VEGETABLES & FRUITS

Aubergines (Eggplant) are fruits, but eaten as vegetables. * Thai aubergine (white aubergine) are round and firm, the size of a ping-pong ball, these streaky pale aubergine and cream-coloured aubergines are usually halved and added to stews and curries. * Pea aubergines literally the size of garden peas, it grow in clusters and have a slightly bitter taste with a pleasantly firm texture. Usually added to spicy dipping sauces and curries.

Green papaya, for use in Thai cooking. Papaya must be totally unripe, the flesh so light green it is almost white.

Choy sum (sawi -Malay) also known as flowering pak choy or flowering cabbage, these greens sprout yellow flowers at the shoot. The flowers are cooked along with the greens and stems. Commonly boiled, stir-fry or steamed.

Kai choy (mustard cabbage) is distinguised by large gnarled stems and broad leaves. It is very popular in Asian cooking for pickling, soups or stir-fries. It has a mild flavour that increases in pungency as the plant matures. Blanching in hot water may reduce the pungent flavour.

Chinese chives (kucai -Malay) are thick, flat, garlic-scented chives are stronger in flavour than the slender variety used in Western cooking. It is best eaten raw or very lightly cooked. The plump flower bud is edible.

Kai-lan (Chinese broccoli), is a slightly bitter leaf vegetable featuring thick, flat, glossy blue-green leaves with thick stems and a small number of tiny, almost vestigial flower heads similar to those of broccoli. Its flavor is very similar to that of broccoli, though not identical, being a bit sweeter.

Ong choy (kangkung -Malay), also known as water convolvulus, water spinach or morning glory. A green leafy vegetables that can be found growing wild beside streams. Unrelated to regular spinach, it does have a spinach -like taste with crunchy stems and tender, light-green, arrow-shaped leaves.

Pak choy (bok choy) leaves are soft and succulent, with crunchy white or green stalks and young sweet flavoured flower shoots. The whole plant is edible. The slight mustard flavor of Pak Choi makes it a delightful addition to stir-fries, soups, noodle and meat dishes, and salads, if the young leaves are used. * Green pak choy (Shanghai pak choy) has light green leaves and light green stalks. * White pak choy has thick green leaves and long white stalks.

Chinese cabbage, resembles cos lettuce. It has a crisp texture and a milder, more delicate flavour than common cabbage.

Long beans (snake beans/ kacang panjang -Malay) are pencil-thin and dark or light green in colour. These green, long beans are the immature pods of black-eyed beans and can measure up to 60 cm in length.

Bitter melon is a wrinkled light green gourd, it has bitter-tasting flesh. It is used extensively in Southeast Asia cooking, in soups, salads and stir-fries.

Water chestnuts resemble chestnuts in appearance. They are small brown tubes with crispy white, nutty-tasting flesh. Canned water chestnuts are more easily obtained and can be refrigerated for a month after opening.

Pomelo is similar to a large grapefruit, but with thicker skins and denser pith, pomelos are sweet and mellow. Often eaten as a snack, sometimes with little salt, it is also enjoyed in salads with herbs and spices, or grilled meats.

Lychee is delicious juicy fruit, red-skinned, white-fleshed with a black seed. Eat just as they are or add to fruit salads.

Longan (dragon eye) is so named because of the fruit's resemblance to an eyeball when it is shelled (the black seed shows through the translucent flesh like a pupil/ iris). It is often used in East Asian soups, snacks, desserts, and sweet-and-sour foods. They are round with a thin, brown-coloured inedible shell. The flesh of the fruit, which surrounds a big, black seed, is translucent white, soft, and juicy.

Red dates (jujubes) -dried fruits are often eaten as a snack, or with tea. Available either red or black, the latter being smoked to enhance its flavour. In addition, red dates, often stoned, are a significant ingredient in a wide variety of Chinese delicacies.

Tiger lily buds (kim cham - Vietnamese) also known as dried banana flower or golden needles, as they are light golden in colour, are regarded as both a vegetable and a herb. They are crunchy in texture, floral-scented and earthy in flavour with mushroom overtones; available dried in form. They are particularly prized for their colour and texture in vegetarian dishes. they are also used in soup and braised dishes of Chinese origin.

Edamame - Japanese (Green soybeans) may be boiled whole in their green pod and served with salt. Soybeans prepared this way are a popular local snack in Japan, and are becoming increasingly popular.