Friday, November 18, 2011

An overlooked herb - the Kiangsi scallion (Allium chinense)

The Kiangsi or Chinese scallion, which is scientifically known as Allium chinense G. Don., is a vegetable that is not so commonly grown or used. The Chinese name for this chive-like relative of the onion is Jiào tóu 藠头 / 藠頭 or Kui tao (especially when sold as a 'head' of bulbs with all the leaves). This chive look-alike is known by several common names like Small angled chives, Kiangsi scallion, Chinese chives, Chinese onion, Kiangsi shallot or the Oriental scallion and has a few scientific name synonyms i.e. Allium bodinieri H. Léveillé & Vaniot, Allium bakeri Regel, or Allium martini H. Léveillé & Vaniot.
Rakkyo bulbs, Kiangsi scallions
Allium chinense bulbs and trimmed leaves. These were the leftovers from a bunch purchased from TESCO Shah Alam that was used to make meatballs.

When referring to it as Chinese chives, one must be careful not to confuse it with the flat-leafed garlic chives, Allium tuberosum, that is also called Chinese chives (韭 菜 jiǔ cài). The Chinese scallion has leaves that are similar to Western chives (Allium schoenoprasum), but the cross section are not cylindrical as in chives. Instead, it is 3 to 4 angled. The colour of the leaves is also a lighter, brighter green instead of the bluish-green colour that is typical of chives. This scallion is known as rakkyo in Japan, especially when referring to the pickled bulbs that are flavoured with chilli, (らっきょう / 辣韮) the kanji literally means hot chives.
Chinese scallion, rakkyo
The cross section of Allium chinense leaves are angular as opposed to cylindrical in Western chives (Allium schoenoprasum)

How does it taste like?
It can be quite difficult to describe the flavour of the Chinese scallion. The leaves smell like spring onion, but it is lighter and there is an indescribable smell, which is somewhat onion-like but very mild. The raw white bulbs are more or less the same, with a strange ‘greenish’ taste over the onion-like overtones that some find repulsive. The pickled scallions are considered ‘cleaner’ in taste than pickled onions. The bulbs and leaves are used in certain Chinese cooking, mostly to mask or remove the gamey taste of meat or offal, thus making the meat dish more palatable. A note on the use of this scallion, do not underestimate the strength of this bulb, for example, in making meatballs – use too much and you will end up eating meatballs that taste like eating the scallions as they can be very effective in masking the gamey smell. Once you have eaten and been acquainted with the taste of this scallion, you should be able to easily pick up the presence of this scallion in food the next time.

Where to get them?
If you are looking for this scallion in Malaysia, I believe they are available in Cameron Highlands. I can occasionally find it in TESCO’s around Klang Valley. In fact, the ones that I have are planted from a bunch that was marked down at TESCO Shah Alam.

Growing them
If you have left over bulbs that were not used, simply plant them in soil (any soil with adequate drainage will do). The clump will slowly multiply, plus you can harvest the leaves by shearing them off and using it like chives or spring onion. Once you have enough bulbs, you can even make rakkyo from your home grown bulbs. As long as there is adequate moisture and sunlight, the Chinese scallions will grow like weeds. Not particularly fussy about soil type (harder soil = smaller bulbs), this evergreen bulb is next to impossible to kill, even in our humid tropical weather.

Mann, L. K. and Stearn, W. T. (1960). Rakkyo or Ch'iao T'ou (Allium chinense G. Don, syn. A. bakeri Regel) a Little Known Vegetable Crop. Economic Botany, 14(1), 69-83.