Download Important Plants of China - Eastern Illinois University

Vegetables of
China
Prepared for students in
Ethnobotany in China,
a Study Abroad course at
Eastern Illinois University
taught by
Gordon C. Tucker and Zhiwei Liu
Chinese Vegetables
• Many cultivated species are
familiar to North Americans
• Some are familiar to us from
Asian restaurants
• Some are available at the
supermarket, farmers market,
or specialty store
• Many are essentially unknown
outside Asia (or Asian
communities in large cities)
Market Edibles
• Green Acres Farm at
the Chicago Green
City Market.
• They specialize in
organic vegetables
with a broad selection
of Asian varieties.
Chinese Cuisine
• In general, the further
south you go, a greater
variety of plant foods
(both fruits and
vegetables) are available
• The southern regions of
China use a greater
diversity of vegetables
• Some 31,000 plant species
are found in China,
representing nearly oneeighth of the world's total
plant species, including
thousands found nowhere
else on Earth.
• By comparison, the United
States and Canada
together support ca.
21,000 native and
naturalized plant species
• http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/m
ss/plants.htm
Diversity
Cai (菜)
• In Chinese, "Cai" (菜) not only literally means
green leafy vegetable, but also usually refers
to the food for dining overall.
• Its counterpart, "Rou" (meat) doesn't share
the same parallel.
• Cai is almost "heaven" for Chinese people,
who have a saying that "Food is Heaven."
Chinese Legumes: Snow Peas
• Also called edible pod
peas, these are the same
species as sweet peas
grown in the U.S.
• Extensively used in stir
fries throughout China
• Often served in Asian
restaurants in the U.S.
• Dou miao is also known as
pea tips or pea shoots
– Mandarin: He lan do (peas);
Dou miao (shoots)
– Cantonese: Ho lan dow
(peas); Dow miu (shoots)
• same species as snow peas.
• Can be eaten raw or stirfried or steamed.
Yardlong Bean
• Vigna sesquipedalis
• A pod producing
climbing annual plant
grown in E Asia
• The pods range from 30
to 80 cm
• Similar to a green bean
• Dou jiao
Glycine
Soybean
• Native to eastern Asia
• domesticated in China
– US and Brazil top growers
– Both export to China
• oil, protein
– tofu, soy bean oil, soy sauce,
fermented soy beans
– ingredient in many food products
Soybeans
• Glycine max
• Domesticated in China
• Consumed since about 3000
B.C.E.
• Emperor Sheng-Nung
considered soybeans to be one
of five sacred plants (rice,
wheat, barley, millet)
Tofu (bean curd)
• dao-fu
• made from coagulated
protein from soybeans
• tofu threads are used
like noodles
• pickled tofu
• smoked tofu (right)
• fragrant (stinky) tofu
Brassicaceae • Mustard Family
• 4 petals
• 6 stamens (4 long, 2
short)
• silique (capsule with
false septum)
• all herbs
• Pungent flavor
• Includes numerous
Chinese and
Western vegetables
Some Chinese Brassicaceae
http://www.cifarm.com/products.html
Mustard Family
• The genus Brassica
includes most of the
cultivated species. The
taxonomy is confusing.
• The wild ancestors of
the cultivated Brassicas
were similar to
Brassica nigra, at right
Jie-cai (芥菜, Mustard Leaf)
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also called Qing-cai
Brassica juncea var. foliosa
This plumpish vegetable in spring and
summer tastes bitter and sweetish,
but is very healthy. Its cooling quality
is good for those who suffer from
summer heat.
Found all over China, it is rarely seen
outside Asia.
The large kind of Jie-cai can be cured
with spices and sauce to be seasoned
pickles while the small one is for a
dish called Chun-cai (the vegetable in
spring).
When the Chinese pickle vegetables,
the vegetable are typically dried
somewhat before pickling
Zha cai
• literally "pressed vegetable"
• a type of pickled mustard stem originating
from Sichuan
• In English, it is called Sichuan vegetable, or
Chinese pickled vegetable
Zha cai
• The pickle is made from the knobby, fist-sized, swollen green stem
(literally "pressed vegetable") of Brassica juncea
• Brassica juncea subspecies tatsai is a species of mustard plant. The stem is
first salted, pressed, and dried before being rubbed with hot Chili pepper
paste and allowed to ferment in an earthenware jar. The taste is a
combination of spicy, sour, and salty, while the aroma is similar to
sauerkraut.
• Although originating in Sichuan, zha cai is also used frequently in the
cuisines of southern China, particularly in a soup made with ground pork
and rice noodles and Rice congee
• It is generally sliced into thin strips and used in small amounts due to its
extreme saltiness, although this saltiness can be tempered somewhat by
soaking the strips in water prior to use.
Chinese Cabbage
• Brassica rapa var. pekinensis
• The head is up to 35 cm
long
• Outer leaves are light green
with a white midrib
• The inner leaves are
creamy yellow
• Egg rolls, etc.
• Flat flowering Chinese leaf
cabbage
• Brassica campestris (Chinensis
group var. utilis)
• Cantonese: Nai yow choy
Mandarin: ??
Bai-cai (白菜, Chinese Cabbage)
• Bai-cai means "white vegetable"
in Chinese, with its white stem
and leave bases. It originated in
North China and is the most
popular staple vegetable across
the country.
