I had a stunning Chinese meal a few months ago (courtesy of the Baltimore-area Chowhounds) in which a stir-fried chive blossom dish really stood out in deliciousness and simplicity. It was basically just chive blossom stalks sauteed in a very light sauce. My garden is now offering me a meal's worth of chive blossoms, but I can't find a recipe for them. Any ideas?
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=stir-fried+chive...
Here's a simple recipe (though with some tofu) with garlic, Shaoxing wine and chicken stock.
http://www.redcook.net/2008/02/27/chi...
That's awesome - I've never seen that lmgtfy site before. Pretty hilarious and it's how I feel all the time here on this site.
Anyway, my suggestion is just to use them as a garnish. You can use a lot of them and make them part of a dish, but you don't HAVE to cook them like in a stir fry. Just break apart the flowers and you have a colorful and tasty addition to almost any dish imaginable.
Steak? Add some chive flowers on top. Quiche? Add some chive flowers on top. BBQ pork ribs? Add some chive flowers on top. Sauteed veggies? Add some chive flowers on top. Oven roasted whole fish? Add some chive flowers on top. Pasta? Add some chive flowers on top. You get the idea.
Glass of milk? Don't add some chive flowers on top.
I have, in fact, not only seen but used that lmgtfy site before, and (of course) I had Googled the query myself before I posted here. SQHD, I'm not looking for garnish ideas (which are all over the Google results)--I'm looking for what I asked for. The chive blossoms + tofu recipe is the closest approximation to what I think I had at the Chinese place, minus the tofu. I'll try it. I was hoping to hear from someone with actual experience at cooking these things.
were the blossoms all opened up or were they still the little buds like in the tofu picture? I always figured the flowers would be kind of hairy on the tongue, but confess I've never tried them.
As a matter of fact, no. They look like chives, only very slightly thicker. Not garlic chives (which might be what I ate at the Chinese place, but are not what's growing in my garden). Mine are like this:
just a practical question; is it a pain to get *just* the flower stalks and not the rest of the chives?
Correct - that's just the first picture I came across from the first website from the lmgtfy thing I linked to so I just clicked on it - but you're right, those are larger chives than what you would find in say a typical home garden. In any case they are the chive buds, not the true purple blossom flowers which as others have stated, is almost always used as a garnish.
I now have the purple chive blossoms in abundance; previously, when I had the recipe I had no blossoms. Go figure. However mine grow on individual stems, one blossom to a stem.
My memory persists that these flowers were used to
flavor culinary oil. Probably safflower oil.
Did you realize that Canola oil is mostly made from genetically modified ingredients? Plus it is another nasty byproduct of industry, rescued and perpetrated to make money from a product, an unfit product. Just like fluoride.
OP, are you looking to use the chives, or the lavender blossoms? The chives can be used to garnish, or add to any egg dish, any potato dish etc. It adds onion-y flavor. The blossoms are EXTREMELY strong, but can still be used sparingly to garnish. For example-a gingered carrot soup.
The blossom stalks are what I'm talking about. They aren't yet flowered, still buds. The blossom stalks are different in taste and "structure" from the chives themselves. I do use the chives all the time, but I'm energized to stir-fry those blossom stalks after eating them at the Chinese place. I didn't know they were so delicious, and up to now I have just tossed them away.
Here is a Korean recipe for garlic or Asian chive stems, it works well with either. It may be similar to what you are looking for. This dish is typically served as one of the many side dishes that come with Korean meals.
Maneuljjong-Bokkeum , 마늘종볶음 (Sauteed Garlic Stems)
Ingredients
3/4 lb fresh garlic stems
1 tablespoon blended sesame/soy bean oil or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon rice wine
1 teaspoon pure toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Directions
Preparation
Wash garlic stems in cold water and drain well.
Cut stems into one inch lengths.
Thin slice the garlic cloves from top to bottom
Cooking
Heat a pan over high heat then add oil.
Add garlic stems and stir fry until tender, three to four minutes.
Add soy sauce, sugar, rice wine, and salt and cook for an additional one to two minutes.
Add sliced garlic and sesame oil and cook for 30 seconds to one minute.
Transfer to serving dish and garnish with sesame seeds
sounds wonderful. I can't wait to get fresh, flowering chives at my farmers markets!
I just made this recipe tonight, exactly as written. It was absolutely delicious. I served it with some green bananas that I boiled and then sautéed with onions olive oil and ginger for a light vegan dinner. Thank you for the posting (7 years ago)!!
These were the chive blossoms I was thinking of. They should be in the DC area in a week or two..or three ;-)
http://houndstoothgourmet.com/at-the-...
see pic
I bought a big bunch of chives with blossoms at my farmer's market on Saturday. So far I've just been putting the blossoms in salad. Very tasty and so pretty!
1. Stir fried with dried shrimp/cuttle fish, shredded five spice tofu, salted meat, oyster sauce'
OR
2. Cook in boiling water for 1-2 mins. Drain. Toss in some good quality soy sauce/ oyster sauce/sesame oil.
by Jen Wheeler | Need a spring vegetable guide to what's in season? Consider this your spring produce cheat sheet—complete...
by Rachel Johnson | Whether the kids are still distance learning or returning to a classroom, with school back in session...
by Kelly Magyarics | You’ve sprung for a gorgeous piece of enameled cast iron cookware; protect your investment by cleaning...
by Debbie Wolfe | Home chefs love wood cutting boards because they are durable and reliable. Wood boards are attractive...