Chinese Vegetables Illustrated

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

 

First thing I noticed was the almost complete LACK of smell.

Weird!  So basically, regardless of what it is, it's useless!

[Eatmywords]

I've been growing Thai basil for years and that looks exactly like it.  Maybe you got some odd batch grown in weird soil that stole it's aroma and flavor. 

 

And what's up bitches! 🙃

[liuzhou]

I've spoken to the vendors and they have confirmed that they 打错了 (made a mistake) and sent the wrong thing. They have both refunded the little I paid ($1 USD) and promised to add a correct batch to my next order at no charge.

 

They haven't yet said what they did send. I suspect they don't know.

 

I'm still somewhat disappointed as they were advertising sweet basil. I mentioned that and they admitted to not knowing the two are different.

 

Anyway, if the end result is a reliable supply of real Thai basil, I'll be happy. I'll just grow my own sweet basil as usual.

 

Maybe, I can sell them my excess!

 

 

[liuzhou]

Finally, I do have some Thai basil. This is the replacement batch they sent me. I know it looks similar to the previous batch, but this new lot has the right smell and taste. The leaves are about half the size of those in the incorrect batch.

 

That's a duck egg for scale.

 

 

 

[liuzhou]

香柳 (xiāng liǔ), sweet sallow is something I've never come across before and there is little information on it other than that it is a member of the Salix family of plants which includes the willows after which Liuzhou (柳州) is named.

 

It seems to be added to soups and hotpot or can be briefly stir-fried like any other green.

 

The taste is initially sweet but turns peppery on the palate. Reminds me a bit of watercress.

 

It is also, of course, used in TCM.

 

Edited June 27 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

Many herbs which we take for granted in western kitchens are unknown in China. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme are just strange words in a song to the average cook here. Coriander/cilantro is the only common exception.

 

Despite being near the border with Vietnam, very few SE Asian herbs make it through either. 

 

In the last year or so, the highly developed  food delivery service, both for cooked meals and for ingredients has allowed some retailers to be more adventurous with their offerings and a few surprises are starting to show up.

 

 

迷迭香 (mí dié xiāng) or rosemary arrived for the first time yesterday. I have grown it myself in the past and will be attempting to get some of these stalks to root, but in the meantime will be cooking with one of my favourite herbs! Still looking out for the rest of the quartet.

 

 

Edited February 4 by liuzhou (log)

[KennethT]

8 hours ago, liuzhou said:

香柳 (xiāng liǔ), sweet sallow is something I've never come across before and there is little information on it other than that it is a member of the Salix family of plants which includes the willows after which Liuzhou (柳州) is named.

 

It seems to be added to soups and hotpot or can be briefly stir-fried like any other green.

 

The taste is initially sweet but turns peppery on the palate. Reminds me a bit of watercress.

 

It is also, of course, used in TCM.

 

This looks a little (but not exactly) like the Viet rau ram (laksa leaf in Malaysia).  Are the stems tender enough to eat or is it just the leaves?

[liuzhou]

The stems are tender but laksa is available here as 叻沙 (lè shā), a phonetic transcription of the Malay. 

 

I can't see them using 香柳 when there is a well known established name, so I'm thinking it's something different.

 

 

[liuzhou]

Yet another addition to the bok choy confusion. This is a Sichuan cultivar known as 四川儿菜 (sì chuān ér cài), literally Sichuan young vegetable.

 

 

These are about 10 cm / 4 inches in height and taste mild but indentifiably cruciferous. Usually halved lengthwise and stir fried with garlic and soy.

 

 

It isn't a Sichuan treatment but I like this one with a dribble of oyster sauce.

 

 

Edited August 7 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

Here's a thunderous vegetable for you. Lei Gong 雷公 (léi gōng) is the Chinese name of the God of Thunder. For reasons which escape me he has this innocuous looking herb / vegetable named in his honour.

 

Lei Gong - image baike-sogou.com

 

Centella asiatica, 雷公根 (léi gōng gēn), Lei Gong root, is also known as tiger grass , cica, or gotu kola (Indonesian).

 

 

It is used in TCM for various alleged crimes against healthiness and, of course, the wellness fakirs have jumped on the bandwagon with their ludicrous claims, this time touting it as a skincare miracle.

 

For sensible people, it's just another bit of dinner, being used in hotpot and soups etc. 

 

 

Edited February 27 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

I talked about tomatoes back in 2018 in this post. Today, I came across these  for the first time. The Chinese describes them as 绿色千禧小番茄 (lǜ sè qiān xǐ xiǎo fān qié) which translates as 'green jubilee small tomatoes'. I call them 'green cherry tomatoes'.

 

To my amusement they come with instructions! Because China thinks of cherry tomatoes as a table fruit and many use them in fruit salads, they have to be advised to stir fry these until they burst and use as a quick sauce with noodles as a sweet and sour sauce or, as it's known in Chinese, a 'sour and sweet sauce'.

