Choy sum
Brassica rapa var. parachinensis · Vegetable
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Choy sum is a leafy Asian brassica (Brassica rapa var. parachinensis) grown for its tender flowering shoots — slim pale-green stalks topped with small bright-yellow flowers and oval leaves. Mild, faintly sweet and quick-cooking, it is a staple stir-fry and blanched green across southern China and Southeast Asia.
Picking a good onedrag
Tight buds, stalks snap wetLimp, leaves yellow, petals shed
Shop freshEveryday bestThe all-rounder: stir-fry with garlic, steam the shoots whole, or blanch and dress them.
Buds and flowersHalf the cluster open, petals bright
LeavesGreen and matte, edges relaxed
StalksSmooth, cut end drying pale
The snapSnaps, but the break is only damp
Smell at the cut endsClean and green, almost nothing