Squid and Bok Choy Stir Fry

Squid and bok choy stir fry is a dish I enjoy cooking on a weekday evening for a quick dinner. With some crisp veggies and sauces from your pantry, you will be able to make a seafood dish that is a bit exotic and comforting at the same time.

I’ve shared my Spicy Squid Stir Fry and Salt and Pepper Squid in the past. Both take a bit of time and effort to make. This squid and bok choy stir fry is quite simple and requires very little in terms of special ingredients.

Squid is a great ingredient that is high in protein and low in fat. It’s also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for heart and eye health. Paired with bok choy, which is rich in vitamins, materials and fiber, this makes a great dinner when you want something light yet satisfying.

Squid and bok choy stir fry ingredients

Squid

Whenever I can find fresh squid, I always prefer to cook with it instead of the frozen type. If you’ve never cleaned a squid before, check out my instructions below. It is actually really easy, much easier than cleaning a whole fish. 

If fresh whole squid is not available, you can always purchase pre-cleaned squid tubes or frozen squid rings. These will speed up your prep even more.

Mise en place

When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:

• Marinated squid
• Bok choy, cut
• Sliced ginger and garlic, dried chili peppers
• Mixed sauce

Make sure to have everything ready, so you will be able to move quickly once the stir fry starts.

How to clean a whole squid

Cleaning a whole squid is very easy once you try it.

1. Grip the squid’s head right behind the eyes and pull gently while holding the squid tube with your other hand. The internal organs will slide out.
2. Reach into the squid tube and you will feel a hard piece of bone. Peel it out.
3. Cut off the section with the eyes and discard it. Check the inside of the tube and remove any organ pieces that didn’t come out earlier. 
4. Slice the tube into rings and separate the tentacles (cut the long ones into shorter sections).

A lot of the time, chefs remove the skin from the squid tube by scraping. Personally, the texture and the taste of the skin doesn’t bother me, so I don’t remove it.  

How to cut bok choy

There are many ways to cut bok choy. Here is my favorite way for a stir fry:

• Cut off the tough ends. Then remove the larger outer leaves.
• Slice the white part of the outer larger leaves into bite-size pieces. I usually leave the green part uncut because it cooks fast and shrinks a lot once cooked. But you can cut the green part into large bite-size pieces if you are using a very large head of bok choy. 
• You can leave the core part as it is, or halve it.
• Make sure to rinse the bok choy thoroughly with running water once cut, to remove the debris near the bottom of the stem.

How to make squid and bok choy stir fry

The key to making a good squid stir fry is to not overcook it, so the squid remains very tender. I have found that the best way to do this is to blanch the squid first, to cook it halfway. So the squid won’t release too much water during the stir fry. When you start the stir fry, cook everything and add the squid at the very end, so it will just cook through and remain tender.

1. Blanch the squid until the surface is cooked.
2. Dry the squid thoroughly.
3. Stir fry the aromatics.
4. Cook the bok choy.
5. Add the sauce.
6. Return the squid to the pan to stir everything together.

The sauce will thicken quickly and it will almost look like it’s too thick. But once you add the squid, it will release some juice and the sauce will reach a nice consistency that just coats the ingredients. 

How to serve squid and bok choy stir fry

You can serve the squid and bok choy stir fry as a main dish over steamed rice, or by itself. In a Chinese homestyle setting, it is often served with other simple appetizers and a soup to make a multi-course dinner. Consider serving squid and bok choy stir fry with:

• Chinese Corn Soup with Chicken (鸡蛋玉米羹)
• Air Fryer Corn on the Cob
• Eggplant with Tomato (西红柿炒茄子)
• Steamed Enoki Mushrooms (蒜蓉金针菇)
• Chinese Chive and Egg (韭菜炒鸡蛋)
• Spicy Cucumber Salad

More delicious homestyle stir fries

• Salt and Pepper Fish (椒盐鱼片)
• Pork and Cabbage Stir Fry
• Dried Tofu and Celery Stir Fry (西芹炒香干)
• Watercress Stir Fry (炒西洋菜)
• Chinese Detox Stir Fry
• Crab Roe Tofu with Salted Duck Eggs (蟹黄豆腐)

Squid and Bok Choy Stir Fry

By Maggie Zhu

4.84 from 6 votes

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 to 4 servings

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Squid and bok choy stir fry is a simple Chinese homestyle dish that is healthy and satisfying. The squid is cooked until just tender, then stir fried with crisp bok choy in a savory and slightly sweet sauce.

To make this dish gluten-free, use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine, and use tamari instead of soy sauce.

Ingredients 

Marinating

• 1 lb (450 g) squid (about 1 medium sized) , sliced
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Stir Fry

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
• 3 dried chili pepper
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 8 oz (225 g, about 6 heads) baby bok choy , cut to large bite-size pieces

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Instructions

• If using a whole squid, clean and squid according to the instructions in the blog post above. Slice the tube into rings and cut the tentacles to bite-size pieces.
• Combine all the marinating ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix well. Marinate the squid for 15 minutes while preparing other ingredients.
• In a small bowl, mix the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add squid, immediately stir with a spatula, and boil for 30 to 40 seconds, until the surface turns white but the squid is not cooked through. Drain thoroughly, pat dry with paper towels, and set aside.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the dried chili pepper, ginger and garlic. Stir and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds or so.
• Add the baby bok choy. Stir and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Pour in the sauce. Cook and stir to coat everything well and the sauce will thicken immediately. Add back the cooked squid. Keep stirring everything together until the squid is just cooked through and coated evenly with the sauce, 30 seconds or so. Immediately transfer everything to a large serving plate to prevent overcooking. Serve hot as a main dish with steamed rice.

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 388kcal, Carbohydrates: 21.1g, Protein: 54.3g, Fat: 8.2g, Saturated Fat: 1.8g, Cholesterol: 792mg, Sodium: 708mg, Potassium: 1004mg, Fiber: 0.7g, Sugar: 7.5g, Calcium: 173mg, Iron: 3mg

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