Eat Your (Asian) Vegetables!

One of my projects for the cookbook is to develop a rice porridge recipe similar to nanakusa gayu (七草がゆ), a comforting Japanese dish. Nanakusa literally means seven greens. The choice of greens varies by season, but they are the primary seasoning ingredients in the recipe.

Trying to find suitable greens in North American supermarkets is a challenge. Grocers in Japan stock produce such as perilla leaves, edible chrysanthemum, variegated water parsley, shepherd's purse, Jersey cudweed, chickweed, lapsana, turnip leaves and daikon leaves -- common ingredients in the nanakusa gayu. Clearly, substitutions are necessary on this side of the Pacific.

One of my first picks is kai-lan or Chinese broccoli, a relative of kale. It is easily available in Chinese groceries and some adventurous supermarket chains. It looks like rapini with its broad leaves and vestigial flower heads, but when stir-fried, a mellow flavor emerges unlike the slight bitterness imbued in rapini leaves.

I chopped a large fistful of kai-lan leaves into fine strips, quickly fried them in cooking oil, then tossed it with a bowl of rice. Next, I grated a daikon radish, topped a small mound of daikon on top of the rice, drizzled some soy sauce, and sprinkled some yuzu-flavored ground hot pepper flakes (available at Japanese shops). The daikon added a palate-cleansing zip that contrasted with the mildness of the rice and greens. It was a deeply satisfying meal in a bowl.