SeedsWholesale

YU CHOY

Among the most nutritious Asian greens, yu choy is also one of the most beautiful to cook with, its tapering green leaves punctuated with bright yellow flowers. Western gardeners grew it as an ornamental until discovering its culinary potential, but Asian cooks have been using it as a vegetable since ancient times. Though also called "Chinese flowering cabbage," this green's appearance and uses in cooking more closely approximate Chinese mustards, such as gai choy, which can also be used in the recipe for Shrimp Curry with Yu Choy and Kabocha Squash. Both can be added to soups and stir-fries.
 

Yu-Tsai (Chinese Rape), Green Choy Sum

Edible Yu Choy is different to the oil seed rape widely grown in the West. Edible Yu Choy is grown mainly for harvesting young leaves and flowering stalks. Plants are picked when bolting and are used in many Chinese stir-fry foods. Yu Choy produces green stalks and tender leaves for cooking uses. The plant grows very fast and vigorously in temperature climates, but may bolt premature in hot summer. Seeds are sown in spring and fall.

Special Note: Choy Sum in Chinese means the inner stalks and tips, and thus Yu Choy is also called Green Choy Sum in some regions because Cantonese love to eat the delicious stalks and tips of this vegetable. However, Choy Sum refers generally other Chiense cabbage varieties, but with white stalks, also called White Choy Sum.
 

This flowering pak choi type Chinese green has fairly thick but tender stalks and yellow flowers. The flowering shoots are at their optimum flavor just as the flowers begin to appear. Yu Choy is heat tolerant but not cold tolerant. Steam or stir-fry this green, and dress it with a little vinegar.

Maturity: Approx. 40 days
Planting season: Summer

Other names for this Asian vegetable...

China: hon tsai tai, hong tsoi sum, hong cai tai, zi cai tai, cai tai, cai tsai, cai xin, choy sum, pak tsoi sum, pei choy sum, tsai hsin, tsoi sum, yintsai sum, you cai, yu choy, yu choy sum, yui tsai

Japan: beninabana, kosaitai, saishin

Korea: yuchaeip

Malaysia: sawi bunga, sawi manis

Thailand: pakaukeo, pakauyai

Vietnam: cai ngot

 

This is another variety of Pai-Tsai used as a vegetable green. Easy to grow. Sow seeds directly in rich soil and will be ready for harvest in 30-40 days.

Yu Choy

An edible green that contains both a stalk and a leaf that are served in a variety of Asian food dishes. When the plant is young, tender and flowering, the stalk and green leaf are harvested to be used in stir-fry dishes, soups and salads, similar Chinese mustard greens. As the plant ages the stalks become fiberous and somewhat bitter or tangy tasting. It is also a green that is harvested for the seeds which are used to produce cooking oil and lamp oil.
Yu choy may be a confusing green since it has so many other names, some of which often refer to other types of greens. This green may be referred to as edible rape, yow choy sum, choy sum, yow choy, Chinese flowering cabbage, or green choy sum. The name choy sum translates into "flowering green" or "cabbage heart" which it is. However, other greens are also referred to as flowering greens and cabbage greens, so it becomes difficult at times to determine which green may be required in a recipe when so many names exist. Bok choy sum, which also may be referred to as choy sum, is not the same as yu choy, although both bok choy sum and yu choy may be referred to as choy sum. Bok choy sum has a broader stalk with an appearance that looks the same as bok choy, except it contains smaller flowering stalks in the center of the green. Despite the confusion, the choy sum family of greens are all members of the cabbage family and all provide greens that can be very tasty in a variety of foods.

To prepare, yu choy can be blanched for several minutes and served with a sauce such as oyster sauce or black vinegar. When added to stir-fries, it goes well with mushrooms, meats, fish or shellfish. To store, place in a plastic bag and refrigerate.
 

Packet 2g 1000 seeds $2.95