Also known as:
Bak Choy, Chinese cabbage, pak choi, snow cabbage
Description:
Pak Choy is a Chinese leaf vegetable often used in Chinese cuisine. The vegetable is related to the Western cabbage, and is of the same species as the common turnip. Pak Choy originally comes from China, but has become popular in European food, particularly in the UK, with the increase in popularity of Chinese cooking. Its structure looks like a squat celery, with either white or very pale green short, chunky stalks and glossy, deep green leaves. The texture of both leaves and stalks is crisp, and the flavour is somewhere between mild cabbage and spinach. If very young it can be eaten raw in salads, but is best when briefly cooked.
Commonly used in:
Stir fries salads etc.
Health benefit:
Among other things, it's relatively easy to grow and is high in vitamin C, beta carotene, folic acid and calcium, as well as many essential minerals. 1 cup of cooked Pak Choy contains 15% of your recommended daily allowance of calcium - the equivalent of 1/4 pint of full fat milk.
