GARDENING : Freshest Source for a Stir-Fry

As familiarity with the cooking styles of Asian countries increases in Southern California, so is local interest in growing Oriental vegetables. While some of the specialty vegetables are carried at Asian markets and some supermarkets, many are still hard to find fresh.

The good news is that many are easy to grow and do well in our mild climate.

“We are able to grow almost anything here that can be grown in China, Korea, Japan and other Asian countries,” says certified nurseryman Steve Kawaratani, who is landscape manager of Laguna Nursery in Laguna Beach. “We have the added bonus of having a 10-month growing season here, compared to two to three months in many other areas, which means a higher yield,” he says.

Although vegetables such as Chinese bitter melon, bok choy and daikon (a type of radish) are not common in many Orange County gardens, they are a staple in Asian gardens and kitchens. “Southern California gardeners have traditionally produced the standard beans, peppers, tomatoes and eggplants,” says seed specialist Andrew Goldsmith of San Clemente. He oversees the Southern California region for Vaughan’s Seed Co., which sells vegetable seeds to greenhouses, nurseries and farmers.

“Growing Oriental vegetables gives people a chance to try a variety of vegetables with new flavors, colors and textures,” says Goldsmith, who regularly visits Japan to work with seed companies there to determine what Oriental vegetable types grow best in California. “Having these vegetables on hand also enables you to prepare authentic ethnic dishes,” he says.

“Even if you can find Oriental vegetables in the market, they’re always much fresher and better tasting from your own back yard,” Kawaratani says. “You can also garden organically.”

While the list of Oriental vegetables is long, there are several popular types that do well in Southern California.

If it’s peppers you yearn for, Goldsmith suggests growing the shishito pepper, a mild light green Japanese pepper about two to three inches long that is often used in stir-fries.

There are also tomatoes to choose from, such as the Japanese tomato odoriko. This small pink vegetable has a slightly pointed end and exceptional flavor, Goldsmith says.

In cucumbers you may want to try the Tasty Green, which is a dark green burpless Japanese slicer that grows up to 10 inches.

Market Express is a small white Japanese turnip one to two inches long with dark green leaves. This is heat-tolerant and does very well in Southern California.

Also popular is the kabocha, which means winter squash or pumpkin in Japanese. These squash are known for their dark golden-orange skin, says Goldsmith, noting that this vegetable is often grown here and sent to Japan. He suggests the Honey Delite, a large squash with good taste.

A vegetable that many non-Asians have heard about but aren’t familiar with growing is bok choy. This white Chinese cabbage is tender, sweet and very mild. In Asian cooking, bok choy is often prepared alone or mixed with meats and in soups. Because this vegetable tends to be large, gardeners with limited space may want to try a dwarf variety.

Of all Oriental vegetables, the snow pea is perhaps the most widely known and grown.

Laguna Beach gardener Herb Lee regularly grows a large crop of snow peas. “They are my favorite vegetable,” he says, adding that he will prepare them alone or mix them into noodles or in stir-fries.

Lee also enjoys the shiny purple Japanese eggplant. This he slices and sautes with beef, pork or tofu. Two popular varieties are ichiban and Long Tom.

Ashok Saggar, a native of India and an avid gardener, also names Japanese eggplant as a favorite vegetable, but he prepares it differently--adding spices and sauteing it with potatoes.

Saggar said he began growing Oriental vegetables years ago when he moved to the United States and couldn’t find any of his favorites. On a visit to India, he picked up a supply of seeds, came back and started planting.

Today, Saggar and his family enjoy a variety of Oriental vegetables from his Newport Beach garden. Among their favorites is the Chinese bitter melon ( foo gwah ), a long, pale-green lumpy vegetable that is bitter even after it’s been cooked. Saggar likes the bitter melon cut into small pieces and cooked with onions, tomatoes and spices.

The Chinese winter melon ( doong gwah ) has white firm flesh, and some say it looks like a watermelon. Although the Chinese typically make winter melon soup with this vegetable, Saggar has a very different use for it.

“We grate the entire winter melon, including the skin, and mix it with ground lentils and spices,” he says. “Then we use the mixture to make small cakes, which we dry in the sun for a week.”

