Malabar spinach 蠶菜 / Slippery veggie 潺菜

Malabar spinach 蠶菜 / Slippery veggie 潺菜

You might have seen this vegetable at wet markets in Hong Kong. It is currently available (in early spring) but not every stall is selling it.

It is called “slippery vegetable” or saa`hn choi 潺菜 in Cantonese. Some people called it “Malabar spinach” or “Ceylon spinach” (chaa`hm-choi in Cantonese - 蠶菜 means wormwood-vegetable). The scientific name is Basella Alba and it belongs to the basellaceae family (group of flowering plants).

I recently learnt from my Facebook friends (from Taiwan) that it was called “皇帝菜” wo`hng-dai-choi (emperor-vegetable) in Taiwan, which is definitely more elegant than “slippery” vegetable, right? However, in PRC, 皇帝菜 refers to another vegetable called Garland Chrysanthemum (or tu`hng-hou1 in Cantonese 茼蒿).

Flowering Chinese Chives / Garlic Scapes

I had stir-fried garlic scapes at one of the dai-pai-dongs in Tai Po Hui Market Cooked Food Centre (the latter will be the subject of another post) last weekend.

Flowering Chinese chives (also called garlic scapes) are called gáu-choi-fâa (韭菜花) in Cantonese. They also go by the name of syun-mìuh (蒜苗; lit. garlic sprouts / shoots) and syun-sâm (蒜心; lit. garlic-heart).

This summer vegetable (which blooms late in the season) is commonly found at wet markets (but hardly ever at supermarkets). I seldom cook it (there is no special reason - only that maybe I forgot about its existence) so I was very happy when the waitress listed it among other few vegetables available at this time of the year.

Water spinach / Ong-choi 蕹菜 + recipe

Water spinach, ong-choi 蕹菜 or tûng-choi (通菜lit. hollow-vegetable) in Cantonese, is plentiful these days at wet markets. With its long, slender, hollow stems and arrowhead-shaped leaves you cannot miss it Water spinach is different than Chinese spinach (amaranth) or yihn-choi 莧菜.



Bunches of water spinach



Pumpkin Sprouts 南瓜苗 nàahm-gwâa-miùh

Recently while at the wet market I saw greens that looked a bit like bracken fern.

The seller told me that those were not fiddleheads ferns but pumpkin sprouts (nàahm-gwâa-miùh南瓜苗) and they would only be available for a short period of time (about one month).

I had never tried this veggie before. I knew that pumpkin blossoms could be deep-fried or stuffed and baked but did not know that pumpkin sprouts were also edible. As I usually do (when I discover a “new” veggie), I asked the stallholder how to prepare it. The lady vendor told me to simply stir-fry the plant with or without meat.

Wild Rice Shoots - Gâau-séun- 膠筍

One of the Chinese vegetables on my list that I wanted to try this year is wild rice shoot (also called water bamboo) or 膠筍 gâau-séun (glue/gum-shoot) in Cantonese or jiao1 bai2 茭白 in Mandarin.

Note: Wild rice shoot are different than bamboo shoots.

Fresh wild rice shoots

I tried wild rice shoots in restaurants but it is only recently, for the first time, that I selected wild rice shoots from a stall at the wet market to cook at home. It is not that I had never seen this plant before – on the contrary – but for no particular reason at all I had never purchased it. What a shame. I guess it is very simple to fall in the trap of buying the most common veggies, such as Chinese flowering cabbage - choi-sam (which I don’t particularly like) or Chinese white cabbage - baahk-choi.

Now that I know that wild rice shoots are very easy to cook and delicious I will no longer ignore them and they will be included in my menus.

The seller told me that I could either steam or stir-fry the young shoots with pork slices. However once at home I decided to sauté them without adding any meat. I wanted to make a very light dish so as to taste the true flavour of the veggie.

