Tatsoi - Net: 125g | Gross: 200g
Tatsoi is an Asian variety of Brassica Rapa grown for greens. This plant has become popular in North American cuisine as well and is now grown throughout the world. It is also called 'Chinese flat cabbage', 'rosette pakchoi' or 'broadbeaked mustard', 'spoon mustard', or 'spinach mustard'. Cantonese transliterations include 'tat soi', 'tat choy'.
The plant has dark green spoon-shaped leaves which form a thick rosette. It has a soft creamy texture and has a subtle yet distinctive flavour. It tastes similar to mustard or collard greens. It has a pleasant and sweet aroma flavor like a mild mustard flavour, similar to bok choy.
Tatsoi is botanically classified as Brassica narinosa and a member of the Brassicaceae, or mustard, family. It is a variety Chinese cabbage that is commonly known as spoon mustard, spinach mustard and rosette bok choy. In Chinese, its name is wu ta cai and in Japan it is known as tasai. It is treated as a cut-and-come again leafy vegetable, allowing for multiple harvests on a single plant. The plant's maturity is signaled by flowering shoots arising from the foliage. Eventually the plant will sprout seeds, marking its life cycle's migration. The seeds can be saved and used for future crops.
Nutritional Value
Tatsoi contains high levels of vitamin C, carotenoids, folic acid, calcium and potassium.
How to Use
Tatsoi is a very versatile green and may be used similarly to spinach, raw, steamed, sauteed, braised or stir fried. It makes an excellent accompaniment to other salad greens such as spinach, arugula, watercress, pea tendrils and mizuna. Its tangy and peppery notes pair well with citrus, crisp cool ingredients such as apple, fennel and mint, warm flavors that are abundantly found in chiles, garlic and allspice. Pair tatsoi with ingredients rich in umami such as scallops, mushrooms, seaweed, sesame and braised meats. Fermented ingredients such as fish sauce, soy sauce and vinegars are also complimentary matches. Lightly steam or sauté it, wilt the leaves with a warm dressing, or add them to a soup at the end of cooking.
How to Store
Store tatsoi in cold refrigeration, isolated in the crisper drawer with other cold- storage vegetables. Tatsoi has a short shelf-life and will only last a few days. Store in plastic bag and wait to wash until eating or cooking.
Fun Fact
Tatsoi is native to China, yet its culinary roots are in Japan. Its period of cultivation so deep there, it is considered an ancient green. As with all Chinese brassicas, tatsoi is a vigorous grower. It germinates quickly and seedlings develop so rapidly you can almost see them grow. Tatsoi is available year-round, with peak season in the spring and early summer.