These rock-hard cakes can be reconstituted in water and will keep for a couple of years if stored properly in an airtight jar, he says. They are considered a delicacy and impart great flavor to many dishes.

*

An unusual variety of bean found in many Oriental vegetable gardens is the yard-long bean ( dow gauk ).

This dark-green Chinese bean can grow to 18 inches long. Saggar likes them, he says, because even when cooked, they do not become mushy like other beans. He cuts them into small pieces and adds spices, onions and fresh ginger.

Saggar says the Oriental ginger root he likes to grow flavors nearly every dish his wife makes. This is a bulb that grows in the ground for a year and is harvested in the spring.

Mustard greens are another Asian delicacy found in many dishes. They are used like spinach and can be eaten raw or cooked and mixed into different dishes.

Another basic vegetable is the daikon, a radish that can grow up to two feet long. These are eaten cooked and raw and are commonly used in soups, stir-fries and salads.

To plant Oriental vegetables, seeds are your best choice because they are economical and more readily available than plants, although you can find some plants in nurseries.

Warm-season plants such as eggplants, cucumbers, melons, tomatoes, beans and peppers can be seeded in the next month or so indoors and will be ready for transplant in April.

Cool-season crops such as snow peas and mustard greens can be seeded directly in the ground now and should give a crop before the weather gets too warm.

When seeding indoors, make sure to use a light potting mix that is high in vermiculite and/or perlite, or add these ingredients to lighten your potting soil. Let the seeds germinate in a sunny window, and once the plants come up, slowly introduce them to the outdoors.

Before planting Oriental vegetables, soil preparation is very important.

“The secret to good vegetables is the soil itself,” says Saggar, who has worked on improving his soil for 10 years. He uses homemade compost and fertilizes with composted rabbit and chicken manure.

Keep in mind that many of these plants do best in acid soils. In Orange County, soil tends to be alkaline. Nurseryman Kawaratani suggests having your soil tested by taking a sample to your local nursery or testing it yourself. You want the pH to be 6.0 to 6.5.

To acidify an alkaline soil, there are several amendments you can use, including gypsum, which besides lowering pH will lighten heavy clay soil. Leaf mold and soil sulfur will also acidify soil. Other good soil lighteners include planter’s mix, sand, vermiculite and redwood compost.

Planting location for your vegetables is also important. In general, Oriental vegetables require an average of seven hours of sun a day. Some plants such as leaf crops can often go with a little less sun, and some fruiting vegetables such as eggplant often need all-day sun to do well.

Many Oriental vegetables thrive in containers, says Kawaratani, who suggests using no smaller than a 15-gallon pot. Be careful not to crowd the vegetables when planting in containers or the ground, he cautions, as overcrowding will lead to reduced yields.

A 15-gallon container will comfortably hold just one eggplant, a couple snow pea plants, one kohlrabi and a couple heads of bok choy, Kawaratani says.

Fertilize your Oriental vegetable plants on a regular basis with a general all-purpose fertilizer. Kawaratani suggests looking for a ratio of 2-1-1 when the plant is growing and then switching to 1-2-1 or 1-2-2 once the plant starts fruiting.

One drawback to our mild, almost perpetual growing season is the constant presence of pests, which Kawaratani says are able to over-winter in the soil.

To prevent pest damage, keep all vegetables away from the soil. It’s also a good idea to regularly visually inspect your vegetables and pull off any pests.

If the infestation is too heavy, try spraying the plants with water, which is particularly effective with aphids, or bring in friendly pest predators, such as ladybugs. If these methods don’t work, try an insecticidal soap.

Keep plant roots cool in summer by mulching with products such as planter mix and homemade compost, and watering on a regular basis. A drip irrigation system is often the most expedient method.

Although Oriental vegetable seeds and even plants are becoming easier to obtain, you may want to save your own seeds, as Saggar does.

He has a complete supply of seeds and never buys unless he finds a new variety.

To save Oriental vegetable seeds, Saggar says, toward the end of a plant’s growing season single out a piece or two of produce that is healthy and large and leave it alone, allowing it to grow big and dry out some.

Just before the vegetable starts to burst, pick the produce, cut it open and spread the seeds on a paper towel. Separate the seeds from the pulp and place them in the sun to dry for a couple days.

Then store the seeds in labeled plastic bags and put them in the refrigerator.