Eastern vegetables for Western cooking?
December 27, 2020 6:32 PM Subscribe
We live in Asia, and cook non-Asian food maybe twice a week, stuff like pasta, roast chicken and so on. So far I usually pair these meals with a salad, or something like roasted brussels sprouts or broccoli, but I'd really rather use less produce that is often air flown from Australia or farther; in contrast, we can easily get locally grown Asian (mostly Chinese) greens, like bok choy, chye sim, napa cabbage, etc. What are some good European/American dishes I could cook using such Asian vegetables?
I already do some obvious substitutions, like bok choy and other green leafy veg instead of spinach or broccoli, and cabbage is cabbage around the world. But is there anything else? Searching the internet, most of the time you see suggestions for substituting these "hard to find" Asian vegetables rather than the other way around.
Flavour is another consideration; Asian vegetables tend to have stronger bitter notes (and are also tougher) than say lettuce, and probably won't work well raw.
Besides wanting to go with local produce, I'm also getting more and more tired of the finicky delicate greens y'all use for salads, that spoil and rot so easily, unlike say bok choy that you can throw at the bottom of your fridge and have it be perfectly edible days later
I already do some obvious substitutions, like bok choy and other green leafy veg instead of spinach or broccoli, and cabbage is cabbage around the world. But is there anything else? Searching the internet, most of the time you see suggestions for substituting these "hard to find" Asian vegetables rather than the other way around.
Flavour is another consideration; Asian vegetables tend to have stronger bitter notes (and are also tougher) than say lettuce, and probably won't work well raw.
Besides wanting to go with local produce, I'm also getting more and more tired of the finicky delicate greens y'all use for salads, that spoil and rot so easily, unlike say bok choy that you can throw at the bottom of your fridge and have it be perfectly edible days later
I love either napa cabbage or bok choy raw as a base for salad and don’t find them too bitter. I usually chop into thin ribbons. They do both have a stronger flavor than most lettuces, so I don’t usually add many (or sometimes any) other vegetables - I just dress, usually with a vinaigrette or similar, and eat.
posted by insectosaurus at 6:49 PM on December 27, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by insectosaurus at 6:49 PM on December 27, 2020 [5 favorites]
Asian vegetables tend to have stronger bitter notes (and are also tougher)
Lean in to that. I like the southern USA dish Hoppin' John aka beans & greens. Traditionally it would be made with black eyed peas and collard greens but it works well with mustard greens, nappa cabbage, Taiwan spinach, a choy, yu choy, etc., and any light bean or cow pea. Those are all actually fairly tender. I don't know if you have anything as tough and bitter as collard but if so, use that! You can add some sausage or fatty pork and make it a one-pot meal that would be sort of fusion of some Asian ingredients with a Southern US sensibility.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:50 PM on December 27, 2020 [8 favorites]
Lean in to that. I like the southern USA dish Hoppin' John aka beans & greens. Traditionally it would be made with black eyed peas and collard greens but it works well with mustard greens, nappa cabbage, Taiwan spinach, a choy, yu choy, etc., and any light bean or cow pea. Those are all actually fairly tender. I don't know if you have anything as tough and bitter as collard but if so, use that! You can add some sausage or fatty pork and make it a one-pot meal that would be sort of fusion of some Asian ingredients with a Southern US sensibility.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:50 PM on December 27, 2020 [8 favorites]
I've roasted gai lan (Chinese broccoli) before with good results, and surprisingly enjoyed it with a bit of melty cheese. I can't remember if I cut up the stems or left them whole, but you might try a mix of both to see what you prefer.
Otherwise, and I know it's not a green vegetable, kabocha squash also works very well roasted. It doesn't need to be peeled and is quite sweet naturally, so I think it would work quite well with just some simple seasoning and pepper.
posted by andrewesque at 6:56 PM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
Otherwise, and I know it's not a green vegetable, kabocha squash also works very well roasted. It doesn't need to be peeled and is quite sweet naturally, so I think it would work quite well with just some simple seasoning and pepper.
posted by andrewesque at 6:56 PM on December 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
Any variety of eggplant will make lovely Mediterranean or Italian American eggplant dishes, you can toss it in pasta of course but you could also make ratatouille and serve it at room temperature or cold as a side dish. Use whatever variety of mild or sweet pepper you have and tinned tomato plus zucchini or other thin skinned squash and dried herbs de Provence.
