Chinese vegetables & fruits identified
Fresh vegetables and fruitsLo baak - the white oriental radish or daikon, often used shredded in soups or dim sum cakes; cheng lo baak is a stubbier green variety that adds a turnip-like flavor to soups and stews.
Juk yip - bamboo leaves, for wrapping glutinous rice packages.
Bok choi - spinach-like and added to stir fries or cooked with garlic and oyster sauce.
Choi sam - a flowering cabbage that looks like young spinach, for boiling quickly and serving with oyster sauce.
Fu gwa - bitter melon, for blanching and seasoning with sugar, or stuffing with a pork mixture.
Dong gwa - winter melon, also available in cans, a green squash-like vegetable for adding to soups or braised dishes.
Sa gok - a yam bean, a brown root with crisp, sweet flesh, eaten raw or thinly sliced for stir-fries.
Wu tau - taro, a starchy root which needs thorough cooking to prevent it inflaming the inside of the mouth and throat.
Lin ngau - lotus root, also available in cans, with little taste but good texture in soups and stews.
Loquat - looks like an apricot or yellow plum (called 'nespoula' in Greece and 'medlar' in England). Should be skinned to eat raw and the stone removed. Good poached in a light sugar syrup.
Lychee - covered with a brown scaly husk which is removed to reveal a pearly white, highly-scented and luscious fruit round a gleaming mahogany pip.
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Posted on Friday 16th November 2007 in
Asia to Australasia, Information
