Asian Greens
If you are a returning CSA member you know that we include Asian greens almost every week. Our climate and soil really lends itself to the wonderful world of Asian greens. Think bok choy, mustard greens, Napa cabbage, Chinese broccoli... you get the idea.
Some of our favorites include Mizuna, a light and feathery mustard green, Hon Tsai Tai, a flowering broccoli which we grow for it's thick purple stems and broccoli flavored leaves as well as Scarlet Frills, a super duper spicy mustard with amazing frisee-like texture. We also love two bok choy relatives, Red Choi and Tat Soi. Both have crunchy-watery stems with a small petiole leaf. Both are very tender, juicy and flavorful. You can use all of these Asian greens interchangeably in so many recipes; everything from dumplings to stir fries to soups. Read this guide to the three most basic cooking techniques for Asian greens. They are stir-frying with garlic, blanching with oyster sauce and in broth!
At the farmers market customers often hold up a bunch of bok choi and declare: "What on earth do i do with this?!" which is funny to us because we eat so many different types of greens all in the same way... sauteed in olive oil with whatever else you wanna eat! Your whole bunch of asian greens can be chopped up (stems and all) and thrown in a skillet or wok along with garlic, onions, beans, tofu, chicken... definitely don't let the asian greens intimidate you in the kitchen they are versatile and forgiving. Frittata and quiche are also great places to hide your excess asian greens ;)
Red Choi
Tat Soi
Purple mustard
Mizuna
Hon Tsai Tai