JiJu inspiration - Jade (Turnip greens) fried rice 去“蕪”存”菁“翡翠蛋炒飯

I discovered a very tasty veggie in the open market today.

The story begins like this: I've been looking for different green leafy veggie on internet to enrich our diet balance. It seems "Kale" got a lot of credit due to it contains various important nutritions, such as vitamin K, C and rich in calcium and beta carotene. Then researches have shown that kale help lower cholesterol and decrease absorption of dietary fat. Some people even deep fry kale to substitute chips for healthy concerns (which I highly doubt it! Deep frying tactic is the No. 1 nutrition killer no matter how precious ingredient you are using!) I decided to give kale a try if I can find any in the open market.

I am terrible at memorizing Dutch even I translated kale into Dutch and repeated in my head three times before leave my lovely home, I still couldn't remember how it called when I was on spot. I was caught by a veggie named "Keeltjes" and I thought I finally found it!! HURRAY!! 

I came home with a big smile and ready to show off my discover to my boyfriend. Just before that, I wanted to double check if I got the "right kale" so I translated "keeltjes" back to English. "WHAT!!! It is not Kale, it is TURNIP GREENS" They are both starts with a K and L somewhere in the spelling. How can you blame me! Anyway, both are new veggie to me and I am pretty sure I can do something on it. I started digging this lovely keeltjes online, here is some information I found from Wiki

"Turnip leaves are sometimes eaten as "turnip greens" ("turnip tops" in the UK), and they resemble mustard greens in flavor. Turnip greens are a common side dish in southeastern US cooking, primarily during late fall and winter. Smaller leaves are preferred; however, any bitter taste of larger leaves can be reduced by pouring off the water from initial boiling and replacing it with fresh water. Varieties specifically grown for the leaves resemble mustard greens more than those grown for the roots, with small or no storage roots. Varieties of B. rapa that have been developed only for the use of leaves are called Chinese cabbage. Both leaves and root have a pungent flavor similar to raw cabbage or radishes that becomes mild after cooking."

I am Kale

I am Turnip greens (Keeltjes)

Great! It looks like a worthy buy given the high value of nutrition and similar taste of Chinese cabbage (or Bok Choy, or Paksoi in dutch) which I adore for a long time. For the record, some people comment the taste of keeltjes is between spinach and arugula. I thought of one classic fried rice recipes on my moms cooking book when she was preparing for professional cooking certificate exam in Taiwan - "Jade fried rice". "Jade" depicts the shinny green color of finely chopped bok choy evenly presented among the rice. It might be a good idea to cook this gorgeous fried rice by using my new friend, keeltjes to replace traditional ingredient. Guess what?! It is the BEST fried rice I've ever had! It tastes even better than traditional bok choy with tender juicy chopped leaves and generous fresh smell! It is a thrilling news for Taiwanese living in Holland who are craving for this hommy taste! Just try it if you come across keeltjes next time!

 



Ingredients: (Serving 1 bowel)

1. 2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2. 1 cup of turnip greens, chopped
3. 1/2 cup of black wood ear, chopped
4. 1 egg
5. 1 bowel of rice, cooked (overnight preferable*)
6. Pinch of white sesame (optional)


* Overnight rice is preferable because it is less sticky. If you use the just-cooked rice, remember to reduce water volume when you cook.

Seasoning:
1. 1tsp soy sauce
2. Pinch of sugar
3. Pinch of salt
4. Pinch of black pepper

Instructions:
1.  Heat oil pan, add garlic and cook until its aromatic. Add black wood ear for more texture.

 

2.  Crack an egg, add rice on the top before the egg is formed. Give it a good stir (if you can, flip the pan quickly to make each rice as separate as possible)

 

3. Add soy sauce and sugar (to provides better flavor with soy sauce and reduce the bitterness from turnip greens) and stir fry until all the ingredients are well-combine.
4. Add chopped turnip greens and cook until it softens.

 

5. Add pinch of salt and black pepper for more flavor. Sprinkle white sesame on the top and serve warm.

Note: Keep the high heat through out the whole cooking procedure, flip the pan as much as you can preventing from stickiness of rice.