How to Clean Bok Choy

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Bok choy is an Asian cabbage that's high in vitamins K, C, A, potassium, calcium, and other nutrients. With a subtle, sweet taste and a tender texture, it makes an ideal addition to a stir fry or salad. But despite being part of the cabbage family, bok choy doesn't look like other cabbages, so it may be difficult to figure out how to clean it before you cook with it. Whether you're washing a mature or baby bok choy, the key is making sure that you get all of the dirt and sediment that's hidden between the leaves out. It's also important to remember that you should store bok choy in the refrigerator unwashed and only clean it just before you plan to use it.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Washing Mature Bok Choy

1
Chop off the base of the bok choy. To ready the bok choy for cleaning, you must to break it down into individual pieces. Use a sharp knife to cut off the approximately 2- to 3-inches (5- to 7.5-cm) at the base of the vegetable.^{[1]
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- Because the bok choy’s base is tough and has dirt trapped inside, you should discard it.
2
Separate the stalks. Once you’ve removed the bottom of the base, you need to separate the stalks. Use clean hands to gently pull off each stalk at the base of bok choy and place them in a bowl.^{[2]
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- When you cook the bok choy or mix it into a dish, you may need to cut the leaves and stalks into separate pieces. Do that after you’ve cleaned it.
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3
Cover the bok choy with water. After you’ve separated the bok choy stalks, add enough water to the bowl to cover it. Make sure to use cold water to avoid wilting the leaves.^{[3]
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- If you’re cleaning a large number of bok choy, you may want to place the stalks in a clean sink and cover them with water so they aren’t all overlapping too much.
4
Swish the water around and let the bok choy sit for several minutes. Once you’ve covered the bok choy with water, use your hands to gently swish the stalks around to loosen any dirt. Next, let the bok choy sit in the water for about 10 minutes so all of the dirt and sediment has time to settle at the bottom.^{[4]
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5
Lift the bok choy out of the water and place in a strainer. After the bok choy stalks have sat in the water for several minutes, use your hands to lift them out. Transfer them to a strainer or colander and shake well to remove an excess moisture.^{[5]
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- Don’t pour the boy choy into the strainer. That will mix the dirt and sediment back in with them.
- If you have a salad spinner, you can use it to get rid of the excess moisture from the bok choy.
- Check the water after you’ve removed the bok choy. If it is extremely dirty or cloudy, dump it out and repeat the process of soaking the boy choy until the water is mostly clear when you remove it.
6
Dry the bok choy with towel paper. Even after you’ve strained the bok choy, it may still be slightly damp. Use paper towel to gently pat them dry before cooking or mixing the bok choy into a dish.^{[6]
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- You can use a clean kitchen towel to pat the bok choy dry.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Removing Dirty from Baby Bok Choy

1
Cut the bok choy into quarters. Because baby bok choy is smaller, you can leave the base intact. Instead, use a sharp knife to cut it into quarters lengthwise.^{[7]
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- If you prefer, you can cut the baby bok choy in half lengthwise.
2
Run the quarters under water to rinse. To clean the bok choy quarters, turn the cold water on in your sink. Place the pieces under the running water one at a time, running your fingers along the entire length to loosen any dirt.^{[8]
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- If the baby bok choy quarters are very dirty, you may want to run a vegetable scrub brush along them.
- If you prefer, you can also use the same method for cleaning full size bok choy for the baby variety. Place the quarters in a bowl, cover them with cold water, and allow them to sit for 10 minutes.
3
Dry the bok choy with paper towels. When you’re finished rinsing the baby bok choy quarters under the water, place them on piece of paper towel. Set another piece of paper towel on top, and gently press down to dry them.^{[9]
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- You can run the baby bok choy quarters through a salad spinner to dry them if you prefer.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Storing Bok Choy

1
Secure the bok choy in a plastic bag. When you purchase bok choy from the grocery store or farmer’s market, it likely comes in a plastic bag. Keep it in the bag when you store it to keep it as fresh as possible.^{[10]
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- Ideally, the plastic bag that you store the bok choy in should be perforated. If the bag isn’t, you may want to poke a few holes around the bag with a knife.
2
Keep the bok choy in the refrigerator. To ensure that the bok choy stays fresh as long as possible, you should store it in your refrigerator. In particular, the crisper drawer is an ideal spot to keep the vegetable.^{[11]
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- You can freeze bok choy, but you must blanch it first, drain it well, and place it in freezer bags beforehand. Frozen bok choy will keep for 10 to 12 months.^{[12]
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3
Leave the bok choy unwashed until you’re ready to use. While you may think it’s a good idea to clean the bok choy before you store, you should actually leave it unwashed until you’re ready to use it. If the bok choy isn’t completely dry when you store it in the refrigerator, the leaves can become slimy and wilted.^{[13]
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- If you don’t wash the bok choy before you store it, it can last for 3 days in the refrigerator.