Aromatic Coconut Bok Choy Bowl

Last year I shared my  coconut lime fish curry recipe , which is centered around a coconut milk broth simmered in aromatic spices. It's a one pan meal made by simmering all the ingredients in a tangy, sweet coconut broth and then pairing it with rice, cauliflower rice, or noodles.

In this recipe I'm adding bok choy to a similar by slightly different coconut broth along with tender white fish (Dover sole in the photos) and fresh aromatics. Bok choy is a cruciferous vegetable that's rich in calcium, magnesium, and vitamin K to help maintain healthy bones, potassium, folate, and vitamin B6 to support heart health, and vitamin C and other antioxidants to protect your immune system and skin. It also contains vitamin A and beta-carotene that support healthy eyes. And it's low in calories and high in fiber. Pretty good stuff all around.

The photos show the bowl with resistant starch rice but feel free to substitute it with cauliflower rice, more veggies, or veggie noodles. I like to use tender white fish that absorbs the broth well, but feel free to swap the fish out for diced chicken or tofu (see the recipe notes for details).

I recommend using fresh aromatic spices when you can, and for this recipe that means turmeric, garlic, and ginger. Their anti-inflammatory compounds are more easily available and absorbed and the flavor is a bit fresher than using the dried versions. If you don't have fresh turmeric or ginger, you can replace it with one third the amount of the fresh versions (between ¼ and ½ teaspoon each). I'm intolerant to black pepper but a known synergistic effect is to add a bit of black pepper along with turmeric to increase absorption.

A little tip about lemongrass since it's not edible: add it in large pieces or slice it the long way so it can easily be removed before serving. For the coconut milk, if you're using homemade coconut milk, you can add a bit more than 13.5 ounces called for in the recipe. If you're using full-fat coconut milk you may want to thin it out a bit with water or broth. Enjoy!