It is almost unknown in the Americas and Europe. Achiote. See more ideas about exotic fruit, fruit, exotic. Lychee While you may be accustomed to the canned variety of this berry—a member of the soapberry family native to southern China—the fresh kind is harder to find. Unusual Edibles to grow in your Garden. However, there are still plenty of uncommon fruits and vegetables out there that have yet to be fully introduced to the American food scene. Chinese usually eat these in stir-fries and soups, but you can also eat them raw in salads. It is low in calories. But you can develop a taste for it. They can be added to fried noodle and rice dishes, as well as soups. They aren't really comparable to cabbages or lettuce. Questions and comments welcome. The Chinese culture in this story is also embedded very well, and the soup they create at the end looks and sounds delicious. Foreigners who travel to China are often shocked by weird things they have never eaten before. The long vines can grow up to 15 feet and produce delicious tubers all season long. Here collected are 10 exotic Chinese snacks you are afraid to eat. The Ugly Vegetables is a fantastic book for many different reasons. The plant has an appealingly crunchy texture with a delicately sweet taste. Chinese love it for its healthful effects, and you might too. Jicama one of the most unusual vegetables we’ve even seen. We can design a tour tailored for you. See our recommended Chinese food tours for inspiration: Our tours can be customized. As that name suggests, the Chinese flowering leek has a similar taste to a chive, but tends to be more garlicky (although not as much as actual garlic). Unusual Vegetables. Like white potatoes, it is delicately flavored, starchy, and is a root. Fuzzy Melon (Mo Qua). 9. You may be familiar with the beautiful lotus flower, but not with the long, edible stem of the plant, known as the lotus root. A popular method of preparation is to blanch and then cook the vegetable in oyster sauce, but as with any other dark leafy green, choy sum is also good steamed, stir-fried, or sautéed. Some look quite weird, but they are a very good food. It can be eaten raw or cooked and is used in soups and stir-fries, as well as the dim sum dish known as turnip cake. This wonderful yam-like root is often served in Chinese restaurants. Usually cooked in stir-fries, it’s a divisive ingredient because of its sharply bitter taste. The fruit of a tree native to Southeast Asia, these small, juicy fruits are called ‘longan,’ or ‘dragon eyes,’ because of its resemblance to an eyeball — a whitish, translucent flesh encasing a small black seed. By itself, seaweed is usually bland to the taste. They are rich in vitamins A, B, and C. Chinese love to eat green leafy things that also haven't traditionally been eaten in the colder latitudes of Europe and North America. Cooked, these are crisp and succulent. We started out extremely small and have grown significantly in the past 30 years, but it has remained our vision to provide the highest quality vegetable & fruit seeds to commercial growers worldwide. It is low in sugar, and good for diabetics. Squash Soup with Bacon 12 Strange, Yet Beautiful Fruits & Vegetables. I’ve also listed 3 must-have fresh ingredients, which you can often get at a grocery store. Some Americans are randomly being sent mysterious envelopes full of unlabeled seeds from China . Many people, especially those who live inland areas and kids, might cringe when they first try to eat slippery, rubbery seaweed. View More Replies... ... #16 This is a list of plants that have a culinary role as vegetables. You won't probably have eaten most these ten vegetables if you live in North or South America, Europe or in a lot of other countries, but once you try them, you might find they taste great and are good for you... or you might not like some of these at all. It is the root of the lotus plant. Weird Stuff | March 16, 2020 Top 10 Disgusting Foods The Chinese Eat [DISTURBING] ... Chinese-style silkworms are added to stir-fry with your favorite vegetables, soy sauce, and seasonings. These huge white radishes, or daikons, taste like the little round red radishes you've probably eaten, but they are milder. They are crunchier when cooked. It’s also an extremely versatile ingredient and can be prepared by stir-frying, deep-frying, or simmering in broth. Do you want to enjoy authentic Chinese food on your trip? What makes lotus root seem weird to most foreigners is that they've never seen a vegetable that looks like it. It is rich in minerals, iodine to help with thyroid function, and antioxidants. Although related to a lychee, the longan is slightly