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Stems and leaves full of vitamins and minerals
You often see it at the supermarket or greengrocer. A bunch of thick white stems with large green leaves at the top. And a strange sounding name. That’s pak choi. But what exactly is it? And how should you prepare it?
Pak choi is a type of cabbage that originates from China. The white stems are nice and crispy and the dark green leaves are juicy. Both can be eaten. Pak choi is available all year round in the Netherlands in the supermarket or at the greengrocer.
Full of vitamins and minerals
Pak choi is packed vitamins and minerals. 100 grams of pak choi already contains more than 100 percent of the recommended daily amount of vitamin A. And almost 75 percent of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C. Bok choy also contains calcium, iron, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. And that while 100 grams of raw pak choi contain only 14 kilocalories.
Store and prepare
Pay attention to the purchase of bok choy that the white stems are firm and that the dark green leaves do not look wilted. If bought fresh, bok choy can keep for two to three days to a week in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. Sliced bok choy only keeps for one day in the fridge.
Pak choi can be prepared in different ways. You can stir-fry, boil, steam or bake it. First cut off the butt, the hard part where the stems come together, and wash the vegetables. Then you can cut large or small cubes or strips as desired.
It takes about 5-7 minutes to cook the bok choy. If you stir-fry the pak choi, it will be ready in five to eight minutes. When preparing, note that the white stems take a little longer to cook than the green leaves.
Nitrate rich
There is naturally a lot nitrate in pak choi. Nitrate-rich vegetables, such as spinach and endive, should not be eaten with fish. This creates nitrosamines, which can be carcinogenic. Nitrosamines are a harmful substance that is created by the combination of nitrate-rich vegetables with fish and shellfish (except salmon and mackerel).
Recipes
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