Gai lan

Gai lan

Gai lan
Species Brassica oleracea
Cultivar group Alboglabra Group
Origin unknown
Gai lan

"Gai lan" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 芥蘭
Simplified Chinese 芥兰
Hanyu Pinyin jièlán
Literal meaning mustard orchid
Burmese name
Burmese ကိုက်လန်
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet cải làn or cải rổ
Thai name
Thai คะน้า (khana)

Gai lan (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra)[1] is the Chinese name for a vegetable that is also known as Chinese broccoli [2] or Chinese kale. It is a leaf vegetable featuring thick, flat, glossy blue-green leaves with thick stems, and flower heads similar to but much smaller than broccoli. Broccoli and gai lan belong to the same species Brassica oleracea, but gai lan is in the group alboglabra (from Latin albus "white" and glabrus "hairless"). Its flavor is very similar to that of broccoli, but slightly more bitter. It is also noticeably stronger.

Hybrids

Broccolini is a hybrid between broccoli and gai lan, produced by Mann Packing Company, Inc.

Cultivation

Gai lan can be sown in late summer for early-winter harvesting. Seedlings planted in autumn will last all winter.

Uses

Gai lan is eaten widely in Chinese cuisine, Common preparations include gai lan stir-fried with ginger and garlic, and boiled or steamed and served with oyster sauce. It is also common in Vietnamese, Burmese and Thai cuisine.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Brassica oleracea L. var. alboglabra (L. H. Bailey) Musil". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  2. ↑ Patrick J. Cummings; Hans-Georg Wolf (2011). A Dictionary of Hong Kong English: Words from the Fragrant Harbor. Hong Kong University Press. p. 62. ISBN 9789888083305.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.