Here’s how to make bok choy in Instant Pot or as a Ninja Foodi recipe with pressure cooker function. It’s easy! This leafy vegetable comes out tender with tons of great Asian flavors.
Wondering how to make bok choy quickly and just as good as the restaurants do? We’ve got the answer here! Made as an easy Instant Pot recipe this time, but any pressure cooker will work. Best way to make it. (affiliate links present)
Instant Pot Bok Choy
This is kinda’ an overlooked vegetable, don’t you think?? We have it at our favorite Asian place all the time but rarely see it on the menu elsewhere. SO when I had a craving for this and our pressure cooker teriyaki chicken the other night I thought I’d figure out how to replicate that dish we love.
If you love this side dish but have never bought it yourself you can find it in the produce section. You want bright green colors with a stalk that is still firm.
Table of contents
If you are new to pressure cooking we have a lot of easy one pot meal recipes for you here. To begin with let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then PRINT this —–> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet that will help you understand how long meat, vegetables and beans take to cook in your pressure cooker.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
- You should know how to deglaze a pressure cooker after sautéing but it won’t have as many issues with this better liner.
For reference, this is the model I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.
Ninja Foodi Bok Choy
If you are using this brand of multi cooker you will use the lid that is not attached with the pressure cook button on the front. New to this veggie? Oh you’ll love it. The trick is the sauce you use really, and getting it nice and tender. That is subjective though. Some prefer it very soft, I like a little bite to it. I include both methods below though.
You’ll want to cut off the very bottom, thickest portion that is white at the bottom first. You can keep the rest in tact or slice into 1″ sections to get more tender if you desire. Then cook bok choy as desired.
You can eat all of this Chinese white cabbage if you want. It is safe to consume raw or cooked. Most discard the very end and eat the dark green leaves + thinner white stalk portions.
For sure. This leafy green is rich in Vitamin A, C, K and fiber as well. A shorter cook time will maintain more nutrients which we will show you how to do here.
Here it is after being rinsed and the very bottom area trimmed off. Now you just need to add whatever type of liquid in your pot so you can essentially steam bok choy in Instant Pot.
That is right, it doesn’t matter whether you want to make this as a Ninja Foodi recipe or other brand of pressure cooker. Any brand or model will work just the same.
Ingredients
- Bunch of fresh bok choy
- Chicken broth or water, the first will offer more flavor
- Soy sauce or use amino acids for gluten free
- Garlic minced is a flavor that goes well
- Rice wine vinegar will give it a pop of flavor
- You could add a bit of chili flakes for heat to make a little or a lot spicy
That is all I used to make this easy side dish. Of course you could add a bit of Sriracha if you wanted some heat too. If you do not have this high pressure pot you could use the same ingredients plus oil in a large skillet. Add baby bok choy with your sauce and maybe fresh ginger diced. Cook stirring intermittently until tender.
Timing will depend on how soft you want it but either way is super quick and easy. It is fabulous next to or in a Instant Pot stir fry or pressure cooker fried rice.
The smaller the bok choy cut the faster it will tenderize. Serve as is right out of the pot or pan and sprinkle a few sesame seeds or sesame oil on top and enjoy. Here are basic step by step directions. I have a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post too though that you can keep on hand. It has nutritional information in it as well if you use the exact ingredients listed.
Pressure Cooker Bok Choy Recipe
- Cut thick ends off bok choy if you have a large bunch.
Add ingredients other than bok choy into pressure cooker if you are using that method. - If using a saucepan on the stovetop set to medium heat.
- Separate pieces and lay vegetable pieces into the pot. The bottom pieces will be more tender so put smaller pieces on top. Inside a pan you can rotate them, in an Instant Pot you won’t
- Close lid and steam valve and set to 1 minute on high pressure.
- If you like it really tender, set to 2 minutes.
- Do a quick release on Ninja Foodi pressure cooker.
- Remove and put into a bowl. Pour sauce on top and serve immediately.
If you wanted to make this on the stovetop put a lid on tight to trap the steam and let it cook for 3-5 minutes rotating top and bottom pieces once. Remove when as tender as desired.
What can I do with too much bok choy?
This has never been an issue ourselves but if we decided to grow it in our vegetable garden it might be. There are TONS of things to serve this with but you can cut it into smaller pieces and add it into other dishes like cabbage salad with asian dressing for cold and into casseroles for warm options.
Similar to many of our simple cabbage recipes it adds a bit of texture to rice or casserole dishes for sure. You could use this and follow our Instant Pot fried cabbage recipe but it would use this leafy green instead!
Can fresh bok choy be frozen?
I personally do not like freezing vegetables, unless it’s corn on the cob really. It really does alter the texture of it once it is defrosted and you use it in a recipe. Personally I’d rather just take a trip to the store and get fresh.
What should I serve with bok choy?
- From air fryer frozen chicken breast sliced and thrown next to brown rice
- Added into our Instant Pot vegetable ramen dish is just so easy.
- Our Instant Pot Asian chicken
- Or make a bowl of copycat Panda Express black pepper chicken is another favorite dish too.
All you need for the one you see above is a bit of olive oil spray, or vegetable oil works too. A trip in your hot air machine, sprinkle with green onions and seasonings. It goes from rock hard frozen to perfectly tender in minutes. My oven has been crying lately for sure. I hardly ever use anything other than these 2 devices to cook anymore.
I hope this helps you understand how to cook bok choy so you too can enjoy it at home. Like I said, the IP is my preferred method but a pan is just as good if that is all you have for sure. Good for you and delish!!
How to Make Bok Choy
Equipment
- 1 pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 1 head bok choy, rinsed, thick ends removed
- 1/4 c water, or vegetable broth
- 1/4 c soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
Instructions
- Cut thick ends off bok choy if you have a large bunch.
- Add ingredients other than bok choy into pressure cooker.
- Separate pieces and lay vegetable pieces into the pot. The bottom pieces will be more tender so put smaller pieces on top.
- Close lid and steam valve and set to 1 minute on high pressure. If you like it really tender, set to 2 minutes.
- Do a quick release. Remove and put into a bowl. Pour sauce on top and serve immediately.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Was so good