Xanthorrhoeaceae Hemerocallidoideae
Day lilies (some times referred to as one word – daylily) are flowers. They are a lot prettier than their Latin name suggests. The name comes from their habit of flowering only for one day then dying off. There are dozens of varieties in different colours.
One variety, a yellow flowered variety, is used in Chinese cuisine. Known as 黄花菜 (Mand: huáng huā cài; Cant: wong4 faa1 coi3) in Chinese (literally “yellow flower vegetable”) or, when dried, 金针/金針 (Mand: jīn zhēn; Cant: gam1 zam10 meaning “Golden Needles”, they are an essential ingredient in the northern pork and scrambled egg dish, 木须肉/木須肉 (Mand: mù xū ròu; Cant: muk4 sou1 juk6) “Moo Shu pork”, but also feature extensively in soups, frequently appearing in hot and sour soups 酸辣汤 Mand: suān là tāng; Cant: syun1 laat6 tong10 or simply just as a simple “Day Lily Soup”. I’ve even made day lily omelettes.
Dried Day Lilies
They are seldom available fresh, but very easy to find the dried variety. In fact, every supermarket has them.
