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Coconut Ginger Broth Bowls with Bok Choy, Mushrooms, and Edamame

A fragrant broth of ginger, garlic, and coconut milk poured over rice with quick-wilted bok choy, browned mushrooms, and edamame, finished with lime and cilantro.

By Camille McLaughlin, RDN, LD, registered dietitian nutritionist

Built forVeganDinner
Also fits High-Fiber Low-Added-Sugar
Ginger matchsticks and sliced garlic sizzle in sesame oil until the kitchen smells like the bowl you are about to eat. Coconut milk turns the broth pale gold and silky, bok choy halves stand in it long enough to wilt their leaves and keep their stems snapping, and lime squeezed over at the table cuts through the richness.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe

I started making this on the evenings when nobody in my house wanted a plate of food but everybody wanted a bowl of something warm. It is closer to a soup than a stir-fry, and it takes twenty five minutes, most of which is the broth sitting there quietly picking up ginger and garlic while you slice mushrooms. The one move that makes it taste like far more than it is: brown the mushrooms hard in a dry pan before any liquid goes near them, so the finished broth has a deep savory backbone underneath the coconut rather than tasting like something poured out of a carton.

Every bowl comes out a little different depending on how you build it, which is part of the pleasure of serving it this way. Rice goes in first and soaks up the broth from underneath, the bok choy halves lie across the top with their stems still snapping, the edamame sink down and turn up later as bright green surprises, and the mushrooms go slippery and dark. Coconut milk gives the broth body while keeping it a broth rather than a curry, so it stays light enough to drink straight from the bowl once the solid parts are gone, which is exactly what happens at my table.

This belongs to a Tuesday in the shoulder season, when it is cold enough outside to want a bowl of broth and not cold enough yet for a stew. It is also the thing I make when somebody in the house is under the weather and wants dinner to be gentle. Leftover rice is the whole reason it is quick, so I keep a covered container of it in the refrigerator most weeks, and everything else on the list holds well enough in the crisper or the freezer that this dinner is usually possible without a special trip to the store.

A deep bowl of pale gold broth with halved bok choy standing in it, dark browned mushroom slices, bright green edamame, and rice underneath. Save
Prep: 10 minsCook: 15 minsTotal: 25 minsMakes: 4 servingsServing: 1 deep bowl, about 2 cups

Ingredients

Serves4Amounts change with the number. The nutrition panel is per serving, so it stays the same.
  • 3 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 6 heads baby bok choy, about 1 lb, halved lengthwise and rinsed well between the leaves
  • 8 oz cremini mushrooms, stemmed and sliced 1/4 inch thick
  • 1 cup shelled frozen edamame, no need to thaw
  • 2 1/2 cups cooked jasmine rice, warm or left over from the refrigerator
  • 2/3 cup canned full-fat coconut milk, stirred smooth before measuring
  • 2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp fresh lime juice, from about 1 lime, plus wedges for the table
  • 3 scallions, sliced thin on the bias
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems
  • 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne
  • a scant 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Instructions

  1. Brown the mushrooms: Set a wide, deep pan or a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the mushrooms to the dry surface with no fat at all. Cook for five to six minutes, stirring only twice. They will squeak, release their water, and then go quiet and start browning. Pull them out to a plate once the edges are deep brown.
  2. Build the aromatics: Lower the heat to medium, add the sesame oil, and cook the ginger and garlic for about ninety seconds, stirring constantly, until the garlic slices are just turning gold at the rim. They scorch quickly in this small amount of oil, so keep them moving and add the broth the moment they smell sweet and sharp.
  3. Simmer the broth: Pour in the broth, add the salt and the cayenne, and bring it to a gentle simmer. Let it bubble quietly for five minutes so the ginger has time to give itself up to the liquid, then stir in the coconut milk and bring it back to a simmer without letting it boil hard.
  4. Cook the vegetables in the broth: Add the edamame and the bok choy halves cut side down and cook for three minutes, until the stems are tender at the base when you press them with a spoon and the leaves have collapsed into the broth. Return the mushrooms with any juices from the plate and take the pan off the heat. Stir in the lime juice.
  5. Build the bowls: Divide the rice among four deep bowls and ladle the broth and vegetables over it, arranging two bok choy halves in each so the leaves show. Scatter the scallions and cilantro over the top and serve with lime wedges and a spoon big enough for the broth.
Nutrition Facts
4 servings per recipe
Serving size1 deep bowl, about 2 cups
Calories331
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g18%
Saturated Fat 9g43%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 318mg14%
Total Carbohydrate 43g16%
Dietary Fiber 5g19%
Total Sugars 6g
Includes 0g Added Sugars 0%
Protein 12g
Vitamin D 0.1mcg1%
Calcium 185mg14%
Iron 3.4mg19%
Potassium 921mg20%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Values are computed from USDA FoodData Central and are estimates. Per serving (1 deep bowl, about 2 cups).

