Yellow chives (韭黄 jiǔ huáng) are my preference, but I'm lucky in that they are easy for me to find. I agree with @chefmd about them being milder in taste (in a good way) but they have a more powerful aroma. I would definitely recommend trying to grow a batch and see how you like them.
I wouldn't say that this dish is particularly Jiangnan style, though. The dish seems very similar to the dish 韭黄肉丝 (Pork slivers with yellow chives) in her Sichuan book, where she does say that there are many variations.
Incidentally, she gets the first character wrong in the Sichuan book. Does she give characters in the new one? (Mine hasn't arrived yet.)
