Garlic chives
Garlic chives
Garlic chives (Simplified Chinese: ??; Traditional Chinese: ??; pinyin: jiu3cai4) is also known as Chinese chives, Chinese leek, Ku chai, Oriental garlic chives or, in Japanese, Nira (kanji: ?; hiragana: ??; katakana: ??). The plant has a distinctive growth habit with strap-shaped leaves unlike either onion or garlic, and straight thin white-flowering stalks that are much taller than the leaves. It grows in slowly expanding perennial clumps, but also readily sprouts from seed. Besides its use as vegetable, it also has attractive flowers.

The cultivated form is Allium tuberosum while the wild form is placed as A. ramosum. Older references list it as A. odorum but that is now considered a synonym of A. ramosum. Some botanists would place both wild and cultivated forms in A. ramosum since many intermediate forms exist.

A relatively new vegetable in the English-speaking world but well-known in Asian cuisine, the flavor of garlic chives is rather more like garlic than chives, though much milder. Both leaves and the stalks of the flowers are used as a flavoring similarly to chives, green onions or garlic and are used as a stir fry ingredient. In China, they are often used to make dumplings with a combination of egg, shrimp and pork. The flowers may also be used as a spice.

Many garden centers carry it (usually unaware of its culinary uses) as do most oriental specialty groceries if they have fresh produce at all.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on Garlic chives
Allspice Aloe Ambrosia Herbs Amchur (mango powder) Angelica (Angelica archangelica) Anise Annatto Apple Mint Arrowroot Artemisia vulgaris Asafoetida Asarum europaeum Ashwagandha Australian desert raisin Bacopa monnieri Balm of Gilead Barberry (Berberis) Basil (Ocimum basilicum) Bay Laurel Bay leaves Bergamot (Monarda didyma) Bison grass (Hierochloe odorata) Bistort (Persicaria bistorta) Bitters Black cardamom Black limes Pepper (black, white, and green) Blue Cohosh Bog Labrador Tea Boldo Bolivian Coriander (Porophyllum ruderale) Boneset (Eupatorium) Borage (Borago officinalis) Camomile - German Chamomile Camomile - Roman Chamomile Candle nut Caper (Capparis spinosa) Caraway Cardamom Carob Pod Catsear Cayenne pepper Celery (Celery seed) Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium) Chili powder Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) Cinnamon Cloves Coriander Cumin Curry powder Dill (Anethum graveolens) Echinacea Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) Five-spice powder (Chinese) Garam masala Garden cress Garlic Garlic chives Geum Herbes de Provence Horseradish Jamaican jerk spice Juniper Land cress Lavender (Lavandula spp.) Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) Lemon Basil Lemon mint Lemon Myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) Licorice Long pepper Lovage (Levisticum officinale) Marjoram (Origanum majorana) Mint (Mentha spp.) Mustard Mustard seed Nepeta (Catnip) Nutmeg (and Mace) Oenothera Oregano (Origanum vulgare) Paprika Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) Peppermint Pineapple weed Poppy seed Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Saffron Sage Sichuan pepper Star anise Tamarind Tandoori masala Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) Thyme Turmeric Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) Watercress

© Copyright 2006, eetc | contact