There are plenty of salads with hearty greens these days. I would feel comfortable subbing a lot of things (the leafiest parts of bok choy, choy sum, milder mustard greens, heartier spinach varieties) for kale in a massaged kale salad, for example, with maybe some roasted pumpkin seeds, dried fruit and a lemon dressing. You can also make fantastic delicate salads out of watercress and pea shoots and dress them with oil and vinegar, goes great with anything heavy. Herb salads are great too, like shiso and cilantro with radish sprouts and any leafy parts of veggies you have lying around like celery or carrot tops, do them with a shallot vinaigrette and serve with simple things like roast chicken or pork tenderloin.
Roasted root vegetables can be nudged in basically any cuisine’s direction based on seasonings and the fat you use to roast. So like, whatever variety of sweet potato you have, try it with chili powder and lard and you’ve got some Mexican-ish sweet potatoes. Olive oil and oregano on potatoes with a little lemon is great for Greek food, carrots roasted with caraway and garlic in chicken fat is Eastern European. But you can swap the root vegetable for whatever roasts up nicely that you’ve got access to, it just needs to be starchy and not very watery.
The giant radishes you probably have access to can be braised like turnips. Pumpkin and other winter squashes pretty much taste the same the world over. Edemame can be treated like a Lima bean.
posted by Mizu at 8:24 PM on December 27, 2020 [6 favorites]
There are plenty of salads with hearty greens these days. I would feel comfortable subbing a lot of things (the leafiest parts of bok choy, choy sum, milder mustard greens, heartier spinach varieties) for kale in a massaged kale salad, for example, with maybe some roasted pumpkin seeds, dried fruit and a lemon dressing. You can also make fantastic delicate salads out of watercress and pea shoots and dress them with oil and vinegar, goes great with anything heavy. Herb salads are great too, like shiso and cilantro with radish sprouts and any leafy parts of veggies you have lying around like celery or carrot tops, do them with a shallot vinaigrette and serve with simple things like roast chicken or pork tenderloin.
Roasted root vegetables can be nudged in basically any cuisine’s direction based on seasonings and the fat you use to roast. So like, whatever variety of sweet potato you have, try it with chili powder and lard and you’ve got some Mexican-ish sweet potatoes. Olive oil and oregano on potatoes with a little lemon is great for Greek food, carrots roasted with caraway and garlic in chicken fat is Eastern European. But you can swap the root vegetable for whatever roasts up nicely that you’ve got access to, it just needs to be starchy and not very watery.
The giant radishes you probably have access to can be braised like turnips. Pumpkin and other winter squashes pretty much taste the same the world over. Edemame can be treated like a Lima bean.
posted by Mizu at 8:24 PM on December 27, 2020 [6 favorites]
Gai lan / yu choy are pretty good substitutes for asparagus or broccolini. Try buying more tender/young stalks, then tossing it with salt, pepper, and olive oil and roasting at 400 or 425 for 15-25 minutes until it looks like something you want to eat. Squeeze some lemon/lime/yuzu juice on it before serving.
Kabocha squash can be used in place of butternut squash or pumpkin, it may just take a bit longer to cook than butternut squash. I usually roast it and put it in salads, but it's good in soups or an odd cheddar cheese substitute/stretcher.
Long beans can substitute for green beans and do well as a side dish.
I would sub whatever your local mushrooms are (matsuake? shimeji? shitake?) into any mushroom pasta dishes you have without thinking twice about it.
Sliced king oyster mushrooms can be cooked up kind of like scallops in a Western style if you have some lemon juice and parsley to throw on top at the end.
