tatsoi
{{Short description|Variety of Brassica rapa}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2016}}
{{Infraspeciesbox
|name = Tatsoi
|image = Tatsoi a few days after a big harvest.jpg
|genus = Brassica
|species = rapa
|subspecies = narinosa
|authority = (L.H.Bailey) Hanelt
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| c = {{linktext|塌菜}}
| p = tācài
| j = taap3 coi3
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|t|a|1|.|c|ai|4}}
| ci = {{IPA|yue|tʰāːp.tsʰɔ̄ːy|}}
| altname = Wu Chinese name
| l = drooping vegetable
| altname3 = Yangtze Mandarin Chinese name
| c2 = {{linktext|塌棵菜}}
| p2 = tākēcài
| j2 = taap3 fo2 coi3
| wuu2 = thaq-khu-tshe
| t3 = {{linktext|烏|塌菜}}
| s3 = 乌塌菜
| p3 = wūtācài
| wuu3 = wu-thaq-tshe
| l3 = dark drooping vegetable
}}
Tatsoi (Brassica rapa subsp. narinosa{{cite book|title=Report of a Vegetables Network: Joint Meeting with an Ad Hoc Group on Leafy Vegetables, 22-24 May 2003, Skierniewice, Poland|date=2005|publisher=Bioversity International|location=Rome|isbn=9789290436799|page=58|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aFPl77620XcC&q=Brassica+narinosa+tatsoi&pg=PA58|accessdate=16 March 2016}} or Brassica rapa var. rosularis{{cite book|last1=Creasy|first1=Rosalind|author-link=Rosalind Creasy|title=The Edible Salad Garden|date=15 Mar 1999|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|location=Vermont|isbn=9781462917617|page=48|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KLSHCgAAQBAJ&q=spoon+mustard+tatsoi&pg=PA48|accessdate=16 March 2016}}) is an Asian variety of Brassica rapa grown for greens. Also called tat choy, it is closely related to the more familiar bok choy. This plant has become popular in North American cuisine as well and is now grown throughout the world.
Naming
The name comes from Cantonese taap3 coi3 ('drooping vegetable'), often rendered tat soi or tat choy. However, its natural habitat is not where Cantonese is spoken but alongside the Yangtze River, where it is called thaq-khu-tshe ({{Lang|zh|塌棵菜}}) or wūtācài ({{Lang|zh|乌塌菜}}, 'dark drooping veggie'). Mandarin borrowed the former name as tākēcài. It is also called "Chinese flat cabbage", "rosette bok choy", "broadbeaked mustard",{{cite web|title=Sorting Brassica rapa names|url=http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Brassica_rapa.html#narinosa|website=Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database|publisher=The University of Melbourne|accessdate=17 March 2016}} "spoon mustard", or "spinach mustard".
Description
The plant has dark green spoon-shaped leaves which form a thick rosette. It has a soft creamy texture and a subtle yet distinctive flavour.
=Planting=
It can be grown to harvestable size in 45–50 days, and can withstand temperatures down to –10 °C (15 °F). Tatsoi can even be harvested from under snow.
- Days to Maturity: 45
- When to Sow
- Outside: As early as the soil can be worked. Sow again in late summer or fall.
- Inside: Sow directly outdoors.
- Seed Depth: 1/4" to 1/2"
- Seed Spacing: 6"
- Row Spacing: 18"
- Days to Emerge: 5 - 15
- Thinning: When 4" tall, thin to 6" apart.
Nutritional value
Cooking
Tatsoi is used for pesto, salads, stir fry, and garnishing soup. According to Food52, "Tatsoi is a very versatile green, equally suited to being served raw or lightly cooked. To make it easy, just use tatsoi anywhere you’d use spinach. Lightly steam or sauté it, wilt the leaves with a warm dressing, or add them to a soup at the end of cooking."Hard, Lindsay-Jean, "[https://food52.com/blog/6220-tatsoi-is-the-new-spinach-haven-t-you-heard Tatsoi Is the New Spinach (Haven't You Heard?)"], Food52, January 28, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
The leaves are similar to romaine, while the stalks taste a little like cucumber, with a mild bitterness. The leaves and inner stalk are tender; the outer stalk is typically discarded. Typical cooking is to stir-fry the leaves and the stalks. They also can be pickled. Jay, Ben, "[https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/05/asian-green-guide.html The Serious Eats Field Guide to Asian Greens"], Serious Eats, May 15, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Brassica rapa subsp. narinosa|tatsoi|lcfirst=}}
- {{Wikispecies-inline|Brassica rapa subsp. narinosa|tatsoi}}
{{Brassica}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7688261}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brassica rapa subsp. narinosa}}