Choy sum (also spelled choi sum, choi sam in
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...
; cai xin, caixin in
Standard Mandarin) is a leafy vegetable commonly used in
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many o ...
. It is a member of the genus ''
Brassica
''Brassica'' () is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family ( Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants. Crops from this genus are sometimes called ''cole c ...
'' of the mustard family,
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The leav ...
(''Brassica rapa'' var. ''parachinensis'' or ''Brassica chinensis'' var. ''parachinensis''). Choy sum is a transliteration of the Cantonese name (), which can be literally translated as "heart of the vegetable". It is also known as Chinese flowering cabbage.
Description
Choy sum is a green leafy vegetable similar to
gai lan
Gai lan, kai-lan, Chinese broccoli, Chinese kale, or jie lan (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''alboglabra'') is a leaf vegetable with thick, flat, glossy blue-green leaves with thick stems, and florets similar to (but much smaller than) broccoli. ...
, and can be characterized by the distinct yellow flowers which it bears. Each flower has four yellow, oval to round
petals with six stamens on fleshy, erect stems which are in diameter and tall with light to dark green, and are oval (becomes
acuminate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...
shaped, or basal-shaped near the flowering stage) with slightly serrated margins leaves, which never forms compact heads like the cabbage. Fruits can develop out of cross-pollination or self-pollination, and are
silique
A silique or siliqua (plural ''siliques'' or ''siliquae'') is a type of fruit (seed capsule) having two fused carpels with the length being more than three times the width. When the length is less than three times the width of the dried fruit i ...
structured, that open at maturity through
dehiscence or drying to bare open to brown or black seeds that are small and round in shape. A single pod can bear 4 to 46 seeds.
The height of the plant varies greatly, ranging from depending on the growing conditions and the variety. Flowering usually appears when there are about 7 to 8 leaves on the plant or about tall. The bulk of the root system is found within a depth of and is confined to a radius of .
The whole plant is overall an
annual
Annual may refer to:
*Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year
** Yearbook
** Literary annual
*Annual plant
*Annual report
*Annual giving
*Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco
*Annuals (band), ...
,
herbaceous plant, rarely
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...
, rarely growing into subshrubs. The whole plant consists of a simple or branched (when it is near the flowering stage), leafy structure. It grows best in soil with a minimum
pH level of 5.6, maximum pH level of 7.5.
Gallery
Chinese vegetable 027.jpg, Typical choy sum fresh from field in Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
Phak kwangtung905.JPG, Choy sum variety in Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
, called phàk Kwangtûng (lit: Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...
cabbage; cabbage of Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
)
Purple Choi Sum stalks besides ruler.JPG, Purple choi sum, a choy sum variety in Hong Kong
Choy Sum with Soy Sauce.jpg, Cooked choy sum in soy sauce in Hong Kong
See also
*
List of leaf vegetables
This is a list of vegetables which are grown or harvested primarily for the consumption of their leafy parts, either raw or cooked. Many vegetables with leaves that are consumed in small quantities as a spice such as oregano, for medicinal purpo ...
*
Bok choy
Bok choy (American English, Canadian English, and Australian English), pak choi (British English) or pok choi (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''chinensis'') is a type of Chinese cabbage, used as food. ''Chinensis'' varieties do not form heads and have ...
References
Brassica
Cantonese cuisine
East Asian vegetables
Leaf vegetables
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