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Harvesting and Cooking Tips for Asian Vegetables
by Joyce Tu
Amaranthus (Amaranthus gangeticus) - red & rice
- harvest: when only a few inches tall or thin the plants to 1 foot apart and grow full-sized plants
- technique: by hand, selecting the young, tender leaves and shoots. If growing as a cut and come again crop, harvest with scissors as needed
- cooking: should be cooked only briefly, as it gets mushy; stir-fry or add it to soup
Baby pak choi (Brassica rapa var. chinensis)
- harvest: when they are about 1 foot tall
- technique: harvest entire plant
- cooking: blanched and serve with cooked mushrooms or seafood
Pak choi (Brassica rapa var. chinensis)
- harvest: leaves can be harvested at about 10"-12" tall
- technique: break or cut off the outside leaves at the base of the plant or cut the entire plants back to 2 inches
- cooking: commonly used in stir-fries and soups with meat, salt & pepper
Bitter melon (Momordica charantia) - harvest: while they are young and still firm, in white or green stage. they grow bitter as they mature - technique: harvest regularly and do not let them ripen on the vine, they will continue to ripen after harvesting - cooking: prepared by quick frying or incorporated into simple egg dishes; leaves and shoots are edible while they are young, use salt to reduce bitterness
Chinese boxthorn (Lycium chinense) - harvest: when leaves are young and tender - technique: use as cut at base and come again vegetables - cooking: leaves taste bitter, can be use in soups with pork, vine is not edible
Chinese broccoli (Brassica alboglabra) - harvest: at around 18 inches tall, thin to about 8 inches apart - technique: harvest the flowering stalks just before the buds start to open. Cut the stalks at the lowest node where there is a new leaf to force new side growth. - cooking: stir-fry is the most popular way to prepare it, put into cold water right after blanch will retain nice green color.
Chinese celery (Apium graveolens) - harvest: stems when they are about 10 inches high, new stalks will continue to form, or harvest the whole head by cutting the plant off at the ground with a sharp knife. - technique: harvest the whole head by cutting the plant off at the ground with a sharp knife - cooking: stronger in flavor than American celery, use in many Asian coups and stews or stir-fried with squid.
Chinese chives (Allium tuberosum) - harvest: can be harvested as soon as the tops grow to 6 inches - technique: cut leaves about 2 inches above the ground, or blanched by completely excluding light to produce yellow tender leaves and stalks - cooking: taste like garlic, can be used as filling in dumplings with ground meat, widely used in Chinese medicine.
Chinese parsley (Corlandrum sativum) - harvest: when they are only about 6 inches high and leaves are tender - technique: young leaves can be pinched off as needed; dug the roots before the plant goes to seed - cooking: it's among the most important flavorings in many Asian dishes. roots can be cooked and eaten as vegetable, sprinkle chopped leaves to flavor dishes, seeds are used to season curries and rice dishes
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) - harvest: when they are young and firm but filled out at about thumb size - technique: harvesting regularly keeps your plants producing new fruits, left too long on the vine will become seedy and bitter - cooking: sliced cucumber can be stir fried with pork, mixed with vinegar to make cold dish or pickled
Eggplant (Solanum melongena) - harvest: is ready when it is full colored but has not yet begun to lose any of its sheen - technique: press down on the eggplant with your finger, if the flesh presses in and bounces back, it's ripe - cooking: with tender skin and little bitterness, no need to be peeled or salted, can be fried and served in a spicy sauce
Hairy melon (Benincasa hispida) - harvest: at about 6 inches long - technique: often harvest fruits in its immature stage - cooking: peel and skin and cook them much as you would squash
Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea) - harvest: stem when they are young and tender about 1.5 inches in diameter - technique: by cutting stems an inch or two below the soil surface, young leaves can be cut for greens - cooking: Peel the skin from these "bulbs". Slice the Kohlrabi and use in stir- fry, steamed, or boil in chicken broth, can be used raw in salad
Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) - harvest: when they are 2-3 feet tall - technique: harvest the white leafstalks by cutting them at the base of the plant once it's established - cooking: chop & use them to flavor chicken or fish stock-based soups, with or without coconut milk, can also used in salad dressings and to make a fragrant cup of tea
Luffa, smooth (Luffa cylindrica) - harvest: when they are still immature, fruits feel firm at about 6 inches long - technique: cut fruits off, they are edible only when immature, left too long on vine will toughen into sponge - cooking: peel & cook them in soup or with meat, flower buds, young shoots and leaves can be added to stir fries.
Mustard (Brassica juncea) - harvest: a few leaves at a time as needed, thin to one foot apart - technique: for red mustard the younger the leaf the milder, for green mustard harvest mature heads as you would cabbage, they can be harvested over a long time - cooking: strong-flavored mustards are blanched and served with oil or oyster sauce, or stir-fried with meat and bean sauce ,or can be cut and pickled.
Oil seed rape (Brassica var. oleifera) - harvest: start harvest them when they are about 2-3 feet tall - technique: cut the leaves and stems as needed - cooking: commonly used in stir-tries and soups with meat and seasonings
Perilla (Perilla frustescens) - harvest: as soon as plant established - technique: both green and purple varieties grown in the same manner as basil, pinch leaves as needed - cooking: use purple perilla for flavoring seafood and in pickling, green leaves are made into tempuras or wrapped around sushi
Soy bean (Glycine max) - harvest: immature pods or let them mature and use the beans fresh shelled or dried - technique: harvest soybeans for fresh shelling when the pods are plump but still green, or let them dry before harvesting, shell beans and store in a cool dry place - cooking: green soybeans can be cooked in salty water and eat beans when shelled soybeans are stir-fried, used in soups, or stew with beef. Soy sprouts can be eaten when cooked.
Taro (Colocasia esculenta) - harvest: wait until plant leaves turn brown - technique: dig the entire taro up - cooking: wear gloves before suave skin, raw taro cause itch on hands; can be cooked with sugar as desert, serve cold or hot; or add taro into 'hotpot' with other vegetables, meat and seafood, a popular dish in winter time.
Winter melon (Benincasa hispida) - harvest: may be harvested at any stage, from very immature to mature - technique: a large plants that usually planted about 8 feet apart - cooking: the white-fleshed winter melon is usually served as a soup, or steamed with meat
Yard long bean (Vigna sesquipedalis) - harvest: when pods reach 12-18 inches before the seeds fill out the pods - technique: yard-long beans are actually tastiest when 12-18 inches long - cooking: in a popular Szechwan dish called dry-fried beans, they are deep-fried, drained and then put in a wok and stir-fried with a bit of ginger. Try them in rolls of marinated beef or pork.
Asian Vegetables McClellan Ranch Project Trial 2001
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