Looks good and tastes good too
Asian spring crop Chinese cedar, common as a decorative plant, has delicious leaves, writes James Wong.
SPRING is in the air! But as any gardener will know, the sad irony with seeing the first signs of new life burst forth is that it is usually one of the leanest months in the vegetable patch. Traditionally known as the ‘‘hungry gap’’, this period describes the window where stocks of stored autumn and winter vege are running low, but the first spring crops have yet to mature. Yet in other temperate parts of the world that still eat a much broader range of traditional crops, such as east Asia, this period is not known as a time of leanness but a time of plenty.
As a greedy botanist fascinated with unusual edibles, what I have found most intriguing is that many of these prized Asian spring crops lead secret double lives as common ornamental plants elsewhere. Having munched my way through my fair share, both when travelling to their countries of origin and in my own back garden experiments, I would say that above all my favourite allrounder has to be the Chinese cedar, Toona sinensis. It is lovingly
referred to in Mandarin as xiang chun or ‘‘fragrant springtime’’, and the young leaves of this stately tree have a deliciously warm, rich flavour and a distinctly bold onionlike aroma. In fact, for those unfamiliar with the plant, it is surprising just how ‘‘meaty’’ or ‘‘savoury’’ a leaf can taste. It’s a world away from the generic ‘‘green’’ or ‘‘leafy’’ flavour of the plethora of other vege that are almost interchangeable with kale or spinach. One of my mates, having been invited to taste the foliage, really hit the nail on the head when he came out with: ‘‘Wow! Beefflavoured crisps!’’.
The leaves get this flavour from a range of natural, sulphurbased compounds that they produce to protect their young growth against insect attack. Onions and garlic contain the same defence mechanism, which, as with Toona sinensis, ironically makes them super tasty to humans, too, with potential health benefits to boot. Their strangely familiar savoury flavour also means that, as with onions or garlic, they are supremely versatile in the kitchen, working well in the place of any other green vege in everything from soups and stews to sautes and stirfrys.
But I have saved the best aspect for last. The species, in addition to having tasty spring shoots, is also a stunningly beautiful garden tree with peeling bark, rich green leaves and fragrant flowers that the bees just love. It grows extremely rapidly to form a stately tree in a huge range of soils. Pick a variety such as ‘Flamingo’ and you will get a truly showstopping display of powderpink new growth that can easily upstage any flowering cherry, but with a far longer display. Want to contain its size? No problem. They are very amenable to pruning. Or should that be ‘‘harvesting’’? — Guardian News and Media