Variations

  • Tofu: Add half a block of firm tofu, cut into cubes and slipped into the broth with the edamame, for a heartier bowl.
  • Napa cabbage and snow peas: Shredded napa cabbage and a handful of snow peas cook in about two minutes and make a sweeter, crunchier version.
  • Lemongrass and turmeric: A bruised stalk of lemongrass and half a teaspoon of ground turmeric simmered in the broth turn it gold and give it a citrus edge.
  • Brown rice or millet: Swap the jasmine rice for cooked brown rice or millet, both of which hold their texture in hot broth a little longer.

Storage & Leftovers

This keeps three days in the refrigerator, and it is worth storing the rice separately from the broth. Rice left sitting in liquid swells and goes soft overnight, and the broth loses its clarity to the starch that comes off it. In separate containers, both come back to life the next day.

Reheat the broth gently over medium heat until it is steaming rather than boiling, since a hard boil can make the coconut milk separate into grainy flecks. Warm the rice on its own and pour the hot broth over it, then add a fresh squeeze of lime, which is the part that fades fastest in the refrigerator.

The broth freezes well on its own for up to three months, though the bok choy does not, so fish the greens out first if you plan ahead. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, reheat gently, and cook a fresh head or two of bok choy in it for two or three minutes while it comes up to temperature.

Notes & Tips

A few notes from my kitchen, mostly about browning the mushrooms properly and keeping the broth at a lazy simmer.
  • Brown the mushrooms in a dry pan: No oil, no crowding, and only two stirs. Mushrooms are mostly water and they have to lose it before they can brown, and that browning is where most of the savor in this broth comes from.
  • Cut the ginger into matchsticks: Grated ginger disappears into the liquid and turns it cloudy. Matchsticks give the broth a clean, bright heat and you can eat them or leave them at the bottom of the bowl.
  • Do not let the coconut milk boil hard: A rolling boil breaks the emulsion and leaves grainy flecks floating on top. A lazy simmer with a bubble every second or two is all it needs.
  • Lime goes in off the heat: Simmered lime juice turns flat and slightly bitter. Added once the pan is off the burner, it stays sharp and lifts the coconut.
  • Warm the bowls: A thin broth over cold ceramic is lukewarm by the third spoonful. Run the bowls under hot tap water and dry them while the broth simmers.

Nutrition & Mindful Eating

A quick, fragrant broth bowl built on ginger, coconut milk, and greens that stay crisp, with rice underneath to make it a full dinner.
  • Bok choy, edamame, mushrooms, and rice give this bowl four different textures and four different jobs. The greens bring bulk and minerals, the edamame bring plant protein and a firm bite, the mushrooms bring savory depth, and the rice underneath makes it a dinner rather than a starter.
  • Bok choy is one of the quietly generous greens, tender enough to cook in three minutes and carrying a good amount of calcium along with vitamins A and C. The crisp white stems and the soft leaves cook at different rates, which is why halving the heads matters.
  • Edamame are young soybeans, sweet and firm, and they carry more protein than their size suggests along with folate. Dropped into simmering broth from frozen they cook in about three minutes and stay bright green rather than going drab.
  • Mushrooms browned in a dry pan concentrate into something meaty and deeply savory, and they bring B vitamins and selenium with them. That browning is a flavor decision first, and the reason the broth tastes as though it simmered much longer than it did.
  • Ginger, garlic, lime, and coconut milk are the four flavors doing the work here. Ginger gives the broth its warmth at the back of the throat, the coconut milk carries fat that rounds everything out, and the lime squeezed in at the end keeps a rich bowl from feeling heavy.
  • As you eat, take the broth by the spoonful before you get to the rice, and notice how the ginger warms your throat and how much of the meal is over by the time the bowl is half empty.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use regular bok choy rather than baby?

Yes. Cut a large head into wide wedges through the root so the pieces hold together, and give them four or five minutes rather than three, since the thick white stems take longer. Slice any very thick stem bases in half lengthwise so the heat reaches the middle.

Will light coconut milk work?

It will, and the broth stays thinner and more soup-like, which some people prefer. Full-fat is what gives the bowl the silky body I am after, and two thirds of a cup across four bowls is enough to do that while keeping the broth drinkable rather than creamy.

How do I get the grit out of bok choy?

Halve the heads first, then swish them in a big bowl of cold water and fan the leaves apart at the base with your thumb, where the sand always hides. Lift them out of the water rather than pouring the whole bowl into a colander, so the grit stays behind.

Can I make it ahead for the week?

Make the broth through the coconut milk step and refrigerate it, then reheat and cook the vegetables fresh in it when you want to eat. That takes about six minutes and gives you crisp bok choy stems, which is the difference between this and something that has been sitting.