Heart of Choy
I went back to the “choy” well last week, going this time for choy sum (“heart of choy” I think I understand it to mean) rather than bok choy (someone please reassure me that “bok” does not mean “armpit” or worse!). They are not quite the same vegetable, but closely related. The “sum” I gather may be somewhat more revered in some circles. This is only the second time we have knowingly cooked it, so we’re still low on the learning curve.
I’d run across an interesting and pretty simple recipe for bok choy with chicken and decided it would be fun to try a variation on that. Not that I am casting off my old delectable standby which I have talked up here before, involving steaming over citrus and ginger and garnish of fried garlic coins. Just branching out. We had chicken already cooked, so skipped preparing teriyaki chicken, greatly simplifying prep. Grated fresh ginger was substituted for pickled ginger, an ingredient we have never possessed. The other primary ingredient was mushrooms. Tuck in a little chili sauce, soy, other seasonings of your choice, and thicken with broth-cornstarch, and you have a great stir-fry.
While procuring my choy sum, I noticed a vegetable being merchandised enthusiastically, namely “water spinach,” that was wholly new to me. The kindly Chinese woman in line behind me offered that she would be using it in stir-fry, cut in several-inch segments. It was being sold in bundles a few inches in diameter, consisting of several dozen stems with long, thin, willow-like leaves. I learned on-line that it is a member of the morning glory family (Ipomoea) and a potentially invasive pest outside its’ natural habitat in the Asian tropics. After tracking down a recipe or three, it was disappointing to find on next visit that they had sold out. Two days previously they had what I took to be 40+ pounds on display, and doubtless they had plenty to back that up, so it must be a highly-sought-after ingredient. When it’s available. Next time I won’t wait!
Have you supped on water spinach? Do you choy, either bok or sum?
I’d run across an interesting and pretty simple recipe for bok choy with chicken and decided it would be fun to try a variation on that. Not that I am casting off my old delectable standby which I have talked up here before, involving steaming over citrus and ginger and garnish of fried garlic coins. Just branching out. We had chicken already cooked, so skipped preparing teriyaki chicken, greatly simplifying prep. Grated fresh ginger was substituted for pickled ginger, an ingredient we have never possessed. The other primary ingredient was mushrooms. Tuck in a little chili sauce, soy, other seasonings of your choice, and thicken with broth-cornstarch, and you have a great stir-fry.
While procuring my choy sum, I noticed a vegetable being merchandised enthusiastically, namely “water spinach,” that was wholly new to me. The kindly Chinese woman in line behind me offered that she would be using it in stir-fry, cut in several-inch segments. It was being sold in bundles a few inches in diameter, consisting of several dozen stems with long, thin, willow-like leaves. I learned on-line that it is a member of the morning glory family (Ipomoea) and a potentially invasive pest outside its’ natural habitat in the Asian tropics. After tracking down a recipe or three, it was disappointing to find on next visit that they had sold out. Two days previously they had what I took to be 40+ pounds on display, and doubtless they had plenty to back that up, so it must be a highly-sought-after ingredient. When it’s available. Next time I won’t wait!
Have you supped on water spinach? Do you choy, either bok or sum?
posted by Sir Gumbo at 11:38 PM
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