If you make just one of my recipes, let it be this one! This bok choy quick kimchi is crunchy, spicy, tangy, and slightly sweet. It also requires NO cooking or fermentation!

This is not a traditional Korean dish- it’s something my mom came up with many years ago and it is one of my FAVORITE recipes she has ever taught me. It still uses traditional ingredients and tastes authentically Korean.

It also isn’t really a kimchi but more like a muchim or geotjeori. Muchim means mixed with seasonings, and geotjeori is a kimchi that is lightly salted and eaten fresh without fermentation.

Is it safe to eat raw bok choy?

I get the question a lot. Have you ever tried raw bok choy? I actually prefer it raw after I learned this recipe.

Raw bok choy is pleasantly crunchy, juicy, and sweet when eaten uncooked. In my opinion, it tastes much more delicious this way.

It is perfectly safe to eat bok choy uncooked- it tastes better and you actually lose a tiny but of its nutrients when its cooked.

The only cause for concern would be eating large amounts of raw bok choy DAILY.  It releases an enzyme called myrosinase, which can negatively affect thyroid function. Eating raw bok choy in moderate amounts is perfectly safe.

Ingredients:

• Bok choy- Shanghai bok choy works best for this but you can use baby bok choy too.
• Spinach- optional
• Gochugaru- Korean red pepper flakes
• Sugar- granulated white sugar 
• Sesame oil- I only use Kadoya 100% pure sesame oil
• Fish sauce- Three Crabs fish sauce or soy sauce or vegan fish sauce to make it vegan
• Plum vinegar- you can find this at any Korean market. If you don’t live near one, you can use rice or white vinegar instead. 
• Roasted sesame seeds- make sure your sesame seeds are not raw, and grind them into a powder using a mortar and pestle. 
• Garlic- if you’re the type of person to add more garlic than a recipe calls for, don’t do that here. The garlic is raw so it is strong and it will give you major garlic breath if you add more!

Helpful Tips:

• For the best results, try to find the FRESHEST bulbs of Shanghai bok choy. In my personal experience, I’ve found that the American supermarkets have the best bok choy selection. For some reason, the ones that I find at Hmart or other Asian supermarkets just aren’t as crunchy.
• Don’t skip the crushed sesame seeds. You want some finely ground up sesame seeds in there- trust me it really elevates the dish. Sometimes you can buy it like that, but I just use my mortar and pestle to grind it down some.
• If you can’t find Shanghai bok choy, you can use baby bok choy. These are a little darker green at the top with crinkly leaves.

How long will it keep in the fridge?

I do not recommend keeping this in the fridge for longer than a one or two days, because it has sesame oil in it which will make it wilt and change the flavor.  

Like I mentioned before, this isn’t really a kimchi so it will not keep over time. It’s best to make and serve right away. 

This can be eaten alone like a salad, but it is best eaten as a side dish. It’s particularly good with anything that is braised or marinated in soy sauce, like galbi jjim or or bulgogi!

More kimchi recipes

If you like this bok choy kimchi, you might like some of these other kimchi recipes:

• Korean cucumber salad (oi muchim)- this spicy cucumber salad is slightly sweet, tangy, and very refreshing! A great side dish to any main course- especially soy braised meats.
• Radish kimchi (kkakdugi)- one of my favorite kinds of kimchi! This recipe is from my in-laws that used to own a seolleongtang restaurant. It’s the BEST kkakdugi ever!