This Chinese-style stir-fried chicken with baby bok choy (cheong-gyeong-chae, 청경채) is perfect for a quick weeknight meal! If you make a larger batch, it’s also great for a dinner party. Quick, easy, and versatile! The Korean name of the dish is dak cheonggyeongchae bokkeum (닭청경채볶음). Bokkeum refers to dishes that are stir-fried or sauteed in oil and/or a sauce. Chinese-style stir-fried dishes are popular in Korea as part of Korean-Chinese cuisine. If you learn a few techniques, you can easily create various stir-fried dishes with different meats and vegetables.
First, coat the bite sized chicken with cornstarch and egg white. This keeps the chicken moist and tender, and gives a nice sheen. Then, the chicken is quickly pan-fried before the actual stir-frying happens with the sauce and vegetables.
For chicken breast, I like the sauce to be light yet rich in flavor. I used store-bought good quality chicken broth as a sauce base, but you can simply use water. I flavored the sauce with a little bit of oyster sauce. You can use soy sauce instead if you don’t have oyster sauce.
You can also substitute the bok choy with broccoli, asparagus, kale, or other green leafy vegetables if you like. If you use one of these alternate vegetables which takes longer to cook, blanch them in salted boiling water before stir-frying. Be sure to drain the vegetable well before using in the stir-fry, so it won’t dilute the sauce. I added optional canned water chestnuts in this recipe. Canned bamboo shoots or baby corn will be nice compliment to the dish as well.
The stir-frying process goes very quickly, so prepare all of your ingredients before you begin.
- 1 chicken breast 10 to 12 ounces
- salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 egg white
- 10 to 12 ounces baby bok choy or regular bok choy cut into small pieces
- 2 - 3 ounces of water chestnut drained - optional
- 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil for frying divided
- 2 plump garlic cloves
- 1 inch chunk ginger
- 1 tablespoon rice wine or mirin
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or water
- 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce or soy sauce with 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed in 2 tablespoons water starch slurry
- salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
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Cut the chicken into thin bite size pieces against the grain (about 1/4-inch thick).
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Season the chicken with salt (about 1/4 teaspoon) and pepper, and then mix well with the cornstarch and egg white until the chicken is well coated. Let it sit while you prepare the other ingredients.
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Separate the leaves by cutting off the stem of each bok choy. Rinse them a couple of times, and drain well.
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Thinly slice the garlic, and julienne the ginger.
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Heat a large non-stick skillet or wok over high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil. Add the chicken pieces in one layer and cook until they are no longer pink, about a minute each side. The chicken does not need to be cooked through at this point. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
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Reheat the skillet over high heat. Add a tablespoon of the oil. Stir in the garlic and ginger, and cook just enough to infuse the oil with flavor. Add the rice wine, and cook for a minute. Pour in the chicken broth (or water), add the oyster sauce (or soy sauce and sugar), and boil for a couple of minutes.
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Return the chicken to the skillet, and add the bok choy and optional water chestnut. Stir-fry everything together, for one or two minutes, until the bok choy is wilted. Taste the sauce, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle the starch slurry over and quickly stir everything together until the sauce is well incorporated. Add the sesame oil, and give it a quick stir.
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Serve hot with or over steamed rice.
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