The Bok Choy King
To be honest, until we purchased our farm, I’d never heard of nor tried bok choy. But living in an area that’s health conscious with a lot of Indian communities, the word “bok choy” kept coming up. I’d hear it all the time in health conversations,”Oh, it’s such a healthy vegetable.” Then one day, we went to the Hydroponic Warehouse store and the salesman suggested we plant bok choy in our hydroponic table. He also suggested that we get in contact with Kiki Tore who sells tower gardens. When he arrived at our farm and looked around, he decided with our help, he was going to become the Bok Choy King of Puerto Rico. And he’s set his sights on it, working hard to spread the word.
At this point I feel I must describe Kiki. He is a young 80 year old man, with more energy than any one I know. He drives a little blue car, which is his traveling greenhouse. He converted the trunk into shelves and he always has a mix of starter plants to sell. On the roof he has different bags of nutrients and dirt. Kiki dresses with his company branded shirt, a bandana that matches his glasses and cute sneakers He always appears at our farm with huge smile on his face and a gift for me. He brings me candy, cookies, stools, pillows, paintings and of course flowers to plant.
He has a deep belief in the nutritional value of bok choy. Every time he comes to the farm, he has a new method of using bok choy.. He has created different sauces to use on the bok choy that goes along with a beautiful recipe card that he developed . He is PASSIONATE! And he always says to me; “Hallee, you write blogs. Write about bok choy.” OK, so here it goes.
Bok Choy is not an easy vegetable to grow. It has it quirks. It doesn’t like the hot weather of our greenhouse. It wilts when it gets hot. Certain bugs love it. You pick it too late and it’s bitter. You pick it too early and it’s nothing. I know Russ removes a lot. Nothing goes to waste. Our chickens are really enjoying it. So I started looking into how bok choy stacks up against Kale, which is easy to grow.
Kale is the one leafy green that everybody knows. It has been cultivated in Europe for over 4,000 years! And because of the advertising firm, Leo Burnett, it has become a global “superfood.” You’ll see it in smoothies, salads, and chips. People buy it because they think they should. I grow two types of kale at our farm. One is called monster and the other is ruffle. Both are tough and have been growing forever. An interesting tidbit: In 2012 the largest buyer of kale was Pizza Hut. They used the curly leaves as décor for their salad bars.
In contrast, Bok Choy dates back 6,000 years and was discovered in China. It was a commonly consumed by the poor. In 2014 is was defined as a powerhouse food, because it is jam packed with nutrients, and low in calories. Bok Choy can be eaten raw, cooked or pickled, making it a versatile vegetable. When shopping for Bok Choy, look for firm, smooth stalks and crisp greens. It can be stored in the refrigerator for around 5 days.
Bok Choy Benefits
1. Helps Prevent Cancer (from Vitamin A, kaempferol)
2. Improves Bone Health (from Vitamin A and Vitamin K)
3. Improves Eye Health (From Vitamin A)
4. Boosts the Immune System (from Vitamin C)
5. Alleviates Stress (from Vitamin C)
6. Improves Cognitive Health (from Vitamin K)
7. Lowers Blood Pressure & promotes heart health (from Vitamin K)
8. Provides Antioxidants.
So, you would think with all the benefits and the fact that we are growing Bok Choy, we would be eating it all the time. Russ does use it when stir frying a quick dinner. He combines it with other vegetables. But to tell the truth, we are not consuming that much. Our chickens are a major consumer. Perhaps bok choy is an acquired taste? Kiki says otherwise. He’s determined to be the Bok Choy King of Puerto Rico. He is promoting it to restaurants and markets. He’ll eat it raw, sautéed with the sauces he developed and in smoothies. Me? I’m still negotiating with it.