15-minute Garlic Bok Choy. Blanched bok choy served with a savory sauce made from garlic, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and sugar.
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There are days when prepping for the main course depletes my energy level, and making a vegetable dish is the last thing I want to do at that moment. But ever since I was young, I’ve been used to having a bit of greens with my meal, almost like a habit. And also… I just have to, because balance, am I right?
A lot of times, my no fuss options are the usual suspects: cucumbers, lettuce, or spinach. Basically anything that can be eaten as is. But sometimes, I just want a delicious cooked veggie dish that can be done in a jiffy.
So here’s a quick vegetable recipe to add to our Ramadan 2023 Series for Day 9. This garlic bok choy only takes 15 minutes to make from start to finish. A simple side dish that’s full of flavor, and requires just a handful of ingredients.
Garlic bok choy with oyster sauce
Bok choy (aka pak choi or pok choi) is a type of Chinese cabbage, with dark green leaves and a white stem. It’s quite versatile in the way it can be eaten — that is, either raw or cooked in different styles, like stir-fried or roasted. (And yes, the entire vegetable is edible!)
For this recipe, we’ll be blanching the vegetable before straining it. Next, simmer a simple sauce made from garlic, oyster sauce, sugar, and sesame oil on the pan, then drizzle it on the bok choy. And voila! It’s all done!

ingredients you’ll need
(For full ingredient measurements, please proceed to the recipe card below.)
- Bok choy
- Neutral oil: I used grapeseed
- Garlic
- Oyster sauce
- Water
- Sugar
- Pepper
- Sesame oil
how to make garlic bok choy
- Slice bok choy in half lengthwise and rinse between the stems and leaves until clean.
- Bring a pot of water to boil and once boiling, add the bok choy and blanch for one minute and strain immediately. Once the water stops dripping from the bok choy, arrange on a serving plate.
- In a small pan/saucepan, add minced garlic to cold oil and heat it up over medium heat. Stir occasionally and turn off heat right before the garlic turns golden brown (3-4 minutes).
- Add oyster sauce, water, sugar and sesame oil to the pan. Stir until well combined. Pour the sauce all over the bok choy and serve. Enjoy!
notes for garlic bok choy
- To get the vibrant green once blanched — after adding bok choy to boiling water, drizzle a bit of cooking oil on top and lightly stir.
- If you like the crispy garlic on top, remove the fried garlic from the oil once it turns golden brown. Make the sauce with the oil and pour all over the bok choy. Add the crispy garlic on top and serve.
- Substitute: You can also use baby bok choy. This recipe also works well with gai lan.
- Clean and cut bok choy: There can be a lot of hidden dirt between the leaves and stalks of bok choy. By cutting the vegetable in half lengthwise, it’ll be easier to remove the dirt.
More Veggie Recipes
- Tofu Veggie Stir Fry
- Kailan (Chinese Broccoli) With Easy Sauce
- 15-Minutes Bok Choy Mushroom with Oyster Sauce
- Bang Bang Brussels Sprouts (Air Fryer)
- Spicy Sambal Eggplant (Sambal Terung)
- Shrimp Veggie Fritters (Cucur Udang)
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Garlic Bok Choy (15 minutes)
Ingredients
- 1 lb bok choy halved
- 2 tbsp neutral oil I used grapeseed
- 1.5 tbsp minced garlic or to your preference
- 2.5 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp water
- 2.5 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Slice bok choy in half lengthwise and rinse between the stems and leaves until clean.
- Bring a pot of water to boil and once boiling, add the bok choy and blanch for one minute and strain immediately. Once the water stops dripping from the bok choy, arrange on a serving plate.
- In a small pan/saucepan, add minced garlic to cold oil and heat it up over medium heat. Stir occasionally and turn off heat right before the garlic turns golden brown (3-4 minutes).
- Add oyster sauce, water, sugar and sesame oil to the pan. Stir until well combined. Pour the sauce all over the bok choy and serve. Enjoy!
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