 

 

 

Edited July 2 by liuzhou (log)

[Katie Meadow]

2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

I talked about tomatoes back in 2018 in this post. Today, I came across these  for the first time. The Chinese describes them as 绿色千禧小番茄 (lǜ sè qiān xǐ xiǎo fān qié) which translates as 'green jubilee small tomatoes'. I call them 'green cherry tomatoes'.

 

To my amusement they come with instructions! Because China thinks of cherry tomatoes as a table fruit and many use them in fruit salads, they have to be advised to stir fry these until they burst and use as a quick sauce with noodles as a sweet and sour sauce or, as it's known in Chinese, a 'sour and sweet sauce'.

 

 

 

In a stir-fry they sound great. Or it would be a clever way to make fried green tomatoes as finger food. Heavenly if you used a light tempura batter. 

[KennethT]

3 hours ago, liuzhou said:

I talked about tomatoes back in 2018 in this post. Today, I came across these  for the first time. The Chinese describes them as 绿色千禧小番茄 (lǜ sè qiān xǐ xiǎo fān qié) which translates as 'green jubilee small tomatoes'. I call them 'green cherry tomatoes'.

 

To my amusement they come with instructions! Because China thinks of cherry tomatoes as a table fruit and many use them in fruit salads, they have to be advised to stir fry these until they burst and use as a quick sauce with noodles as a sweet and sour sauce or, as it's known in Chinese, a 'sour and sweet sauce'.

 

 

 

Green or green-ish tomatoes are used quite a bit in Indonesia as a sour component.  It is raw (but with a bit of hot oil poured on top) in sambals like dabu dabu from Manado in Sulawesi, and other times cooked down to a puree in stews.

[liuzhou]

Two new finds in China today..

 

First up, 茴香头 (huí xiāng tóu), fennel bulb. I've found fennel leaf before and the seeds are very common, but first time to lay my hands on a bulb. Never seen them served in restaurants, either. No idea why.

 

 

The second has me baffled. These are 老鼠瓜 (lǎo shǔ guā), which translates as Mouse Melon. The only mouse melons I am aware of are the Mexican 'cucamelon', melothria scabra, which are grape sized. These are much larger,. weighing around 100 grams each and around 14 cm long as opposed to cucamelons. 1-2 cm.

 

 

Here's one with a standard apple.

 

 

Perhaps mutants?

 

My research continueth.

 

 

Edited August 7 by liuzhou (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

5 hours ago, liuzhou said:

My research continueth.

 

They look very similar to a type of zucchini that we get here.

[liuzhou]

 

Mucuna pruriens, known in English by names such as monkey tamarind, velvet bean, Bengal velvet bean, Florida velvet bean, Mauritius velvet bean, Yokohama velvet bean, cowage, cowitch, lacuna bean, and Lyon bean.

 

Here, for some reason unknown to me, they are 猫儿豆 (māo ér dòu), literally ‘kitten bean’ or 狗儿豆 (gǒu ér dòu), ‘puppy bean’. They are native to Africa, and tropical Asia including India, southern China and SE Asia. They are particularly popular in Indonesia, especially Java, where they are known as kara benguk. The plant is notorious for its young shoots and bean pods being covered in small hairs which cause extreme itchiness and red sores on contact. For this reason an alternative Chinese name 刺毛黧豆 (cī máo lí dòu), literally ‘itchy hair dark bean’ is sometimes used.

 

Mature bean pods and shoots can be eaten. The legumes themselves are small and can be either white or black. I’ve only ever encountered the pre-cooked pods here.

 

 

However according to one study, the plant contains relatively high (3–7% dry weight) levels of L-DOPA, which some people are sensitive to; it can cause nausea, vomiting, cramping, arrhythmias, and hypotension. Up to 88% of the L-DOPA can be extracted from M. pruriens by boiling and soaking for approximately 48 hours. The efficiency of the process can be slightly improved by using approximately 0.25–0.50% sodium bicarbonate. I've never had a problem with them.

 

As ever, they are used in TCM, especially for treating snake bites. Also, the western wellness shamans have jumped on them, making all sorts of unsubstantiated claims.

 

 

[Smithy]

On 8/14/2024 at 11:53 PM, liuzhou said:

I've never had a problem with them.

 

What do they taste like? Do you use them regularly?

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

 

What do they taste like? Do you use them regularly?

 

I find they are slightly sweet but with a bitterish *but not unpleasant note. Also slightly nutty. I have seen reports of a subtle gingery 'warming effect', only found in good quality beans. It is hard for me to comment on that as I only see these cooked and I find them to be over-cooked for my liking. That may have muted those gingery notes. 

 

I've only had them a couple of times; they're OK but not a favourite. If I ever see the uncooked beans, I'll get some and re-evaluate.

