Here are two varieties of Pak Choi (Pak Choy, Bok Choy) we grew in our vegetable patch a few years ago. The first is the magnificent looking Rubi (F1) Pak Choi with it's vibrant deep purple leaves and pale green stems and the other is a white stemmed, green leaved Dwarf Bok Choy.
Both were sown late Summer in September and planted out shortly after. My last attempt at growing Rubi Pak Choi in the summer turned into a holey, purple tie-dyed disaster - for some reason, the leaves didn't stay purple under the hot sun and the colours seem to run.
Growing vegetables in the cooler months means that flea beetles, caterpillars are less active although not entirely absent. They are still around though and just the other day, I found a trio, caterpillar, slug and inch worm all feasting on a young Pak choi.
By mid December, some of our Pak Choi was ready to be harvested. This can be done either by picking the outer leaves using a cut-and-come-again approach or harvesting a whole head.
Pak Choi can be steamed, boiled or stir fried - garlic, ginger, chillies all work.
So, what does Rubi Pak Choi taste like? To me, the crisp texture of the stems is similar to that of the Tatsoi, and the leaves are slightly less delicate than traditional Pak Choi.
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