liuzhou

@Darienne I'll get to choi sum, soon too.

I'll get to that one soon.

Baby Bok Choy is actually a misnomer as it implies that if left alone it will grow up into a regular cabbage. It won't. In Chinese it is 小白菜 (Mand: xiǎo bái cài; Cant: siu2 baak6 coi3) , which is literally 'small bok choy'. It, like the Shanghai bok choy, is cultivar of Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis. This is one of my favourite brassicas . It can been cooked or eaten raw in salads. Also, may I mention here that vegetables are almost never steamed in China - they are stir fried, preferably in lard (ie pig fat).

Now it gets confusing. Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis Known in China as either 上海白菜 (Mandarin: shàng hǎi bái cài; Cantonese: soeng6 hoi2 baak6 coi3) or 上海青 (Mandarin: shàng hǎi qīng; Cantonese: soeng6 hoi2 ceng1; literally Shanghai greens), this is known in English as Shanghai Bok Choy. This is often mislabelled as baby bok choy (including on Wikipedia). Baby bok choy is something else. Wiki also claims nonsensically that This is not true. 青菜 qīng cài just means "greens" and in restaurants you are normally asked which 青菜 qīng cài you would like. It includes literally dozens of different vegetables and they will recite what is available. coming next: the real baby bok choy.

@KennethT As promised. In order not to hijack this topic any further, I have started a new one.

Yes, I was just about to edit to mention that, but you beat me to it. By the way. Wikipedia articles on the various Brassica rapas are all over the place, self contradictory and utterly confusing. But that bit is correct.

While there have been other Chinese vegetable topics in the past, few of them were illustrated And some which were have lost those images in various "upgrades". What I plan to do is photograph every vegetable I see and say what it is, if I know. However, this is a formidable task so it'll take time. The problem is that so many vegetables go under many different Chinese names and English names adopted from one or other Chinese language, too. For example, I know four different words for 'potato' and know there are more. And there are multiple regional preference in nomenclature. Most of what you will see will be vegetables from supermarkets, where I can see the Chinese labelling. In "farmer's" or wet markets, there is no labelling and although, If I ask, different traders will have different names for the same vegetable. Many a time I've been supplied a name, but been unable to find any reference to it from Mr Google or his Chinese counterparts. Or if I find the Chinese, can't find an accepted translation so have to translate literally. Also, there is the problem that most of the names which are used in the English speaking countries have, for historical reasons, been adopted from Cantonese, whereas 90% of Chinese speak Mandarin (普通话 pǔ tōng huà). But I will do my best to supply as many alternative names as I can find. I shall also attempt to give Chinese names in simplified Chinese characters as used throughout mainland China and then in traditional Chinese characters, now mainly only used in Hong Kong, Taiwan and among much of the Chinese diaspora. If I only give one version, that means they are the same in Simp and Trad. I'll try to do at least one a day. Until I collapse under the weight of vegetation. Please, if you know any other names for any of these, chip in. Also, please point out any errors of mine. I'll start with bok choy/choy. This is and alternatives such as pak choi or pok choi are Anglicised attempts at the Cantonese pronunciation of the Mandarin! However in Cantonese it is more often 紹菜; Jyutping: siu6 coi3. In Chinese it is 白菜. Mandarin Pinyin 'bái cài'. This literally means 'white vegetable' but really just means 'cabbage' and of course there are many forms of cabbage. Merely asking for bái cài in many a Chinese store or restaurant will be met with blank stares and requests to clarify. From here on I'm just going to translate 白菜 as 'cabbage'. So, here we go. Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis This is what you may be served if you just ask for baicai. Or maybe not. In much of China it is 大白菜 dà bái cài meaning 'big cabbage'. In English, usually known as Napa or Nappa cabbage from the Japanese word, 菜っ葉, officially transliterated nabba, in English, Chinese cabbage, celery cabbage, Chinese leaf, etc. In Chinese, alternative names include 结球白菜 / 結球白菜 ( jié qiú bái cài ), literally knotted ball cabbage, but there are many more. This cabbage is also frequently pickled and becomes known as 酸菜 (Mand: suān cài; Cant: syun1 coi3) meaning 'sour vegetable', although this term is also used to refer to pickled mustard greens. Pickled cabbage. In 2016, a purple variety of napa cabbage was bred in Korea and that has been introduced to China as 紫罗兰白菜 (zǐ luó lán bái cài) - literally 'violet cabbage'. Purple Napa (Boy Choy)

My local store has them side by side. I'll take a pic tomorrow.

I guessed that might be what you were referring to. That is known here as 上海白菜 shàng hǎi bái cài (Shanghai Bok Choy).

The nomenclature for Chinese greens is a minefield, and varies from place to place. Can you point me to an image of what you know as baby bok choy? Yu choi is Cantonese. The Mandarin is 油菜 yóu cài (literally 'oil vegetable') and is rape, the origin of rapeseed oil or Canola.

Tonight, 宫保鸡丁 (gōng bǎo jī dīng), 小白菜 (xiǎo bái cài), 米饭 mǐ fàn. Or as you may know it, Kung Po Chicken (a term not used in 99% of China), Baby Bok Choy (ditto) and rice.

Actually, they add rice bowls of cold water. 🙂 It works well for jiaozi, but for wontons from frozen, three minutes in boiling water and they are done and floating. I've never seen anyone freezing the filling before before assembly. After assembly, yes. I don't really see that pre-freezing the filling would work for jiaozi.

I always keep any water that I rehydrate mushrooms in, reduce it and freeze it for much the same purpose.

350ml

Pork braised with black fermented single-headed-garlic, leeks, mushrooms and chilli. With new potatoes. I added some braising juices and buttered the potatoes after taking the pictures. Here for your viewing pleasure is the garlic - 黑独蒜 (hēi dú suàn)

Actually, I don't really like fresh persimmons, but put aside my prejudice to document that they are in season. I do however like them dried. Call me strange.

It's persimmon season.

A couple of large pork and shiitake baozi.

Mostly for flavour. It is just one of the many greens people eat here.

Oh. I didn't realise it was not so well known. We certainly have it in the UK and it grows in North America, although it appears in very limited areas. Very common here in China. https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=CABU2

Pan-fried duck breast with triple cooked potato slices and duck fat-fried mushrooms. Added a tomato for colour and because I like them!

The filling is the pork and shepherd's purse. I made these ones, using market-bought wrappers. Various wontons, including with this filling, are also available frozen (uncooked) from most supermarkets. I rarely buy the frozen ones. I prefer to know exactly what is in them and know the quality of the pork.

A Shanghai favourite. 猪肉荠菜馄饨 zhū ròu jì cài hún tún - Pork and Shepherd's purse (荠菜 jì cài) wontons with wilted, shredded lettuce (生菜 shēng cài). Wontons were cooked in a peppery chicken broth and the lettuce thrown in for the last 30 seconds. Drained and served. I could have served them with the broth, but wasn't in a soup mood.

recommended by Professor Barry C. Smith Interesting

The latest batch of chicken eggs I bought have so far all turned out to be double yolked. This morning I boiled a couple. Two eggs four yolks. served with pan baked flatbread.