Home » Gardening Information » Kitchen Gardening
Bok Choy: Avoiding Confusion at the Asian Market
Plants & Gardens News Volume 12, Number 4 | Winter 1997
by Stephen K-M. Tim
"And what did you do in New York?" "We ate in Chinatown."
Ask any out-of-towner what he or she wants to do when visiting the Big Apple, and chances are that dinner in the city's Asian hub will be high on the list. Why? Good question. Especially if you eavesdrop on a group of tourists as they snake their way between the serious shoppers (the ones with the multiple plastic bags, bulging with citrus and green leaves) in the crowded markets of Chinatown.
Our out-of-town friends' visit to Chinatown bears great similarity to their stop at the Guggenheim—to look, to point, to pass comment. In Chinatown, the bins lining every thoroughfare are the novelty, mounded with edible fare of every description—none bearing any resemblance to items they'd buy at their local Stop and Shop. To the tourist who'd find a head of fennel unusual, the wall-to-wall stalls must give the impression of a Martian marketplace. Little wonder that puzzled faces are commonplace: "Heavens, Emily, what are those long, pink root-things?"
The shopkeeper is usually not much help either. "Lotus," he or she booms, seeing the finger aimed at the bin that clearly announces the contents in very plain Cantonese. "From China." Heads would really turn if the out-of-town shopper replied: "Four pounds, please!"
Then there are the bunches of what must be vegetables since they are green. The mystery items are examined—"Now what would you do with that?"—and guesses ventured as to their purpose: the vase, gout, or the pot.
Durian fruits elicit special attention. They are the football-sized, viciously spiky objects guarded by a sign that warns: DON'T TOUCH. You may think this most considerate of the store, protecting its customers from impalement, but it's actually to prevent them from bruising the fruits.
The love/hate relationship with the durian bears telling. The odor of this fruit has been described as a mixture of onions, old cheese, and turpentine or, more picturesquely, as a "custard passed through a sewer." So penetrating is the odor that the fruits are forbidden from being eaten aboard airlines, the result, perhaps, of an interchange between a pilot and an air-control tower: "We request emergency landing. We have a durian on board."
The reaction to the store windows festooned with hanging ducks and chickens, beautifully browned, is equally fascinating. The heads, still attached to the birds, serve as the conversation piece and the factor that inhibits most tourists from savoring these delectable items.
So, how come the universal memorable experience of a visit to New York is the Chinatown meal, which rarely includes the real delicacies like sea cucumber, periwinkles, and water convolvulus? Maybe because good ol' won ton soup and those egg rolls are reminders of home!
Stephen K-M. Tim is the late Vice President for Science, Library, and Publications at BBG.