Charred Bok Choy and Cannellini Bean Salad

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Updated May 14, 2024

  • A white platter holds charred bok choy and cannellini bean salad with gold serving utensils.
    Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
25 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Rating
5(1,604)
Comments
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This recipe breaks bok choy out of its steamed and stir-fried box, demonstrating how well it responds to charring. Don’t be afraid to cook bok choy aggressively; the stalks are robust and remain crisp, while becoming smoky and sweet. Baby bok choy can be used too, but the leaves are much smaller and more tender, so simply slice them through the middle lengthwise. Other sturdy greens like gai lan (sometimes called Chinese broccoli) or cabbages will also work. The punchy dressing is sweet and acidic, given heat and spice from the grated ginger, while tart rice vinegar cuts through the richness of the maple syrup. Keep this dressing in mind for similar salads; it is equally lovely with cold soba noodles.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

FOR THE GINGER-MAPLE DRESSING

  • 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, finely grated 

  • 1 garlic clove, grated 

  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar 

  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup 

  • 4 teaspoons sesame oil

  • Salt and black pepper

FOR THE SALAD

  • 2 pounds bok choy (about 2 large bunches), rinsed and patted dry

  • Extra-virgin olive oil

  • 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed 

  • 1 big handful cilantro, chopped

  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds  

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

62 grams carbs; 430 calories; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 14 grams fat; 14 grams fiber; 1111 milligrams sodium; 19 grams protein; 10 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the dressing: Place the ginger, garlic, rice vinegar, maple syrup and sesame oil in a small bowl; whisk to combine. Season well with salt and pepper.

  2. Step 2

    Prepare the bok choy: Trim the base of the bok choy and separate the white stalks from the green leaves. Slice the stalks into 1-inch pieces and roughly chop the leaves, keeping them separate from the stalks.

  3. Step 3

    Heat a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high for 2 minutes. Drizzle in about 1 tablespoon of oil, add the stalks, season well with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Leave to cook, undisturbed, until the bottoms of the stalks are charred, 2 to 3 minutes. Toss and then cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, tossing often, until the stalks are charred and crisp-tender. Transfer the bok choy from the pan and to a large serving bowl. Return the skillet to the heat.

  4. Step 4

    Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil into the skillet and add the bok choy leaves. Season with salt and pepper and cook, tossing often, until the leaves are charred and the water has cooked out, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the leaves from the pan and add to the stalks.

  5. Step 5

    Add the cannellini beans to the bok choy and pour in the dressing. Add the cilantro and toss to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper. To serve, top with crushed red pepper and sesame seeds.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,604 user ratings
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Comments

Megan

I lightly precook my garlic all the time. I place the garlic in whatever oil is needed for a dressing and microwave for 30 seconds, then let it cool to infuse the oil. This works great to take the raw bite out of the garlic for dressings and dips.

Carrie

I prepared this exactly as described except that I added a tablespoon of miso paste to the dressing as suggested by another reviewer. This was excellent! I will definitely make this again!

la.

charred the bok choy in the oven-- came out with a very attractive char and was super easy. convection roast at 425 degrees for 8 minutes on the bottom rack, stirring/flipping every 2 minutes during the last 4 minutes of cook time.

LJH

This is a bean salad, not a bok choy salad. It ended up being way too wet even though I cooked down the bok choy for at least 3 minutes longer than what the recipe says. I had to drain out the excess liquid dressing and threw in at least a cup of day old cooked farro to absorb and balance this out. I’m not sure where all these 5 star reviews are coming from - or maybe my nemesis in the salad world is wet salad! Also think it’s extremely fiddly with separating and cooking all the bok choy separately- it’s simply not with the tremendous effort I went through. I want an hour of my life back @nytimescooking. I’m mostly kidding well maybe just half kidding but this was super frustrating and I will not make this soggy salad ever again. Or, maybe I’ll reattempt tomorrow. BTW, bok choy is ridiculously expensive, weirdly.

Shanna L

I used collards and one can of beans - perfectly delish!

S

Reduced maple to 2tsp and miso to 1tsp. omitted salt and pepper. didn't have sesame oil so I added "onion crunch" a type of crisp and omitted pepper flakes. I added cucumber matchsticks to bulk it out, but still found it just an appetiser when I wanted an entree after a long day. Maybe a piece of chicken would make it dinner worthy

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Credits

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

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