We are trying to be a bit more adventurous with different products at the farmer’s market. There are so many veggies we haven’t even tried before let alone cooked.
I grew up eating mostly all frozen or canned vegetables, I think the only fresh vegetable my mother made were candied carrots. I ate everything that was put on my plate because I had to and never gave it much thought since I didn’t know better. Once I got a taste of what fresh vegetables were like I vowed to make them for my own family.
We were talking with our market manager Steve on Saturday and he told us about some bok choy he got the week before and cooked it during the week. He described how he cooked it and it sounded delicious. The next thing I knew Marty came back to our spätzle stand with some baby bok choy.
I wasn’t sure what to make with it besides straight-up Asian food. I had waygu ground beef for burgers and wasn’t sure if that would go with the bok choy.
I looked up a few recipes online and came up with a menu. Korean waygu burgers with quick-pickle sesame cucs and Asian mayo. Also on the menu were roasted potatoes and caramelized bok choy with garlic, honey, ginger sauce.
The Asian mayo was nothing but mayo mixed with a splash of soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and a touch of Korean gochujang sauce.
I make quick-pickle veggies all the time. Basically, it’s white vinegar, sugar, salt, and water. You soak whatever veggies you want in the pickling liquid. I usually quick pickle red onions, thinly sliced carrots, and radishes; it’s funny that I never did a cucumber before. The veg only soaks in the liquid for 30 minutes but picks up the sweet, sour, and salty flavors leaving a fantastic crunch.
For the baby bok choy I cut each in half and seared them in a cast-iron frying pan with butter. I flipped them over once they were golden brown and the sugars caramelized.
After I removed the bok choy from the pan, I added a small knob it butter and sautéed garlic and ginger. I threw in a splash of soy sauce and a big drizzle of honey. I let the sauce cook just for a minute and poured it over the bok choy.
I loved the flavor of the caramelization from the bok choy. Sam said it was interesting which I laughed at meaning it wasn’t his favorite, but at least he tried it. Marty and I both liked it a lot. I can see us experimenting with more bok choy in the future.
The burger was fantastic and the roasted potatoes were seriously delicious dipped in the Asian mayo. Here is the NY Times Korean Cheeseburger recipe I loosely followed. It still tastes like a cheeseburger, just with yummy umami.