• You might be confused by the
diversity of Bai-cais. There are
mainly two kinds – Xiao Bai-cai
("small" in Chinese) and Da Baicai ("large").
• Xiao Bai-cai is called baby bokchoy in US
• Bok Choy is also known as
Chinese white cabbage.
• Leaves are sweet and the
stems are similar to celery
except for the stringiness.
• High in vitamin A, vitamin
C and Calcium
• Baby Bok Choy is sweeter
and contains beta-carotene
and folate.
• Shanghai Bok Choy is the most popular
vegetable used in Chinese cooking.
• Miniature Bok Choy is very crunchy.
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Yu Choy is a member of the cabbage family.
Brassica rapa var. parachinensis
The seeds are used to make a vegetable oil.
The two main distinguishing features are yu choy
has yellow flowers (Chinese broccoli has white
flowers) and yu choy has a thinner stem.
• Gai Lan is also known as
Chinese broccoli and is a very
popular vegetable.
• Very high in vitamin A and C
as well as Fe and Ca.
Cai-xin
(菜心) .
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Cai-xin in soup
Cai-xin tastes refreshing and
somewhat sweet, especially
the Gaojiao type originating
from Zengcheng in
Guangzhou. When you want
to find this kind of "noble"
vegetable in a market, pick
the ones with unusually long
stalks. A Gaojiao ("Long leg" in
Chinese) Cai-xin normally has
at least a 35-cm-long stalk.
www.lifeofguangzhou.com
Jie-lan (芥兰, Chinese kale)
• Brassica alboglabra
• a crisp local plant in
South China
• looks somewhat like
Cai-xin.
• When you have a cold
sore throat or
asthma, Jie-lan will
help.
Bao-cai (包菜, Cabbage)
• Brassica oleracea
var. capitata
• Small diced bits of
meat and beans
wrapped in its big
leaves are adored
by Guangdong
gourmets.
Cauliflower
• Brassica oleracea
var. botrytis
• Yang-bai-cai, lianhua-bai
• cabbage, brussel sprouts,
and cauliflower are
varieties of the same
species
Cauliflower
The edible portion is the white
curd-like mass of a close
aggregation of abortive flowers on
thick branches produced at the
top of a short stem. No part of the
inflorescence is apparent in a
curd. During development, the
large green leaves cover to
exclude light and that results in
the brilliant whiteness of the curd.
Uses It is eaten cooked as a
vegetable, boiled and eaten with
sauces or pickled.
Xiyang-cai (西洋菜, Watercress)
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Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum
This fragrant cai, with its small
and flowery leaves, came into
China from Europe, as its name
suggests – Xiyang means "the
Western World" in Chinese.
commonly used in bean curd
soup
It can bring soothing warmth
against winter chill
It is believed that this
vegetable is good for the lungs
and can ease dryness in the
human body, and is thus
adored by locals during the
winter.
• Turnips
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Turnips are a root vegetable from the
Mustard Family
Xiaoshan air-dried turnip originated in
Zhejiang Province. Someone put the
dried turnips in a small-mouthed jar,
and sealed the jar with mud. When the
person opened the jar one year later, he
found that the turnips had a yellow and
bright luster, a strong scent, and a salty
and sweet taste. They were even more
delicious than fresh turnips.
It is so popular that as whenever the
name “Xiaoshan” is mentioned, “dried
turnip” would be blurted out.
Today, the air-dry technique has been
replaced by the more convenient and
swift salt dehydration technique.
Although the latter is easier and brings
more economic benefits, products
made with this technique cannot be
compared with air-dried turnips.
Parsley Family
• Aromatic herbs and
vegetables
• Many are biennial plants
• Roots, stems, petioles,
leaves, or seeds are used,
depending on species
• Cryptotaenia canadensis, 鸭儿芹,
ya-er-cai, called highland celery or
duck vegetable , at right,
Cilantro and
Coriander
• Coriander is the
seeds, cilantro the
leaves
• Native to the eastern
Mediterranean
• Used in Spanish,
Mexican, Thai, and
Chinese cooking
Qin-cai (芹菜, Celery)
• Chinese celery has
more slender stalks
than the typical
western cultivar
• Celery is an elegant
and robust vegetable
with a nice aroma
that is good for the
health.
Qin-cai (芹菜, Celery)
• Stir-fried Qin-cai with
meat slices.
• It can help improve blood
circulation and beautify
the skin, and is also
appreciated by the
elderly as it can lower
blood pressure.
• It even cools down the
"hotness" in your body.
Carrots
• Carrots originated in
Afghanistan, but are now
grown worldwide
• Orange carrots were
developed in Europe in
the 1700’s
• “In China, only barbarians
eat raw carrots.” Hu
Shiu-ying
• Carrot shreds or slices are
included in numerous
Chinese dishes, both in
China and the America
Books
• The Food of China, By E. N. Anderson
• Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and
Travels in the Other China (Hardcover) by
Jeffrey Alford & Naomi Duguid
• Food Plants of China by Hu Shiu-ying
References
• http://www.gz2010.cn/08/
1230/17/4UE7246O00780
03U_2.html
• Continued on part 2