Pea shoots are so delicious. I wouldn't think twice about substituting them for spinach in any recipes that use blanched/cooked spinach, or using them instead of peas to make a pea pesto to put on pasta or flatbread/pizza.
This one's a bit more obtuse, but you can probably sub some local squash (luffa? opo?) for chayote squash or zucchini/summer squash, but apply your knowledge of the squash before substituting since they're translated extremely inconsistently.
posted by A Blue Moon at 9:24 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Kabocha squash can be used in place of butternut squash or pumpkin, it may just take a bit longer to cook than butternut squash. I usually roast it and put it in salads, but it's good in soups or an odd cheddar cheese substitute/stretcher.
Long beans can substitute for green beans and do well as a side dish.
I would sub whatever your local mushrooms are (matsuake? shimeji? shitake?) into any mushroom pasta dishes you have without thinking twice about it.
Sliced king oyster mushrooms can be cooked up kind of like scallops in a Western style if you have some lemon juice and parsley to throw on top at the end.
Pea shoots are so delicious. I wouldn't think twice about substituting them for spinach in any recipes that use blanched/cooked spinach, or using them instead of peas to make a pea pesto to put on pasta or flatbread/pizza.
This one's a bit more obtuse, but you can probably sub some local squash (luffa? opo?) for chayote squash or zucchini/summer squash, but apply your knowledge of the squash before substituting since they're translated extremely inconsistently.
posted by A Blue Moon at 9:24 PM on December 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the responses so far! I'm particularly intrigued by recipes using collard greens, which look a lot like kailan and could probably be substituted with. I've never had collard greens before though.
I forgot to mention that another problem with salads is that my kids hate it; they'll often eat stir fried Chinese vegetables, but vehemently refuse raw salads. So maybe to streamline the question a bit more: what are examples of dishes that involve cooking green leafy vegetables in some way?
posted by destrius at 9:31 PM on December 27, 2020
I forgot to mention that another problem with salads is that my kids hate it; they'll often eat stir fried Chinese vegetables, but vehemently refuse raw salads. So maybe to streamline the question a bit more: what are examples of dishes that involve cooking green leafy vegetables in some way?
posted by destrius at 9:31 PM on December 27, 2020
n-thing kabocha squash = many western squashes (butternut or acorn), and yau choy/kai lan = broccolini.
Taro can be made into fries, like potato.
If your non-Asian radar wants to go to Mexico, you can make a LOT of Mexican with common southeast Asian ingredients. Lime, cilantro, onion, etc.
I would try to roast vegetables, it's the one thing Chinese folks don't really do to greens. That'd say Western pretty fast!
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 10:45 PM on December 27, 2020
Taro can be made into fries, like potato.
If your non-Asian radar wants to go to Mexico, you can make a LOT of Mexican with common southeast Asian ingredients. Lime, cilantro, onion, etc.
I would try to roast vegetables, it's the one thing Chinese folks don't really do to greens. That'd say Western pretty fast!
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 10:45 PM on December 27, 2020
One thing you could do that is very western and kid friendly, if you guys can do lactose, is creamed spinach. You can replace the spinach with any leafy green, and personally I think it’s better with hardier greens. You cook the greens very simply first, just wilt them down with a little oil and some aromatics, then squeeze out the excess moisture. Then you make a cream sauce which can be done in a few different ways, some people like a classic bechamel, some like it with cream cheese, some like more of a white gravy with Parmesan, it’s more about what you’ve got and what you grew up with, and stir them together. I like this Martha Stewart recipe for a cream cheese type. It’s definitely not diet food but you can pack a surprisingly huge amount of greens in there.