smaller and faintly sweet, lacking the acidic taste of lychees. The truth is, the world is full of edible, healthy and flavorful roots, stems and leaves, the vast majority of which you've probably never tasted. This very long, white, straight root looks like hairy sticks, and foreigners living here might call them "meter-long roots". Anaar. It reminds one of eating somewhat raw potatoes. Langsat. Though it tastes something like common yam, something in it makes it seem like it has healing or medicinal effects. One particularly common one is garlic chives, which goes a long way in explaining the vegetable and what it is used for. View More Replies... ... #19 So far, the USDA says the seeds are for innocuous flowers, herbs, and vegetables. The plant tends to grow in small, lumpy tubers that can make it difficult to clean. It’s said that Chinese will eat anything on the earth. It is cylindrical root a hole through the center surrounded by eight to ten larger holes. China is home to a wealth of strange and delicious fruits and vegetables that are native to the region. Durian. Seaweed is high in iodine, helps prevent goiters and other diseases, and might also prevent cancer. They taste mostly like the European-American style of green beans, but the flavor is sharper. View More Replies... ... #17 A favorite way to prepare it is to serve it raw with vinegar, red pepper, and pungent herbs such as ginger to flavor it. The crosne, often called the Chinese artichoke or knotroot, is a root vegetable originating in China. To allow us to provide a better and more tailored experience please click "OK", Public Domain/Joscha Feth/Wikimedia Commons. Alongside many familiar items, there are several local vegetables to look out for. They are not a standard food item in most countries, but if you've eaten in Asian restaurants abroad, you've probably eaten them. This list includes botanical fruits such as pumpkins, and does not include herbs, spices, cereals and most culinary fruits and culinary nuts. The most common Chinese name shanyao means 'mountain medicine'. View More Replies... ... #15 Taro is a root vegetable with a rough, brownish skin and a light purple flesh within. Black Sapote (chocolate Pudding Fruit) #14 Pre-mature chicken egg or Mao Jidan in Chinese is a … It is also known as snow cabbage or napa cabbage, and it is sold in big piles in the markets and very commonly eaten in soups, hotpots, and stir-fried. You may be familiar with the beautiful lotus flower, but not with the long, edible stem of the plant, known... Chinese Persimmon. My friends have a large, productive, backyard food garden in Richmond, B.C. When eaten raw, they taste sweet and crunchy; cooking them brings out a rich, nutty flavor. While it may look a bit like a clown's toupee, the Rambutan is a medium-sized tropical fruit that is native to Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, Sri Lanka and other Southeast Asian countries. Black Sapote (chocolate Pudding Fruit). Nutritional value: It is high in protein, minerals, and fiber. They are rich in calcium and vitamin C and are used in stir-fries and added to soups. BY David K. Israel ... kanji, katakana, Chinese bayberry, or Chinese strawberry) is native to Southeast Asia, mainly China. Jaboticaba. "Vegetable" can be used in several senses, including culinary, botanical and legal. People buy them at a market or sprout them at home. Not that weird...but still a "Chinese" vegetable! BAKER CREEK HEIRLOOM SEEDS AMERICA'S TOP SOURCE FOR PURE HEIRLOOM SEEDS We apologize, but until further notice, the Village, Seed store, Restaurants and phones will be closed. As a tender young vegetable, loofah is indispensable to Chinese and Indian cooking. Apart from being eaten directly, persimmons are also prepared as a dried fruit product and eaten as a snack. Weird Vegetables You've Probably Never Heard Of (PHOTOS) From Mother Nature Network's Bryan Nelson: Think you don't like to eat your veggies? Chinese medicine books say that it acts on the lung, spleen,  and kidney channels. It is more commonly pickled than xiaobaicai. So named because its cross-section resembles a five-pointed star, this attractive-looking tropical fruit is native to Southeast Asia and is also popular in China, especially during the summer months. It is noted for helping to regenerate damaged body tissue. It has a pleasant, robust, and hearty taste and is good for you. Soybean sprouts are simply sprouted soybean seeds. There is such rich vocabulary and description words for the Chinese vegetables they are growing. Chinese flowering leek is another vegetable that goes by a lot of names. 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