Herb and Spice of the Week - Garlic Chives (Allium tuberosum)

Flowering garlic chives

Allium tuberosum, (commonly known as garlic chives, Chinese chives, Oriental garlic, Chinese leek, also known by the Chinese name kow choi, or the Japanese name nira, is a vegetable related to onion. The Chinese name for the species is variously adapted and transliterated as cuchay, jiucai, kucai, kuchay, or kutsay in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.In the northeatern states of india, manipur it is grown and used as a substitute to garlic and onion in cooking and goes by the name "maroi nakupi" It is also sometimes called "green nira grass" where "nira" is Romanization of the Japanese word which means garlic chives. The plant has a distinctive growth habit with strap-shaped leaves unlike either onion or garlic, and straight thin white-flowering stalks that are much taller than the leaves. The flavor is more like garlic than chives. It grows in slowly expanding perennial clumps, but also readily sprouts from seed. In warmer areas, garlic chives may remain green all year round. In cold climates, aerial parts of garlic chives will die back completely to the ground and the roots/rhizomes will over-winter and then re-sprout in spring time.






Both leaves and the stalks and immature, unopened flower buds are used as a flavoring in a similar way to chives, scallions or garlic and are used as a stir fry ingredient. In China, they are often used to make dumplings with a combination of egg, shrimp and pork. They are a common ingredient in Chinese jiaozi dumplings and the Japanese and Korean equivalents. The flowers may also be used as a spice. In Vietnam, the leaves of garlic chives are cut up into short pieces and used as the only vegetable in a broth with sliced pork kidneys.

A Chinese flatbread similar to the scallion pancake may be made with garlic chives instead of scallions; such a pancake is called a jiucai bing. Garlic chives are also one of the main ingredients used with Yi mein dishes.

Garlic chives are widely used in Korean cuisine, most notably in dishes such as buchukimchi, garlic chive,  buchujeon garlic chive pancakes), or jaecheopguk (a guk, or clear soup, made with garlic chives and Asian clams).

In Nepal, cooks fry a curried vegetable dish of potatoes and A. tuberosum known as dunduko sag.

Garlic chives, cut and prepared for cooking

Allium tuberosum is one of several Allium species known as wild onion and/or wild garlic that in various parts of the world are listed as noxious weeds or as "high impact environmental or agricultural" weeds.

Allium tuberosum is currently reported to be found growing wild in scattered locations in the United States. (Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Nebraska, Alabama, Iowa, Arkansas, Nebraska and Wisconsin). However, it is believed to be more widespread in North America because of availability of seeds and seedlings of this species as an exotic herb and because of its high aggressiveness. This species is also widespread across much of mainland Europe.