Other names: Bok Choy Hearts

Availability: All year.

Source: Asia and the United States.

Handling Tips: 34°F, keep cold, may mist occasionally

General Information: Very bright white stalks that are crunchy and sweet, crowned by ruffled, emerald color leaves that look similar to spinach. Choy Sum is one of the most popular vegetables in Hong Kong and Southern China. This vegetable is used in various stir-fry dishes and soups in Cantonese cuisine. Choy Sum is very similar to the white petiole large Pak Choy, but featuring more tender and delicious stems and flower buds/tips for vegetable use. Whole plants are harvested prior to the flower buds beginning to blossom. Excellent when steamed, stir fried or sliced into soups.

A special note for the name, "Choy Sum": Choy Sum, in Chinese, means the central stems and flower tips of vegetable. Many vegetables are often called, in China, by the plant portions being used for cooking. Choy Sum may also be used by some pepole to call the green stem type greens. Green Choy Sum is generally to refer Yu-Choy.