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    Home » Recipes » Vegetable Prep Hacks

    How to Cut Bok Choy

    Published: Mar 26, 2021 / Modified: Mar 15, 2024 by Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN / This post may contain affiliate links / 5 Comments

    1360 shares
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    image of sliced and chopped bok choy on a cutting board under text box with post title

    Learn about how to cut bok choy, bok choy nutrition, and how to cook this leafy green vegetable. This post includes step-by-step photos, a short video, and my favorite bok choy recipes!

    image of sliced and chopped bok choy on a cutting board under text box

    This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my affiliate disclosure.

    Bok choy, also known as pak choi, is a leafy green vegetable in the cabbage family that’s commonly used in Asian cuisine. It has a crunchy texture and mildly bitter, delicious taste.

    Some of the best ways to use bok choy include stir fries, soups, and salads. You can also roast it in the oven for a yummy vegetable side dish.

    If you are wondering how to cut bok choy and prepare it for cooking, you’re in the right place. Scroll through this post to learn about cutting bok choy into halves, quarters, and strips. Be sure to check out the photos and watch the short video, too!

    Jump to:
    • Bok Choy Nutrition
    • How to Clean Bok Choy
    • How to Cut Bok Choy into Halves or Quarters
    • How to Cut Bok Choy into Leaves
    • How to Chop Bok Choy
    • How to Cut Bok Choy for Soup
    • Recommended Equipment
    • Bok Choy Recipes
    • Watch How to Prepare Bok Choy
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Bok Choy Nutrition

    The delicious taste of bok choy is just one reason to eat more of it. In addition, this veggie is highly nutritious. It provides fiber, vitamin C, and beneficial plant compounds known as glucosinolates.

    Here are the nutrition facts for 2 cups of chopped bok choy:

    • Calories: 18
    • Protein: 2 grams
    • Fat: <1 gram
    • Carbohydrates: 3 grams
    • Fiber: 1.4 grams
    • Calcium: 14% of the Daily Value (DV)
    • Vitamin A: 124% of the DV
    • Vitamin C: 104% of the DV
    • Vitamin K: 53% of the DV

    How to Clean Bok Choy

    Dirt can hide in between the leaves of bok choy. To clean bok choy and remove dirt, swish the heads in a container filled with cold water, gently opening the leaves as needed to get all of the dirt. Drain, rinse, and pat dry before cutting and cooking.

    woman washing bok choy in a rectangular container filled with cold water

    How to Cut Bok Choy into Halves or Quarters

    Some recipes may call for halved baby bok choy. To prepare bok choy in this way:

    Slice baby bok choy in half lengthwise.

    woman slicing bok choy in half on a cutting board

    Trim the root, but keep it intact enough so that the leaves don’t fall apart.

    woman trimming the ends of bok choy on a cutting board

    If you are using large bok choy, cut it into quarters instead of halves by following these steps:

    1. Slice the large head of bok choy in half lengthwise.
    2. Cut each half in half again to yield quarters. Trim the root, but keep it intact.

    How to Cut Bok Choy into Leaves

    Cut off the root end.

    woman slicing off the root of bok choy on a cutting board

    Pull apart the leaves.

    woman pulling apart the leaves of a head of bok choy over a cutting board

    How to Chop Bok Choy

    Cut off the root and pull apart the leaves. Stack leaves on top of each other and slice in half lengthwise.

    woman slicing bok choy leaves in half lengthwise over a cutting board

    Chop across the leaves.

    woman chopping bok choy on a bamboo cutting board

    If you want to cut bok choy into strips, just cut the leaves crosswise without slicing them in half first.

    How to Cut Bok Choy for Soup

    Bok choy soup recipes may call for it halved, chopped, or separated into leaves. Follow the relevant set of instructions above to prepare it in the right way for your recipe.

    Recommended Equipment

    These bamboo cutting boards are the ones I’m using in the photos and video. They have rubber stoppers on the bottom to prevent slipping. If you are interested in my chef’s knife, check it out here.

    Bok Choy Recipes

    Now that you know how to cut bok choy, let’s get cooking! Some of my favorite ways to eat bok choy include the Vegetarian Bok Choy Miso Soup, Sesame Ginger Roasted Bok Choy, Vegan Bok Choy Stir Fry with Mango, and the Spaghetti Squash “Ramen.”

    Watch How to Prepare Bok Choy

    📖 Recipe

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    chopped bok choy and bok choy leaves on a bamboo cutting board on a counter

    How to Cut Bok Choy

    Learn how to slice bok choy into halves, quarters, strips, and more.
    5 from 8 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
    Total Time: 10 minutes mins
    Servings: 1
    Calories: 109kcal
    Author: Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN

    Equipment

    • cutting board and knife

    Ingredients 

    • 1 head bok choy

    Instructions

    • Clean bok choy before preparing by placing it in a container of water and swishing it around to remove the dirt between the leaves. Drain, rinse, and pat dry.

    Halves or Quarters

    • If using baby bok choy, slice in half lengthwise. Trim the root end, but keep it mostly intact so that the leaves don't fall apart.
    • If using large bok choy, slice in half lengthwise and then into quarters. Trim the root ends, but leave enough to keep the leaves intact.

    Leaves

    • Cut off the root end. Pull apart the leaves.

    Strips or Diced

    • Cut off the root end. Make a couple piles of the leaves stacked on top of each other.
    • To cut into strips, slice a pile of the leaves crosswise across the stems.
    • To dice, cut the leaves in half lengthwise. Then, slice crosswise to yield diced leaves and stalks.

    Video

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1bok choy | Calories: 109kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 546mg | Potassium: 2117mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 37531IU | Vitamin C: 378mg | Calcium: 882mg | Iron: 7mg
    Did you make this recipe?Tag @vegworld_recipes and follow me today!

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    Comments

      5 from 8 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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    1. Melina W. Leonard

      January 06, 2024 at 3:07 pm

      5 stars
      I am so passionate about bok choy because it contains a modest amount of calcium, but compared to spinach, bok choy is considered a low-oxalate food. However, it is very difficult to successfully clean bok choy. Some readers might appreciate knowing that OrganicGirl offers pre-washed baby bok choy in their product line (tender leaves without bulky white stems). It’s difficult finding it my local stores, but Amazon Fresh delivers it for a delivery fee. If I order multiple containers at a time, the delivery fee is less of an issue for me; but, then, you have to enjoy incorporating bok choy in your salads, soups, meals, etc. Lizzie: If you have a link in your post for Amazon Fresh, I may not have noticed it. Otherwise, providing a link for buying OrganicGirl organic, pre-washed baby bok choy from Amazon Fresh could be helpful to some readers.

      Reply
    2. April

      December 18, 2023 at 2:58 pm

      5 stars
      Very well explained! Thank you so much!❤️

      Reply
      • Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN

        December 18, 2023 at 7:39 pm

        So glad it was helpful!

        Reply
    3. Jessie

      November 13, 2023 at 12:20 pm

      5 stars
      Very helpful! Thank you 🙏

      Reply
      • Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN

        November 13, 2023 at 1:48 pm

        Hi Jessie, I’m so glad it was helpful to you.

        Reply

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