 

Stir-fried wild rice shoots

Stir-fried wild rice shoots

Ingredients:

• ~1 catty of wild rice shoots
• 1 slice ginger, crushed
• 1 red chilli, chopped
• 1 green chilli, chopped
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp water
• Ground white pepper
• 2 Tbsp spring onion, chopped (garnish)
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil (grape seed)

Steps:

1. Prepare shoots. Remove outer layers (all the green part) leaving only the white flesh. Trim end. Wash, drain and cut in ½ cm lengths*.
2. Heat oil in wok and add ginger, red and green chilli. Stir for 1 minute over high heat.
3. Add veggie. Stir for a while, and add sauces mixed with water.
4. Stir-fry for another 4-5 minutes (or until tender).
5. Turn off heat. Add white pepper and chopped spring onion; mix well.
6. 
   

   Transfer veggie to a serving plate and serve very hot.

Wild rice shoots sprinkled with chopped spring onion

* I cut the stem in ½ cm lengths. In the dishes I tried before in restaurants the shoots were cut into large pieces and then in half – lengthwise – and finally sliced super thin.

I like the mild taste and the tender-crispy texture of the shoots. They are tender and blander than bamboo shoots. I have since stir-fried wild rice shoots with shredded pork. This was very tasty but I prefer the way I cooked them the first time (vegetarian style). I enjoy light dishes which get a flavour lift from chilli and ginger without overpowering the veggies.

Ah! For an even lighter dish I have yet to try to steam them!

Wâa-wâa-choi w/ Pork or w/ Mushrooms Stir-Fry

Here is the kind of cruciferous or cabbage vegetable I recently found at my favourite seller in Mongkok. Its name is wâa-wâa-choi 娃娃菜 which literally means “doll vegetable”.

 


This is the 2 lbs wâa-wâa-choi I bought!



The wâa-wâa-choi which looks like a bouquet of flowers or a head with lots of individual kind of small head cabbages is produced in Taiwan. It is in season right now with other vegetables belonging to the same mustard family including Chinese white cabbage or bok-choy, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, turnip, etc.

I knew that the baby size of the Chinese cabbage  also known as celery cabbage or Napa cabbage - in Cantonese wòhng-ngàh-baahk 黄牙白, was named wâa-wâa-choi 娃娃菜 but never heard of another vegetable with the same name and a different look.

Napa cabbage - Celery cabbage - Chinese cabbage
黄牙白

Here are the dishes I made with the wâa-wâa-choi:

Wâa-wâa-choi and pork

Wâa-wâa-choi and mushrooms

Wâa-wâa-choi and Pork Stir-Fry:

Ingredients:  

• 200g pork, sliced
• 3 tbsp canola oil
• ½ head (~1 lb) doll vegetable – wâa-wâa-choi - sliced (not too thin)
• 2 slices of ginger, crushed
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 sprig of spring onion

Seasoning:

1 tsp light soya sauce

½ tsp sugar

1 tsp rice wine

1 tbsp oyster sauce

½ cup water

Marinade:

1 tsp of tapioca starch

1 tsp water

½ tsp salt

Steps:

1. Toss the sliced pork in marinade ingredients and set aside in fridge for about ½ hour.
2. Wash and peel any tough fibrous stalk. Pull out any damaged leaves.
3. Cut off the small florets and cut into 2-3 pieces. Slice the stalk (centre part).
4. In a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat, heat canola oil; add pork, brown well on all sides. Remove from wok and set aside.
5. In same skillet - add oil if necessary - add ginger and garlic to stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add the sliced doll vegetable and seasoning.
7. Stir-fry for two minutes; add pork and cook until tender but crisp.
8. Transfer to a serving dish.
9. Add freshly ground black pepper and garnish with spring onion on top.

The doll vegetable is milder than Brussels sprouts in taste and has the same texture to that of a broccoli stem or a kohlrabi gaai-làahn-tàuh 芥蘭頭.

