Grilled Bok Choy with Sweet Soy Glaze

Crunchy, sticky, perfectly sweet.

Updated February 04, 2024

Grilled baby bok choy with a sweet soy gaze. — Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Why It Works

Keeping bok choy whole and splitting it length-wise when grilling let's it char nicely, but keeps some texture. It's also easier to flip.

I've always loved the flavor of well-browned cabbage-like-objects (a.k.a. brassica). Cauliflower and broccoli turn remarkably nutty when grilled or roasted in a hot oven. Brussels sprouts shed their sulfurous reputation and come out sweet and tender when charred in a cast iron skillet or roasted over a hot fire. Stir-fried shredded cabbage takes on a smoky sweetness if you let it blacken a bit.

Equally good to grill: bok choy. Working in Chinatown, it's almost my night job to come up with creative ways to use the inexpensive Chinese produce. Bok choy sees a lot of action in my kitchen, and now that the grill is in regular use, it's gonna see a lot of action out there as well.

Grilling bok choy on a grill. — Serious Eats

The key to really great grilled bok choy is to keep it intact so that you can develop some nice charring without totally killing it and reducing it to cinders or mush. I like to split mine lengthwise through the core so that all the leaves stay stuck together. Grill 'em face down, flip 'em, then transfer them to the cooler side of the grill to finish off and you end up with vegetables that have a great contrast between crisp, blackened leave tips, a nicely charred core, and a tender, crunchy center.

A little salt and pepper and a drizzle of good olive oil is really all it needs, but if you want to give it a bit of a Japanese kick, serve it with this sweet glaze made from soy and sake. The sauce, called tare, is standard accompaniment for Japanese grilled chicken or unagi (that is, yakitori or grilled unagi, and it works just as well with grilled vegetables.

May 2012

Recipe Details

Grilled Bok Choy with Sweet Soy Glaze Recipe

Prep 35 mins

Cook 30 mins

Active 20 mins

Total 65 mins

Serves 4 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup sake
1 cup sugar
1-inch knob ginger, roughly sliced
2 garlic cloves, roughly sliced
2 scallions, roughly chopped
2 pounds baby bok choy, rinsed, dried, and split in half lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Combine the soy sauce, sake, sugar, ginger, garlic, and scallions in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over high heat stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce to a bare simmer and cook until sauce is syrupy and reduced to about 1/2 cup, about 20 minutes. Strain and discard solids. Reserve sauce.
Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange the coals on one side of the charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil the grilling grate.
Toss bok choy with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on hot side of grill, cut side down and cook until lightly charred, about 45 seconds. Flip and cook until second side is charred, 45 seconds longer. Transfer to cooler side of grill, cover, and continue cooking until tender all the way through with a light crisp bite, 1 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a large plate, drizzle with sauce, and serve.

Special Equipment

Grill

Bok Choy

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
377	Calories
7g	Fat
59g	Carbs
6g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories	377
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g	9%
Saturated Fat 1g	5%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 1909mg	83%
Total Carbohydrate 59g	21%
Dietary Fiber 3g	9%
Total Sugars 52g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 59mg	296%
Calcium 226mg	17%
Iron 3mg	16%
Potassium 1001mg	21%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.