Mizuna

A thin whispy salad green, related to Chinese cabbage, with a mild mustard flavor. Native to Japan, this vegetable averages 14" to 16" in height with leaves that are green and yellow, smooth in texture and somewhat feathery in shape. It is available as a mature green or as a baby version that is smaller in size and more tender in texture.

As a salad green mizuna can be steamed, boiled, stir-fried or used to complement other greens mixed together for a salad, especially Red Asian Mustard greens. When cooked it shrinks to about half its size so it takes a large amount to make a cooked vegetable dish containing only mizuna. Mizuna can be found in well-stocked grocery stores or produce markets but is most readily available in early spring to late summer. Select fresh crisp leaves, avoiding those that are slightly discolored. They will keep four to five days when wrapped in plastic and stored in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator.