Choy sum (also spelled choi sum or choi sam in

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

; cai xin in

Standard Mandarin Standard Chinese ( zh, s=现代标准汉语, t=現代標準漢語, p=Xiàndài biāozhǔn hànyǔ, l=modern standard Han speech) is a modern Standard language, standard form of Mandarin Chinese that was first codified during the Republic of ...

) is a leafy vegetable commonly used in

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...

. It is a member of the genus '' Brassica'' of the mustard family,

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older but equally valid) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important Family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous pla ...

('' Brassica rapa'' var. ''parachinensis'' or '' Brassica chinensis'' var. ''parachinensis''). Choy sum is a transliteration of the Cantonese name (), which can be literally translated as "heart of the vegetable". Choy sum is also called yu choy (you cai in Standard Mandarin; Chinese: 油菜). It is also known as Chinese flowering cabbage.

Description

Choy sum is a green leafy vegetable similar to gai lan, and can be characterized by the distinct yellow flowers which it bears. Each flower has four yellow, oval to round

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s with six stamens on fleshy, erect stems which are in diameter and tall with light to dark green, and are oval (becomes acuminate shaped, or basal-shaped near the flowering stage) with slightly serrated margins leaves, which never forms compact heads like the cabbage. Fruits can develop out of cross-pollination or self-pollination, and are silique structured, that open at maturity through dehiscence or drying to bare open to brown or black seeds that are small and round in shape. A single pod can bear 4 to 46 seeds. The height of the plant varies greatly, ranging from depending on the growing conditions and the variety. Flowering usually appears when there are about 7 to 8 leaves on the plant or about tall. The bulk of the root system is found within a depth of and is confined to a radius of . The whole plant is overall an annual,

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

plant, rarely

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

, rarely growing into subshrubs. The whole plant consists of a simple or branched (when it is near the flowering stage), leafy structure. It grows best in soil with a minimum pH level of 5.6, maximum pH level of 7.5.

Use

Choy sum is highly valued as a vegetable in China and Japan. It is commonly consumed in soup, blanched, or stir-fried.

Gallery

Chinese vegetable 027.jpg, Typical choy sum fresh from field in

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

Phak kwangtung905.JPG, Choy sum variety in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, called phàk Kwangtûng (lit:

cabbage; cabbage of

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

) Purple Choi Sum stalks besides ruler.JPG, Purple choi sum, a choy sum variety in Hong Kong Choy Sum with Soy Sauce.jpg, Cooked choy sum in soy sauce in Hong Kong

References

Brassica Cantonese cuisine East Asian vegetables Leaf vegetables {{vegetable-stub

Description

Use

Gallery

See also

References