Today’s recipe is an ode to making mistakes.
I don’t know if you all noticed when you picked up your veggies this week, but the pak choi (or bok choy, as some folks call it) was a little smaller and bunched together. I was like “oh cute! Emily, is this a different variety?”
And she chuckled and said “Nope – do you remember seeding 4 seeds per soil block on your second last week?” and in that moment I realized these small, bunchy pak choi were my fault. I had placed 4 seeds where there was supposed to be only one, so the plants could grow the larger heads we’re accustomed to seeing. Whoops!
Because Emily is a kind boss and excellent leader, she explained how this mistake would have come about, and shared some of the responsibility. I’ll pass along my apologies to the farm crew – these small bunchy plants were more tricky to harvest. However – they are delicious and did inspire me to cook something smoky and comforting. I appreciated this reminder of how connected I am to this food we’re still enjoying (even though I wrapped up farm work weeks ago), and how adaptable and forgiving my farm colleagues are.
Miso-Braised Pak Choi
Ingredients
- 4-5 small pak choi heads (or 2-3 larger ones)
- olive oil
- 1 tbsp miso paste
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup water
Instructions
-
Remove the bottom 1-2 inches of the pak choi heads. Use a small cocktail grater to finely shred garlic.
-
Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan on medium/high heat. While that's heating up, bring a cup of water to a boil (I used a kettle).
-
Place your pak choi leaves into the pan of hot oil in a single layer. Allow to sear for about two minutes before flipping to do the same on the other side.
-
While searing the leaves, stir your miso paste and garlic into one cup of the boiling water. It's best to use a heat-safe container with a spout because you'll need to pout it out after – like a glass measuring cup. Keep stirring until the miso dissolves and forms a broth.
-
Slowly pour the broth into the pan (take care not to splash yourself). Reduce heat and allow the pak choi to cook in the broth for about 10 minutes, until most of the liquid is gone.
-
Use tongs to lift pak choi from the pan and serve! I put mine over basmati rice with pan-seared seasoned tofu – it would also be wonderful complementing roasted meat or in a stir fry!