Most of the time I’d say that cooked leafy greens are done very simply, just sautéed with butter or olive oil, some chopped garlic, and dressed with salt, pepper, and whatever acid goes with the other food. Like if you’re doing seafood do some lemon on the greens. If it’s roasted meat a nice red wine or champagne vinegar. If it’s Mediterranean try cooking down some fresh tomato with the garlic and greens.
posted by Mizu at 11:05 PM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
Most of the time I’d say that cooked leafy greens are done very simply, just sautéed with butter or olive oil, some chopped garlic, and dressed with salt, pepper, and whatever acid goes with the other food. Like if you’re doing seafood do some lemon on the greens. If it’s roasted meat a nice red wine or champagne vinegar. If it’s Mediterranean try cooking down some fresh tomato with the garlic and greens.
posted by Mizu at 11:05 PM on December 27, 2020 [2 favorites]
If you have easy access to cheese you might try Rumbledethumps! Mashed root veg and sautéed cabbage, like colcannon, with cheese.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 11:38 PM on December 27, 2020
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 11:38 PM on December 27, 2020
Creamed greens are so good. That’s a great idea.
I add hearty greens to soups and chowders and stews, usually at the end. This isn’t necessarily traditional, but it’s a great way to add some greens to our diet.
posted by bluedaisy at 1:16 AM on December 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
I add hearty greens to soups and chowders and stews, usually at the end. This isn’t necessarily traditional, but it’s a great way to add some greens to our diet.
posted by bluedaisy at 1:16 AM on December 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Cole slaw!
posted by emd3737 at 2:14 AM on December 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by emd3737 at 2:14 AM on December 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
I had good success with substituting a smaller, sweeter bok choi for broccoli with Pollan’s Cavatappi with Broccolini. Their family also had a shrimp and kale hot pot recipe (a noodle soup for the kiddos reference) that used up the rest of the small heads of bok choi—no kale needed. It had a great shittake mushroom broth.
posted by childofTethys at 5:04 AM on December 28, 2020
posted by childofTethys at 5:04 AM on December 28, 2020
You could make collard green melts.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:59 AM on December 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 6:59 AM on December 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
If you can get snow pea shoots, they are much milder in flavour than bok choy, and excellent sautéed with garlic and salt. They taste a bit like western sautéed spinach, but sweeter, and with the added benefit that they’re not slimy like cooked spinach because the stems and leaves have more body.
Also, the type of bok choi that is all green with smooth leaves is less-bitter than the white/dark green species, and I find it tastes good raw.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:38 AM on December 28, 2020
Also, the type of bok choi that is all green with smooth leaves is less-bitter than the white/dark green species, and I find it tastes good raw.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:38 AM on December 28, 2020
Italian style sauteed veggies are great - I bet that a lot of chard recipes could be substituted with other leafy greens, and broccoli rabe or broccolini might be good search terms too. I do a basic swiss chard with olive oil, saute onion and garlic and red pepper flakes, add the chopped chard stems and then the chopped leaves to wilt. Or something fancier but more complex (perhaps not to the kids' taste) like this chard recipe with chickpeas and raisins
posted by Lady Li at 7:48 AM on December 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Lady Li at 7:48 AM on December 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Depending on if you have access to local potatoes (not sure) you might like Colcannon. It’s mash with cooked greens and scallions. You don’t need to add in all the dairy but it helps.
For times when you’re not entertaining the kids, I absolutely love thinly sliced Napa or Savoy cabbage with homemade buttermilk ranch dressing. Reminds me of America, but none of the gloppiness of commercial ranch. I make faux buttermilk by combining a cup of milk with a tablespoon or so of lemon juice and letting sit for 5 minutes.
posted by Concordia at 3:12 AM on December 29, 2020
For times when you’re not entertaining the kids, I absolutely love thinly sliced Napa or Savoy cabbage with homemade buttermilk ranch dressing. Reminds me of America, but none of the gloppiness of commercial ranch. I make faux buttermilk by combining a cup of milk with a tablespoon or so of lemon juice and letting sit for 5 minutes.
posted by Concordia at 3:12 AM on December 29, 2020
Response by poster: Thanks everybody for all the suggestions! It's given me a ton of inspiration, and ideas for new things to cook!
posted by destrius at 5:59 AM on December 30, 2020
posted by destrius at 5:59 AM on December 30, 2020
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posted by theora55 at 6:48 PM on December 27, 2020