Asian Fruit and Veg -- A Glossary -- Please Contribute

[Super Izzie]

Hi,

I'm Asian and I love the exotic flavors of our cuisine. I saw this thread and just wanted to add a few more ingredients used in Asian cooking, if that's alright with you guys.

Okra
Banana Bud/Blossom
Squash Flowers/Blossoms
Winged Beans
Winter Melon
Hyacinth Bean
Jute Leaves
Moringa/West Indian Ben

Happy cooking everyone!

[Leggy Peggy]

Welcome to the forum.
It would be fantastic if you added more ingredients. Thanks for contributing.

[Super Izzie]

Just a quick guide to help:

Okra

Also called "lady's fingers," okra tend to be slimy when cooked and are used in thick stews, soups, stir-fry and a variety of other vegetable and specialty dishes. Oil pressed from okra seeds contain high unsaturated fat content, plus it's a really healthy vegetable. It's also used in Caribbean, South American and Middle Eastern recipes, and takes from 8-12 minutes to cook.

Banana Bud/Blossom

This deep red bud that grows at the end of the stem bearing the cluster of bananas is used as a vegetable. The layers are peeled off and the pale yellow "heart"of the blossom is shredded or sliced as an ingredient in salads, noodles, soups or curries. It can be quite tough and stringy, especially if the blossom is not young or fresh, so steaming or soaking may be necessary before use in recipes.

[Super Izzie]

Squash Blossoms/Flowers

Squash blossoms form an important part of Asian and Native American cooking. The bright yellow-orange flowers can be harvested either in mid- or full-bloom. They are used in stews, sauce-based dishes or served in salads, both as an attractive addition and an exotic ingredient. Squash tendrils, leaves and shoots are also edible greens.

Winged Beans

Also called the asparagus bean, winged pea, four-angled bean and goa bean, winged beans are identifiable by their four frilly "wings" running lengthwise down the bean. The taste is described to be similar to asparagus and is cooked in a similar manner to other bean types. All parts of this plant are edible, and are good sources of nutrients.

[Leggy Peggy]

These are fantastic ZyeA.
I'll get them all linked up to page 1 when I get back home in about a week.
Great stuff. Thanks so much.

[Super Izzie]

Just to finish the section on these Asian vegetables.

Winter Melon

Other names are white gourd, wax gourd, fuzzy gourd or fuzzy melon and ash gourd. It can grow to as much as 80cm long abd keeps for a long period of time - up to a year. The flesh is thick, white and rather sweet. It is used as fillings, for stir fry, soups, stews, curries and in some countries, as candied treats. It is also used to produce a fruit juice or winter melon tea and is believed to whet one's appetite, cure kidney stones and increase sperm count.

Hyacinth Bean

Also called Indian bean or Egyptian bean, this is grown in tropical countries and has a lovely, deep purple color although some species are green and look like pea pods. These beans have high nutritional value and are a great example for sustainable land development. These pods are used in curries, stews, salads, even bread in Africa. A word of caution though: dry hyacinth bean seeds may be poisonous so prolonged boiling is required for such.

Jute Leaves

Jute plants are an all-purpose resource in Asia, the Middle East and parts of Africa. Containing plenty of vitamins, particularly beta-carotene, jute leaves are also known as saluyot and ewedu, used to thicken soups, stews, sauces and vegetable dishes. These leaves are long and narrow, with slightly serrated edges, bought either fresh, frozen or dried. Young jute leaves are best as older leaves are more fibrous. Jute leaves are cooked whole or chopped, and some prefer to salt them prior to cooking to remove some of the slimy quality. The longer jute leaves cook, the slimier they get and the thicker the food becomes.

Moringa/West Indian Bean

Considered one of the most useful trees, the moringa tree is also called benzolive tree, West Indian ben, drumstick tree, ben oil tree or horseradish tree. Practically all parts of the tree can be used, but moringa leaves are the most commonly-used. These leaves have very high nutritional content and are currently being marketed in powdered, oil and liquid form as a health and medicinal supplement but the seeds, flowers, bark, roots and sap are all used in traditional medicine too. Moringa leaves can be used as garnish, chopped and mixed with other seasonings, in soups, juices, teas, curries, salads, omelettes, pasta sauces or boiled on their own.

So glad to see so many people interested in Asian cuisine - looking forward to checking out the recipes posted on this!

[Leggy Peggy]

ZyeA, your contributions are excellent and so very much appreciated.
I'm going to ask Celticevergreen if he can figure out how to link each one
individually, so that I can link them from page 1.
Do you mind if we separate them into individual posts?

Also, I've read your About Me page and noticed your love of travel.
I'm a travel nut too. You might enjoy reading my travel blog at
http://leggypeggy.com. Entries are categorised by country.

[Super Izzie]

No problem, go ahead and chop them up. Yes, I love going places, being on the road is always a thrill! I'd love to check out your blog - always look forward to a vacation and just might find inspiration there.

[Leggy Peggy]

Thanks for the go-ahead to separate the items.
Hope you like the blog—it's about our road trips.