 

Edited August 24 by liuzhou
typo (log)

[liuzhou]

 

A couple of people have recently mentioned 'zucchini' as it’s known in America, Australia and Canada or as 'courgette' as used in the UK, Ireland, Malaysia and New Zealand although the latter also uses ‘zucchini’. I couldn't remember what I wrote about it here, mainly because, to my surprise, I never really mentioned them.  It is, of course, available widely here, too.

 

There are arguably better reasons for the 'zucchini' appellation. What are known by either name are not botanically really a specific species but simply smaller examples of several varieties of Cucurbita pepo, or squash. In fact, both the words zucchini and courgette are respectively diminutives of the Italian and French for ‘squash’ or ‘marrow’. In South African English, they are often called baby marrow although courgette is also used.

 

Although, like all curbita varieties, they originated in the Americas, these small versions were first cultivated in Italy in the late 19th century and introduced to America by Italian immigrants in 1920, hence the use of ‘zucchini’ there. The UK took the French name as they were introduced there via France as courgettes d’Italie.

This nomenclature profusion extends into Chinese where they are called 西葫芦 (xī hú lu, literally ‘western gourd’), 意大利青瓜 (yì dà lì qīng guā, literally ‘Italian green gourd’) or simply 小瓜 (xiǎo guā. ‘small marrow’).

 

In Chinese cuisine, they are often used in soups or hotpots, steamed with garlic, or sliced and stir fried. The flowers too are valued and both stuffed, usually with ground pork, or used in soups.

 

 

Edited September 6 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

 

 

To my great surprise, I've never listed galangal(e) (Alpinia galanga) in this topic. So now I remedy that. According to the OED, the word came into English from Old French galingal or garingal,  which in turn came from the Arabic khalanjān or khaulinjān, believed to have entered that language from Chinese 高良姜  (gāo liáng jiāng), literally 'mild ginger from Ko', a historic prefecture of Guangdong Province.

 

In modern Mandarin it is also known as S: 南姜; T: 南薑 (nán jiāng, literally 'southern ginger'), in reference to its being native to southern China and SE Asia. In Cantonese, it is naam4 goeng1. It is often called greater galangal in English to differentiate it from three other plants referred to as galangal - Alpinia officinarum (lesser galangal), Kaempferia galanga (kencur or sand ginger) or Boesenbergia rotunda (Chinese ginger, Thai: กระชาย (krachai), or fingerroot).

 

It is more fibrous than ginger and has a more citrus and spicier taste.

 

 

 

Edited September 13 by liuzhou (log)

[KennethT]

7 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

 

To my great surprise, I've never listed galangal(e) (Alpinia galanga) in this topic. So now I remedy that. According to the OED, the word came into English from Old French galingal or garingal,  which in turn came from the Arabic khalanjān or khaulinjān, believed to have entered that language from Chinese 高良姜  (gāo liáng jiāng), literally 'mild ginger from Ko', a historic prefecture of Guangdong Province.

 

In modern Mandarin it is also known as S: 南姜; T: 南薑 (nán jiāng, literally 'southern ginger'), in reference to its being native to southern China and SE Asia. In Cantonese, it is naam4 goeng1. It is often called greater galangal in English to differentiate it from three other plants referred to as galangal - Alpinia officinarum (lesser galangal), Kaempferia galanga (kencur, grachai or sand ginger) or Boesenbergia rotunda (Chinese ginger or fingerroot).

 

It is more fibrous than ginger and has a more citrus and spicier taste.

 

 

 

Just a note - grachai is fingerroot, not kaempferia...

[liuzhou]

22 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Just a note - grachai is fingerroot, not kaempferia...

 

Absolutely. Have edited. Thanks.

[liuzhou]

I'd seen these before in Thailand and Laos but never in China until today.

 

黄瓜花 (huáng guā huā), young cucumbers with their flowers.

 

 

Used in Thailand in salads, but I suspect the locals will cook them or add to soups. I already have plans for today, but I'll probably buy some tomorrrow and make fritters of them, that being how I ate them in Thailand.

 

 

[Neely]

@liuzhou  You mentioned the below some time ago and I was wondering if you had any luck growing these stalks to rosemary plants?
 

“”迷迭香 (mí dié xiāng) or rosemary arrived for the first time yesterday. I have grown it myself in the past and will be attempting to get some of these stalks to root, but in the meantime will be cooking with one of my favourite herbs! Still looking out for the rest of the quartet.””

[liuzhou]

6 hours ago, Neely said:

@liuzhou  You mentioned the below some time ago and I was wondering if you had any luck growing these stalks to rosemary plants?
 

 

They did root and were doing well for a couple of months until they suddenly keeled over and died. I have no idea why. I have grown rosemary this way successfully before and don't think I did anything different.