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The green onion is a popular garnish in soups, stir-fries and many other dishes here in the islands. Its close cousin, the chive, is less widely known, but can be used in the same manner with an added snappy flavor. Garlic chive or Chinese chive, with its delicate garlicky flavor, is the variety most commonly found here. GARLIC CHIVES
The basics: Garlic chives are part of the onion family, believed to have originated in Central Asia. They differ in both look and flavor from the common European chive. Garlic chive leaves are flat and broader and come in green, yellow and flowering varieties.
Yellow garlic chives are forced to grow in darkness and are a bit more fragile, while flowering garlic chives are stiffer, harvested at the bud stage. These stems harbor the strongest flavor among chives and normally appear in the summer and fall.
Garlic chives are a good source of vitamins A and C.
Selecting: Make sure stems are sturdy and not wilted. Buds on flowering chives should be tightly closed. Garlic chives should smell faintly pungent and not overwhelmingly strong -- a clear sign of age.
Storing: Garlic chives may be covered with a paper towel and stored in plastic in the refrigerator for a couple of days. The leaves wilt easily and should be used as soon as possible. After several days they will start to emit a strong odor.
Use: Garlic chives, like common chives, are best used as garnish or added toward the end of cooking time. They should be snipped or chopped just before use. Chive pancakes and omelets are popular in Asian cooking.
Flowering chives are best enjoyed in stir-fry dishes. They add a tasty hint of garlic flavor and an interesting aesthetic quality. Keep flowering chives in long pieces for a unique look.
Garlic chives are also excellent in soups
Where to buy: Garlic chives are readily found in most markets year-round, but the flowering variety is a bit harder to find. Chinatown is probably your best bet. They sell for about $1 a bunch.
Food Stuffs: Morsels
Eleanor Nakama-Mitsunaga is
a free-lance food writer. Contact her
online through features@starbulletin.com
