Dinner Tonight: Grilled Bok Choy With Spicy Vinaigrette
I've been on a grilling kick recently and no wonder—with the weather in Chicago mostly nice and sunny except yesterday, I've been camping out on the stoop and grilling right on my sidewalk. (Is that even legal?) Anyway, I've been trying to expand my vegetable grilling repertoire beyond sweet corn and zucchini. I found this Sara Moulton recipe that used a vegetable I don't often think of when grilling, with a vinaigrette that looks far more interesting than the simple olive oil dip most of my grilled vegetables get.
Once the bok choy comes hot off the grill, it immediately gets a bath in the genuinely spicy, though also sweet vinaigrette. I'm sure a fork is the proper way to eat it, but we just waited until it cooled a little bit and dug in with fingers. It's a perfect grilled side. The other great thing about this recipe is that the vinaigrette can be prepared in advance before I ever walk down those stone steps, so all I have to focus on is turning bok choy. Good thing, too. Though I like to think of myself as confident in front of a stove, I still need a lot of help with my little charcoal grill.
Grilled Bok Choy with Spicy Vinaigrette
- serves 2 -
Ingredients
1 head bok choy, thick stem removed and chopped into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon chili paste
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 scallion, chopped
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Salt and pepper
Procedure
1. Whisk together the rice wine vinegar, chili paste, vegetable oil, scallion, and sesame seeds in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Grill the bok choy pieces either on a grill or on a grill pan over medium-high heat for about 3 to 4 minutes, turning every 30 seconds or so. They should get crisp, but not blacken.
3. When done throw the bok choy in the bowl with the vinaigrette. Mix together thoroughly and serve.
About the author: Nick Kindelsperger is a co-founder of The Paupered Chef, a blog dedicated to saving time and money while enjoying food in every way possible. He recently moved to Chicago.
View other entries from Dinner Tonight.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
2 Comments:
now that sounds great. could you just leave them whole and grill them
like romaine hearts? i would think they'd take a little more time, though.
i'm going to try it. you've inspired me. thanks.
pooch at 12:33PM on 07/12/08
My friend and I prepared this for dinner with grilled chicken tonight. This was the best bok choy I have ever eaten!! YUMMY!
kellyk1 at 11:28PM on 07/13/08