The problem (if I call this a problem) is that when you prepare meals for a small family a whole cabbage is too much for one dish and you don’t want to eat the same thing 2 days in a row.

The wâa-wâa-choi I bought weighed only 2 lbs but I only needed one half to make the above stir-fry.  I wrapped the other half in newspapers and stored it in the fridge to sauté it with onion and fresh mushrooms a few days later.  

And for the 2nd dish I paid attention not to overcook the wâa-wâa-choi as it tastes better crispy (and looks better too).

Wâa-wâa-choi and mushrooms stir-fry

Wâa-wâa-choi stir-fries: light, easy, and healthy! Bon appétit!

Stem Lettuce: Stir-Fry and Salad

Stem lettuce is one of the vegetables that I wished to try this year. As I already tried arrowroot/arrowhead, chìh-gû 慈姑, so far I still have 3 more (from my list) to taste. However I know that there are many more local vegetables to discover as well as herbs and fruits {such as Chinese olives, myrobolan -also known as Indian gooseberry, etc.}

Stir-Fry Rice-Cakes

2012 is around the corner. Soon after the end-of-year celebrations are over we will welcome in the Year of the Dragon, on the 23^rd of January exactly.

During Chinese New Year festivities people like to eat a pudding called in Cantonese “níhn-gôu” or year-cake which is quite chewy and sticky.  

The Cantonese pronunciation “níhn-gôu” (年糕) sounds exactly the same as “year-high” (年高).  Hence Chinese people like to enjoy rice cakes during the Chinese New Year festivities as pronouncing the name of this dessert will bring them good fortune (symbol of raising oneself/being promoted).

This type of year-cake is made of glutinous rice and brown sugar giving it a yellow-brownish colour. It is cut into thin slices, which are afterward dipped into an egg batter and then shallowed fried.

Stir-fried fresh “eyebrow beans” with bacon

Two days ago I bought some attractive “flat beans” at the wet market in Mongkok.  They look like the haricot mange-tout we have in France which is flat and broad with tiny peas inside. One kind is light green and quite plump while the second is flat and has light purple edges.  

The seller told me that they were called meìh-dáu in Cantonese (meaning eyebrow bean - 眉豆). My Mandarin teacher calls them “knife bean” due to their shape (刀豆 dao1dou4) or 豇豆 (jiang1dou4). According to the Chinese/English dictionary the latter name means cowpeas or black-eyed beans. I am familiar with the black-eyed beans which are dried and used in Chinese soups [see photo below]. However, are the tiny peas in the fresh pods of the same kind or do the two species share the same name?

How did I cook my 'eyebrow beans'?

I braised the first batch (the purple ones) and stir-fried the second (greener ones). I was more satisfied with the stir-frying method. Here is my recipe:

Steps:

1. Remove any strings and bad places from beans and wash them clean.
2. In a large saucepan, bring water to the boil. Add beans and parboil.
3. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a colander and drain.
4. In a pan cook 100gr bacon (diced) over medium heat until crispy and has rendered all fat. Remove from pan.
5. Cook in same pan 1 thinly sliced shallot and 1 thinly sliced garlic clove until translucent. 
6. Transfer beans and bacon in pan. Stir well with garlic and shallots mix.
7. Cook for a few minutes stirring continuously.
8. Serve hot.

This method helps better retain the green colour of the vegetable and better pleases both sight and taste than if braised {beans cooked slowly with bacon, garlic and shallots with the lid on}.

Stir-fried 'eyebrow beans'

Braised 'eyebrow beans'

If you have time let me know which method you prefer or do you use? Thanks for reading my post!

Fresh Day Lily Buds Stir-fry

Fresh day lily buds, bamboo shoots, black fungus and pork stir-fry

I bought fresh day lily buds at the market the other day. I checked on Internet and asked some local friends how to cook them. Here is my recipe which is an adapted version of a dish from northern China called “Muhk-séui-yuhk - 木须肉”.

