok choy for this recipe.

• My secret ingredient for this recipe is gochugaru. Since baby bok choy is so mild in flavor, it takes on the flavor of this delicious pepper powder really well. Gochugaru is a Korean pepper powder that is subtly spicy and very delicious.

What does Bok Choy go well with?

• Baby bok choy is great because it takes on the flavor of what it is cooked with. This recipe has predominant flavors of honey, lime, soy sauce, and gochugaru. This makes it a sweet and spice vegetable that is so delicious. Once cooked this baby bok choy recipe goes with so many other dishes.

• Some easy pairings are white rice. The honey lime sauce gets soaked up by the rice and is simply delicious. The baby bok choy also goes well with some tofu. Similar to rice, tofu absorbs the flavor of the honey and lime and is a simple and nutritious meal. I also like to pair honey lime baby bok choy with chicken or thinly sliced beef. Let me know what you pair your bok choy with in the comments below!

• Below are some of my own recipes that go well with baby bok choy: Let me know if you love one of these pairings as much as I do!

  • My Honey Garlic Shrimp recipe is an easy shrimp recipe that would go great with sautéed baby bok choy!

  • My Bacon and Edamame Fried Rice is a flavorful fried rice that I love to batch cook. This bok choy recipe would add just the right amount of spice.

  • My Miso Butter Salmon always needs some fresh veggies on the side. Try switching out broccoli for bok choy with your salmon!

  • My Flank Steak in Soy Marinade would go great over rice and these bok choy!

Ingredients For Baby Bok Choy with Honey Lime Sauce:

Recipe: Serves 2-3

• 3-4 baby bok choy Trimmed of brown spots
• 2 garlic cloves You can also use 1 Tbs garlic powder
• 1-2 Tbs butter Salted butter is preferred
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 lime You can also use rice wine vinegar!
• 2 Tbs Honey You can also use maple syrup.
• 1 tsp sesame oil optional but flavorful!
• 1 Tbs soy sauce To taste, you can add more for serving.
• 1/2 Tbs Gochugaru powder This red korean pepper, you can find this at most grocery sttores. If you have an asian market near you, I highly suggest checking it out!
• 2 tsp sesame seeds For serving.

How to Make Honey Lime Bok Choy:

1. Prepare The Ingredients

   1. Trim the ends off your your bok choy and rinse the leaves to remove any dirt.

   2. Chop your bok choy into strips by running your knife lengthwise down your bok choy.

   3. Continue to cut all your bok choy until you a have a large pile ready to saute.

   4. Chop 2-3 garlic cloves into a light mince, set aside to sauté.

2. Sauté The Bok Choy

   1. To a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil.

   2. When hot and bubbling, add the garlic and bok choy, and let the bok choy wilt for about 2 minute.

   3. Squeeze 1/2 of a lime over the bok choy.

   4. Add the gochugaru, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Stir until combined.

   5. Drizzle the honey over the bok choy and stir.

   6. Let the bok hoy sauté until everything is well mixed and fragrant, about 5-7 minutes.

   7. Serve with a fresh sprinkle of sesame seeds, and extra squeeze of lime and enjoy!

Print

With ImageWithout Image

Honey Lime Baby Bok Choy

Yield: 4

Author: Merritt Allen

Prep time: 5 MinCook Time: 15 MinTotal time: 20 Min

Deliciously sautéed baby bok choy with honey, lime, and gochugaru powder is the best way to enjoy this incredibly tasty vegetable!

Ingredients

Honey Lime Baby Bok Choy

• 3-4 baby bok choy
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1-2 Tbs butter
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 lime
• 2 Tbs Honey
• 1 Tbs soy sauce
• 1/2 Tbs Gochugaru powder
• 2 tsp sesame seeds

Instructions

Prepare and Sauté the Bok Choy

1. Trim the ends off your your bok choy and rinse the leaves to remove any dirt.
2. Chop your bok choy into strips by running your knife lengthwise down your bok choy.
3. Continue to cut all your bok choy until you a have a large pile ready to sauté.
4. Chop 2-3 garlic cloves into a light mince, set aside to sauté.
5. To a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil.
6. When hot and bubbling, add the garlic and bok choy, and let the bok choy wilt for about 2 minute.
7. Squeeze 1/2 of a lime over the bok choy.
8. Add the Gochugaru, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Stir until combined.
9. Drizzle the honey over the bok choy and stir.
10. Let the bok hoy sauté until everything is well mixed and fragrant, about 5-7 minutes.
11. Serve with a fresh sprinkle of sesame seeds, and extra squeeze of lime and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Calories

132

Protein

2 g

Carbs

14 g

Fat

9 g

Sugar

10 g

https://itsbetterwithbutter.com/appetizers-and-sides/honey-lime-skillet-bok-choy

bok choy recipes, honey lime sauce, sautéed vegetables, healthy vegetable recipes, fast vegetable recipes

appetizer

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @itsbetter_withbutter on instagram and hashtag it itsbetter_withbutter

Why I Love This Recipe:

Baby bok choy is such a great vegetable that is full of water and fiber. I love this recipe for how quick it is to prepare and how many meals it goes with! I also love this recipe for how the leftover taste and do not smell up your kitchen! You will love this recipe for bok choy, it will transform your vegetable game.