Baby Pak Choi

The miniature version of Pak Choi, a leafy brassica with a crunch.

Baby pak choi has a fresh, sweet flavour with delicate, crispy green leaves. The stems are a creamy white colour and have a mild flavour.

The young leaves are ideal for salads, and as they are high in vitamins A, C and K, eating them raw helps preserve the vitamins. The stems of the baby pak choi can be added to a stir fry or eaten raw, replacing celery sticks.

Baby pak choi is available from our UK growers from April to November and is imported, from Spain, from December to March.

DGM Growers are able to offer Baby Pak Choi 52 weeks of the year using both UK and imported crops.

Tempura baby pak choi with braised belly pork (Serves 4)

Ingredients

· Half a medium sized pork belly with skin removed

· 1.5 litres chicken stock

· 250ml soy sauce

· 2 Curious cloves of garlic

· 1 onion, diced

· 10g fresh ginger

· 1 tbsp fennel seeds

· 4 heads of baby pak choi

· 100g flour

· 100g cornflour

· 25g baking powder

· 200ml sparkling water

· Salt and pepper, as per taste

Method

1. Place the pork into a tray and cover with the stock, soy sauce, onion, garlic, ginger and fennel seeds.

2. Cover with tinfoil and place in an oven at 140˚C.

3. Cook for around 2 hours until the pork is soft and tender.

4. Cut into chunks – you can fry the chunks in a pan if you prefer them crispy.

5. For the tempura pak choi, mix the flour, cornflour, baking powder, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the sparkling water and mix till the batter is smooth.

6. Dip the pak choi into the batter and deep fry at 190˚C for 3 to 4 minutes.

7. Serve.