Here’s how to make bok choy in your Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi pressure cooker, it’s easy! 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.
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 teriyaki chicken the other night I thought I’d figure out how to replicate that dish we love.
FIRST – You should sign up for my free newsletter so you get new posts emailed to you twice a week and never miss out on anything! Now 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.
- This is a great InstaPot cookbook and a set of wooden utensils are great to grab too.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot.
- You should still deglaze pressure cooker after sautéing but it won’t have as many issues with this better liner.
For reference, this is the pressure cooker I have (a 6 quart) and use for all recipe creations.
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.
Ninja Foodi Bok Choy
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.
- Bunch of fresh bok choy
- Broth of water
- Soy sauce
- Garlic minced
- Rice wine vinegar
- You could add a bit of chili flakes for heat
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 stir fry or 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.
Bok Choy Recipe
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.
Time needed: 2 minutes
How to Make Bok Choy
- Prepare
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 - Cook
Close lid and steam valve and set to 1 minute on high pressure. If you like it really tender, set to 2 minutes.
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.
Do a quick release on Ninja Foodi pressure cooker. Remove and put into a bowl. Pour sauce on top and serve immediately.
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.
Similar to 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?
We eat a lot of chicken! From air fryer frozen chicken breast sliced and thrown next to brown rice, to our chicken quinoa casserole it’s just so easy.
Our Instant Pot Asian chicken or 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!!
Want to see a few of my favorite things that I am totally obsessed with?? Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!
Looking for more easy family recipes and tips? LIKE The Typical Mom Facebook page?
Then sign up for my free newsletter, and follow me on Pinterest! 😉
***** If you LOVED this recipe give it 5 Stars below and let everyone know what you thought about it. 😉
How to Make Bok Choy
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.