Asian greens are a hearty mix of tatsoi, mizuna, tendergreen, and giant mustard used as a either fresh salad greens or stir fry greens. As a fresh salad green, mix a small amount with lettuce since most Asian greens have a strong flavor. Also great for Asian style coleslaw, soup, wraps, and chow mien.
Estimated Picking Dates: late June to early July
Cleaning/Preparing: Wash Asian greens before use, but NOT before storage unless plants are very dirty and wet! Simply rinse in running cold water or swish in a bath of cold water immediately before use. Remove roots, outer leaves that look dry, marred, or bitter, and remove any stems which appear to be tough or brown. Let drip dry in colander if you plan to stir fry or spin in a salad spinner to dry well enough for dressing to stick if you are making a cold salad. If your greens wilt, follow the salad greens washing method to revitalize. (Fill sink or large bowl with very cold or ice water. Swish and soak greens for a few minutes to let dirt float to the bottom. Soak in very cold water for 20-30 minutes. Lift clean greens off the top of the water leaving the dirt behind. Repeat if very dirty. Shake off extra water or spin until very dry. Refrigerate in a sealed container to continue re-crisping.)
If you want to make sure your greens are sanitized use the following procedure: Leafy Green Wash
1 cup distilled white vinegar
3 cups water
1-2 t. salt (optional) - enhances anti-bacterial properties
Mix the water and vinegar together in a bowl. Allow your greens to soak in the bowl for about 2 minutes, then rinse them well. Proceed with standard drying (spin or shake and roll in towel)
For more information and visual instruction on washing greens watch "Clean Those Greens" by Alton Brown.
Storage: Lightly sealed plastic bag (grocery bag with handles tied closed) stored in the refrigerator. Put a clothe (paper towel, tea towel, kitchen towel, T-shirt) in the bag, preferably on the bottom, to absorb excess moisture to prevent greens from becoming slimy and maintain humidity in the container/bag to prevent wilting. Refrigerated Asian greens should last about a week.
Preparing: If you have loose leaf Asian greens which you washed and stored properly, then your ingredient is already prepared. If you have plants, remove roots and separate the leaves in one single motion by gathering all the leaves together in one hand and twisting off the root end with the other hand. Use the whole leaves in your recipe or roughly chop a stack of leaves on a large cutting board with a chef knife. Greens can also be hand torn.
Featured Recipe: Asian Salad
Other common uses: Fresh salad, coleslaw, spring rolls, and any recipe with cabbage that you want to experiment with making with an Asian flare. Stir fries, chow mien, soup, frittata, quiche, etc.
Substitutes: Most of the Asian greens are from the Brassicaceae family of edible greens, which also includes cabbage, broccoli, and kale. I interchange Asian greens with bok choy and pak choy in recipes.
Cleaning/Preparing: Wash Asian greens before use, but NOT before storage unless plants are very dirty and wet! Simply rinse in running cold water or swish in a bath of cold water immediately before use. Remove roots, outer leaves that look dry, marred, or bitter, and remove any stems which appear to be tough or brown. Let drip dry in colander if you plan to stir fry or spin in a salad spinner to dry well enough for dressing to stick if you are making a cold salad. If your greens wilt, follow the salad greens washing method to revitalize. (Fill sink or large bowl with very cold or ice water. Swish and soak greens for a few minutes to let dirt float to the bottom. Soak in very cold water for 20-30 minutes. Lift clean greens off the top of the water leaving the dirt behind. Repeat if very dirty. Shake off extra water or spin until very dry. Refrigerate in a sealed container to continue re-crisping.)
If you want to make sure your greens are sanitized use the following procedure: Leafy Green Wash
1 cup distilled white vinegar
3 cups water
1-2 t. salt (optional) - enhances anti-bacterial properties
Mix the water and vinegar together in a bowl. Allow your greens to soak in the bowl for about 2 minutes, then rinse them well. Proceed with standard drying (spin or shake and roll in towel)
For more information and visual instruction on washing greens watch "Clean Those Greens" by Alton Brown.
Storage: Lightly sealed plastic bag (grocery bag with handles tied closed) stored in the refrigerator. Put a clothe (paper towel, tea towel, kitchen towel, T-shirt) in the bag, preferably on the bottom, to absorb excess moisture to prevent greens from becoming slimy and maintain humidity in the container/bag to prevent wilting. Refrigerated Asian greens should last about a week.
Preparing: If you have loose leaf Asian greens which you washed and stored properly, then your ingredient is already prepared. If you have plants, remove roots and separate the leaves in one single motion by gathering all the leaves together in one hand and twisting off the root end with the other hand. Use the whole leaves in your recipe or roughly chop a stack of leaves on a large cutting board with a chef knife. Greens can also be hand torn.
Featured Recipe: Asian Salad
Other common uses: Fresh salad, coleslaw, spring rolls, and any recipe with cabbage that you want to experiment with making with an Asian flare. Stir fries, chow mien, soup, frittata, quiche, etc.
Substitutes: Most of the Asian greens are from the Brassicaceae family of edible greens, which also includes cabbage, broccoli, and kale. I interchange Asian greens with bok choy and pak choy in recipes.