Can you freeze pak choy?
Pak choy or bok choy makes delicious dishes like stir-fries but it does not fare well in hot weather. As summer approaches, people begin to look for ways to preserve these greens and keep them fresh.
If you have fallen in love with adding these leafy greens to your meals, letting them go during summer could be very hard. Fortunately, you can store pak choy in the freezer for six to twelve months.
This is about enough time before you can grow them again. But, because they are vegetables, you cannot freeze pak choy just anyhow.
Ahead, you’ll see how to correctly freeze and use frozen pak choy during summer and any time of the year.
What is pak choy?
Pak choy, pok choi, or bok choy are naming variations of the same vegetable. Pak choy is a Chinese cabbage that is grown for food.
Other names for it are peking cabbage, celery cabbage, and white mustard cabbage. It grows in a cluster of bulbous roots and leafy greens at the top.
Just like vegetables like cabbage and spinach, pak choy is a good ingredient for salad and some soups. Moreover, it tastes almost like spinach, except that it is sweeter and has a mild peppery undertone.
Furthermore, you can choose to either eat pak choy raw or lightly cooked. The greens are preferred over the bulbs because of their strong flavor. You can either shred, chop or slice the greens for your meals.
In addition, there are some health benefits of eating pak choy. It can help increase your level of folate, vitamin C, calcium, beta-carotene, and other minerals.
Can you freeze pak choy?
Yes, you can freeze pak choy.
Storing these greens in the freezer is the best way to extend their shelf life. It also helps you to have it in good supply even when the weather isn’t favorable to grow them.
Moreover, freezing is the best way to keep the vegetables fresh for a long period. And if you do it correctly, you won’t end up with a mushy mess.
However, freezing does not guarantee that pak choy will retain all its crispiness. But it will leave you with a good amount of crispness and firmness for your salads, noodles, soups, and stir-fries.
Can you freeze pak choy without blanching?
Yes, you can skip the blanching step if you don’t want to.
Blanching vegetables before freezing them helps to stop any enzymatic action that can trigger spoilage. Moreover, it helps to retain vibrancy and nutrients in the greens.
But, blanching sometimes gives you mushy veggies. Quick boiling in hot water and cooling in cold water will increase the water content, even if you drain it.
Can you freeze pak choy soup?
If you have made more pak choy soup than you can finish, freeze it.
This way, you can preserve the soup for three to six months, depending on its base. If you did not add any dairy products like milk, pak choy soup can stay frozen for up to six months.
How to freeze pak choy
1. How to blanch and freeze
- Gather your pak choy together
- Then, rinse them under running water to remove dirt
- Chop, shred, or slice the vegetables according to how you’ll need them in the future
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Transfer the greens into a steamer basket and place the basket in the pot of boiling water
- Blanch the greens for 2-3 minutes
- Afterward, take the basket of greens out of the pot and cool it in ice water
- Take out the cooled greens and shake off the excess moisture. Use clean paper towels to absorb the remaining moisture so they are completely dry for storage
- Then, place them in a tray lined with a baking sheet and flash freeze for about 30 minutes to an hour. They should be firm to the touch
- With this, the greens are ready for freezing. Gather the pak choy into a freezer bag. Squeeze out as much air as you can and leave an inch of headspace before you seal the bag
2. How to freeze without blanching
- Gather your pak choy
- Since you’re not blanching the greens, you should not wash them
- To clean the dirt, moisten a clean paper towel and use it to clean off the dirt
- Shred, dice, or slice the greens and stalk
- Then, transfer them into freezer bags
- Preferably, freeze the vegetables in portions you can use at once
- Squeeze out air from the bags, seal them, and freeze
How long should you freeze pak choy?
Pak choy can stay frozen for up to twelve months. However, you should use it up within six months to get the best of its nutrients.
How can you use frozen pak choy?
Thaw the frozen pak choy in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or use it as it is.
When using frozen pak choy, take as much as you’ll need and directly add it to the meal during the cooking stage. The vegetables will defrost as the meal cooks and will maintain their crunch.
On the other hand, thawing the vegetables before cooking with them will not give you crunchy pak choy. However, the vegetables won’t be mushy either.
Pros of freezing pak choy
- Freezing pak choy gives you a long-term supply of greens during summer
- Also, freezing these vegetables keeps them fresh
- Frozen pak choy retains its quality and firmness
- Additionally, blanching the greens before freezing helps to retain their vibrant color and structure
Cons of freezing pak choy
- If you don’t freeze pak choy correctly, you could end up with a mushy mess
- The longer you freeze pak choy, the more nutrients you lose
FAQs
What can you do with a lot of pak choy?
If you have more pak choy than you need, freeze them, make stir-fries, use the leaves as wraps for sandwich fillings, or toss the leaves and stalks with salad.
How else can you preserve pak choy asides from freezing?
If you don’t want to freeze pak choy, you can dehydrate them, make pickles or pressure-can the vegetables.
Is it okay to vacuum seal pak choy?
No, do not vacuum seal a bag of pak choy.
Pak choy is a cruciferous vegetable, that is, a member of the cabbage family. It is one of those vegetables that turn poisonous when you vacuum seal them.
However, if you must vacuum seal pak choy, blanch them first. After blanching, leave the vegetables to cool before you pack them for freezing.
Conclusion
Not every vegetable is available all year round. Some vegetables like pak choy do not like the hot weather. But you don’t have to do away with them during the hot months.
If you gather enough pak choy before summer, you can freeze them for up to a year. Freezing them correctly will give a long supply of fresh pak choy. Remember to keep them in airtight bags or containers before freezing.
Thanks for reading.
Read more articles on the shelf life and preservation methods of foods and drinks on Millenora.