Ingredients:

• 150-200gr fresh day lily buds*
• 20gr black fungus
• 300gr (1/2 catty) lean pork, sliced
• ~300gr bamboo shoot (1 can)
• 1 garlic clove (thinly sliced)
• ½ large onion (thinly sliced
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil (divided in 3 parts)

* see photo on PAGE: Fruits, Plants and Fungus

Seasoning:

• 1 tbsp dark soya bean sauce
• 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
• ½ tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• Salt and white pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Marinate pork slices in 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 pinch salt and 1 tbsp water for at least ½ hour.
2. Wash and soak the lily buds for ½ hour. Rinse and drain.
3. Wash and soak the black fungus for at least 1 hour. Rinse and drain.
4. Rinse bamboo shoot in water. Blanch in boiling water. Drain and dut into small chunks.
5. Mix all the seasoning ingredients in a cup.
6. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok and add onion and garlic in. Stir-fry until translucent. Remove from wok and reserve.
7. Heat 2 tbsp oil in wok and stir-fry pork until slightly golden. Remove from work.
8. Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok and add black fungus and bamboo shoots. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Transfer onion, garlic and pork in wok. Continue stirring with spatula.
9. Add seasoning. Continue stirring for another 2 minutes.
10. Add day lily buds and stir-fry for another 2 minutes.
11. Add water if necessary, salt and white pepper to taste. Transfer to serving bowl.

Enjoy!  

Fresh day lily buds, bamboo shoots, black fungus and pork stir-fry

Sweet Potatoes Leaves

Once a week I receive 3 catties (or 4 lbs) of organic vegetables from Hong Chi Association (that I order and pay for, of course!)

Here is what I found in my basket last Thursday:

• Long beans (also called yard long beans/ asparagus beans/ “horn beans” in Chinese
• Green bell peppers,
• Eggplants, and
• Sweet potato leaves / fàan-syú-yihp 

I love the tuberous root (or sweet potato). Chinese people make a soup with it that is very yummy. It is called, in Cantonese, fàan-syú tòhng-séui. This is prepared with fresh ginger and 'traditional' raw slab sugar (made with sugar, molasses and cane juice). I have bought the tuberous roots before but never the leaves. The latter can be found at wet markets but it is less common than other Chinese greens (e.g. spinach, water spinach, or white cabbage [there are so many spelling: baahk-choi /bok choy / pak-choi]).

Although it takes a while to wash leafy green vegetables and remove grit and dirt it is time well spent as the leaves are so tender and sweet!

Sweet potato leaves / Fàan-syú-yihp

Preparation: First remove the rough ends and bad leaves (keep the stems). Then, soak the sweet potato leaves in water for at least ½ hour. Rinse well several times. Drain in colander.

Here are 2 ways to cook sweet potato leaves:

Stir-fried:

1. Warm up a wok over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and swirl around.
2. Add 1 clove of garlic (chopped); stir-fry for 1 minute.
3. Add all the leaves in wok.  Keep stirring the vegetables with the spatula. Add some water if necessary (I don’t put too much oil so I need to add liquid). Stir-fry until cooked but still bright green.
4. Add salt to taste.
5. Transfer to a dish and serve hot.

Stir-frying sweet potato leaves - the leaves are shrinking

Stir-fried sweet potato leaves

Steamed: You can also steam the sweet potato leaves on top of the rice. Once the rice is cooked open the rice cooker and put the leaves on top. Cover the rice cooker with the lid and let stand for about 5 minutes (let the rice cooker on ‘keep warm’ position).

Sweet potato leaves on top of rice

Steamed sweet potato leaves



Steamed sweet potato leaves with rice

For both methods the quantity of leaves will reduce by about a quarter after cooking.

Note: The leaves looked wrinkled and shriveled but believe me this dish is easy to make, full of vitamins and minerals and tastes deliciously sweet!