new vegetable experiment
the other day i stopped in at the asian supermarket on my way home from work (it's only a few blocks away, aren't you jealous?)
i always have a problem leaving that place with only what i came for, but this time my list was short: soy sauce, silken tofu, and scallions. of course, i walked out carrying pocky, japanese peanut mochi, and this:
meet water spinach, a.k.a. kang kong, a.k.a. ong choy. the bin i picked it up from actually was marked "on choy", but i'm assuming this is the very same vegetable. the bunch was bigger than my head. i could not resist. it's been a while since i've tried a new vegetable to mess with in the kitchen.
a little googling unearthed recipes from all over the globe. among the best looking were recipes from Thailand, the Philippines, China, Sri Lanka, and East Timor. i was trying my best today to decide on which one to try, when a co-worker whom i ran into at the asian market that same day asked me what i ended up buying there. when i told him about my mystery vegetable he knew exactly how i should cook it (he's from Guyana) and promptly wrote out a basic recipe for me. *yay*
so i cooked it tonight, and they are delicious! i thought it would taste like spinach, and it almost does - but it's a little more bitter, and the flavor is a little more complex. i only used half of the bunch, so tomorrow maybe i'll try the Thai recipe. :)
next up: pictures of dinner
i always have a problem leaving that place with only what i came for, but this time my list was short: soy sauce, silken tofu, and scallions. of course, i walked out carrying pocky, japanese peanut mochi, and this:
meet water spinach, a.k.a. kang kong, a.k.a. ong choy. the bin i picked it up from actually was marked "on choy", but i'm assuming this is the very same vegetable. the bunch was bigger than my head. i could not resist. it's been a while since i've tried a new vegetable to mess with in the kitchen.
a little googling unearthed recipes from all over the globe. among the best looking were recipes from Thailand, the Philippines, China, Sri Lanka, and East Timor. i was trying my best today to decide on which one to try, when a co-worker whom i ran into at the asian market that same day asked me what i ended up buying there. when i told him about my mystery vegetable he knew exactly how i should cook it (he's from Guyana) and promptly wrote out a basic recipe for me. *yay*
so i cooked it tonight, and they are delicious! i thought it would taste like spinach, and it almost does - but it's a little more bitter, and the flavor is a little more complex. i only used half of the bunch, so tomorrow maybe i'll try the Thai recipe. :)
next up: pictures of dinner