YU CHOY
 Among
the most nutritious Asian greens, yu choy is also one of the most beautiful to
cook with, its tapering green leaves punctuated with bright yellow flowers.
Western gardeners grew it as an ornamental until discovering its culinary
potential, but Asian cooks have been using it as a vegetable since ancient
times. Though also called "Chinese flowering cabbage," this green's appearance
and uses in cooking more closely approximate Chinese mustards, such as gai choy,
which can also be used in the recipe for Shrimp Curry with Yu Choy and Kabocha
Squash. Both can be added to soups and stir-fries.
Yu-Tsai (Chinese Rape), Green Choy Sum
Edible Yu Choy is different to the oil seed rape widely grown in the West.
Edible Yu Choy is grown mainly for harvesting young leaves and flowering stalks.
Plants are picked when bolting and are used in many Chinese stir-fry foods. Yu
Choy produces green stalks and tender leaves for cooking uses. The plant grows
very fast and vigorously in temperature climates, but may bolt premature in hot
summer. Seeds are sown in spring and fall.
Special Note: Choy Sum in Chinese means the inner stalks and tips, and thus Yu
Choy is also called Green Choy Sum in some regions because Cantonese love to eat
the delicious stalks and tips of this vegetable. However, Choy Sum refers
generally other Chiense cabbage varieties, but with white stalks, also called
White Choy Sum.
This flowering pak choi type Chinese green has fairly thick but tender stalks
and yellow flowers. The flowering shoots are at their optimum flavor just as the
flowers begin to appear. Yu Choy is heat tolerant but not cold tolerant. Steam
or stir-fry this green, and dress it with a little vinegar.
Maturity: Approx. 40 days
Planting season: Summer
Other names for this Asian vegetable...
China: hon tsai tai, hong tsoi sum, hong cai tai, zi cai tai, cai tai, cai tsai,
cai xin, choy sum, pak tsoi sum, pei choy sum, tsai hsin, tsoi sum, yintsai sum,
you cai, yu choy, yu choy sum, yui tsai
Japan: beninabana, kosaitai, saishin
Korea: yuchaeip
Malaysia: sawi bunga, sawi manis
Thailand: pakaukeo, pakauyai
Vietnam: cai ngot
This is another variety of Pai-Tsai used as a vegetable green. Easy to grow. Sow
seeds directly in rich soil and will be ready for harvest in 30-40 days.
Yu Choy
An edible green that contains both a stalk and a leaf that are served in a
variety of Asian food dishes. When the plant is young, tender and flowering, the
stalk and green leaf are harvested to be used in stir-fry dishes, soups and
salads, similar Chinese mustard greens. As the plant ages the stalks become
fiberous and somewhat bitter or tangy tasting. It is also a green that is
harvested for the seeds which are used to produce cooking oil and lamp oil.
Yu choy may be a confusing green since it has so many other names, some of which
often refer to other types of greens. This green may be referred to as edible
rape, yow choy sum, choy sum, yow choy, Chinese flowering cabbage, or green choy
sum. The name choy sum translates into "flowering green" or "cabbage heart"
which it is. However, other greens are also referred to as flowering greens and
cabbage greens, so it becomes difficult at times to determine which green may be
required in a recipe when so many names exist. Bok choy sum, which also may be
referred to as choy sum, is not the same as yu choy, although both bok choy sum
and yu choy may be referred to as choy sum. Bok choy sum has a broader stalk
with an appearance that looks the same as bok choy, except it contains smaller
flowering stalks in the center of the green. Despite the confusion, the choy sum
family of greens are all members of the cabbage family and all provide greens
that can be very tasty in a variety of foods. |
