Charred Pak Choy with Sardines, Tin Oil and Chives

The kind of simple dinner that looks like a restaurant plate and takes fifteen minutes.

⌛ 15 minutes ✧ 🍽️ 2

🐟 Sardines in olive oil

Charred Pak Choy with Sardines, Tin Oil and Chives

This is one of those dishes where the tin does most of the talking. Pak choy quartered and seared until the edges char and the leaves soften, then whole sardine fillets laid straight on top. The oil from the tin is poured back over the plate — golden, rich, carrying all the depth of the fish. A scatter of fresh chives to finish. Nothing is wasted. Nothing is complicated. And it looks quietly beautiful every single time.

Ingredients

2 heads of pak choy, quartered lengthways
1–2 tins of sardines in olive oil with carrots (sardines with paprika or tomato work just as well — use what you have)
1 tbsp olive oil, for frying
2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
Flaky salt and black pepper

Instructions

Heat a pan over high heat with a little olive oil. Place the pak choy cut-side down and cook for 2–3 minutes until charred and caramelized. Turn and cook for 1 minute more. Season with salt.
Arrange the charred pak choy on a plate.
Open the tin. Lay the sardine fillets over the pak choy.
Spoon the carrots or vegetables from the tin on top of the sardines.
Pour the oil from the tin generously over everything — this is the sauce.
Scatter fresh chives on top, add a grind of black pepper, and serve immediately.

Serving suggestion

Don't skip the tin oil. That golden drizzle carries the flavor of the fish into every element on the plate. Serve it as a light dinner with a glass of cold white wine, or as a starter before something simple. A bowl of good olives alongside, a candle on the table. That's all the occasion this dish needs.