?? Arrowhead, aka Chi Gu, Tsi Gu (Cant) or Dau Shan Gu (Mandarin)
ggull
interesting and different, thinking I'd find *something* on how to prepare
it in my cookbooks or at least on the web. But nada, zip, nothing.
They are small bulbs or tubers, maybe 1.5 inches (~4 cm) across, with a bit
of a shoot opposite the root end. A little bit like a water chestnut, but
without a real 'shell' and not as crisp inside (I cut one open).
I'm a bit hampered in searching because dang Arrowhead Mills keeps popping
up in any search in food groups or with food terms, but the only reference I
found was
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/manuals/pdf_files/FV%20PDF/23FV%20Vegetable%20
Guide.pdf
[you may have to cut and paste to get the whole url. Or try the following:
http://tinyurl.com/yu84n
no guarantees on that since it's my first try at tinyurl]
which has pictures (not exactly what I've got, but close enough; mine are a
bit flatter root to stem), and even the Chinese characters (and which is
where I got the Cantonese and Mandarin names).
I'm not looking for full blown recipes, but some idea of what to do with
it -- I don't know whether to boil it, bake it or ask it to marry me!
[And my apologies if this is double posted. I got some error the first time
from trying to crosspost to another group, and it hadn't showed up here
after a reasonable time.]
Peter Dy
"ggull" <ggul...@NOTrcn.com> wrote in message
news:403ff6f3$0$3084$61fe...@news.rcn.com...
> Help! I got some of this at an Asian market just because it looked
> interesting and different, thinking I'd find *something* on how to prepare
> it in my cookbooks or at least on the web. But nada, zip, nothing.
>
> They are small bulbs or tubers,
Corms, according to Dahlen. She says: "Peel off the outer skin down to the
white flesh; remove the sprout. Either deep-fry quickly or boil, either
whole or in slices, in order to remove bitterness. Then proceed with final
cooking. [. . .] Arrowheads are typically prepared by baising: whole, with
pork for richness, with soy sauce for flavor, and with a hefty pinch of
sugar for balance."
Peter
[...]
ggull
>
> "ggull" <ggul...@NOTrcn.com> wrote ...
> > Help! I got some of this at an Asian market just because it looked
> > interesting and different, thinking I'd find *something* on how to
prepare
> > it in my cookbooks or at least on the web. But nada, zip, nothing.
> >
> > They are small bulbs or tubers,
>
> Corms, according to Dahlen. She says: "Peel off the outer skin down to
the
> white flesh; remove the sprout. Either deep-fry quickly or boil, either
> whole or in slices, in order to remove bitterness. Then proceed with
final
> cooking. [. . .] Arrowheads are typically prepared by baising: whole,
with
> pork for richness, with soy sauce for flavor, and with a hefty pinch of
> sugar for balance."
Thank you very much. I did try cooking one in with a stew last night, and
the result was edible but not particularly interesting or tasty. Like it
might be nice mashed with some flavorings.
And especially thanks for the reference. I assume this is Martha Dahlen, "A
Cook's Guide to Chinese Vegetables" (earlier edition "Guide to Chinese
Market Vegetables")? Sounds good, and goes on my to get list.
Tippi
>
> the result was edible but not particularly interesting or tasty.
My mom likes to steam it with sliced chinese sausages; the fat and
salt from the sausages adds flavour to the chi-gu.
ggull
>
> My mom likes to steam it with sliced chinese sausages; the fat and
> salt from the sausages adds flavour to the chi-gu.
Hmm .. sounds interesting. I just happen to have some Chinese sausages in
the frig :-).
ggull
would be ok to post it so it's available to anyone doing a later search (she
hadn't posted for technical reasons). I haven't had a chance to test it
yet, and may not until next New Year :-).
----------------------------------------
I just happen to see your post this morning about arrowhead. These things
usually only come to our market around the time of Chinese New Year. I've
had a big bag of it in my fridge for the past 2 weeks and finally cooked
them last night.
The easiest way to clean them is with a vegetable peeler; the kind with a
long handle (knife style) rather than one built around the blade.
Once it's all peeled, rinse thoroughly. Then put 8-10 in a zip lock bag &
smash it with the flat side of a cleaver or something similar. This will
break the bulbs into small pieces. Slicing doesn't seem to give it a good
mouth feel.
To cook, I use a generous tablespoon of oil, some chopped onion (your
call), handful of sliced water chestnut, 2 minced garlic cloves, lean
bacon, and some fatty char siu. Stir fry for a few minutes until
everything is heated through. Add the smashed arrowhead pieces, 1 stem of
chopped celery, & green onion. Add salt, 1 chunk (about 1 tablespoon) of
Chinese brown sugar, generous dash of soy sauce -- to taste. Stir fry for
another few minutes. Add about 2 cups of water or broth. You may need to
add more liquid as it cooks. When it begins to boil, turn the heat down to
a high simmer and allow to cook for about 45 minutes or longer. The liquid
will start to form a gravy-like consistency because of the breakdown of the
smaller pieces of arrowhead. The longer it simmers, the better the taste.
Tippi mentions steaming with chinese sausages, but in my experience the
meat tends to lose flavour.
I'm such a starch junkie that this is one of my favourite dishes.
BTW, I saved 4 of the better bulbs for planting in the yard and hope to see
something this summer. My mother sometimes forces the bulbs in a shallow
rock-filled container (with an inch or so of water) in the house but they
become quite large and unwieldy in such a container.