Garlic chive flowers are the flower buds and stems of Chinese Chives. It’s such a delicious vegetable with a narrow window of peak tastiness during the summer. I like to enjoy it in a simple stir fry by itself. This recipe is free of top 9 allergens.
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Jump to RecipeHappy New Year (2015) & Happy 1st Blogiversary!
I hope that 2015 will bring much joy, peace, and happiness to you. 2014 was a really fun but busy year as I learned to blog, formed another organization, and advocated for legislation. Today marks the first blogiversary of Nut Free Wok. It was a little idea to write our family’s favorite recipes for my sons, share them, and help others along the way. I’m grateful for you, your support, and encouraging comments and sharing your stories with me. Thank you for being a part of this community as we try to raise food allergy awareness and enjoy some Allergy Aware Asian Fare along the way. I’m excited about 2015, how about you?
Eat Beautiful Vegetables
I went food shopping recently and the freshest and most beautiful vegetable I could find was flowering garlic chives. I decided to start the year by sharing a simple Asian vegetable recipe: Garlic Chive Flowers Stir-Fry. Garlic chive flowers have a little bit of bite and zesty spiciness to them. I lightly stir-fried them for the freshest flavor. But cooking them for an extra minute will soften it more and mellow out the zesty flavor. Tonight I plan to use the leftovers and cook it with scrambled eggs and char siu (see below for instructions).
What are Garlic Chives?
Garlic chives or Chinese chives (Allium tuberosum) are flat leafed, like long blades of grass. They are also known as “gau choy” in Chinese or “nira” in Japanese. In Chinese cuisine, garlic chives are usually cooked in stir fries by itself, with scrambled eggs, with small amounts of meat. They’re also added to dumplings or stir fries. There’s also garlic chives that are grown in the dark and they will look exactly the same except yellow. This variety is also considered a delicacy.
Garlic chive flowers, “gau choy fa,” are used in the same ways and are considered a delicacy. You can buy garlic chives or flowering garlic chives at an Asian market or a farmer’s market where available.
How to Shop for Garlic Chive Flowers
The garlic chive flowers will be sold in a bunch. The bunch should feel firm (not wilted) and heavy. The color should be consistently dark green color (not yellow), and I prefer that the flower buds are closed. Also check to see that the bottom of the stems are bendy and not woody. The hard woody parts need to be trimmed off and discarded (or added to vegetable stock).
Grow Your Own Garlic Chives
I started growing them when my friend gave me 6 garlic chive plants and every year I grow more. You can grow your own by ordering garlic chive seeds (called “nira” in Japanese). I used to order from Kitazawa Seed Company but they were acquired by True Leaf Market. You can find seeds for many Asian vegetable you might want to grow.
When shopping for garlic chives seeds, be sure that the chives look like they have a flat leaf and a white flower. My parents grew Chinese garlic chives in their yard in San Francisco. They grow well in areas with cooler temperatures.
My parents kept harvesting from the same plants for years. Use a knife to cut the plant at the base right at the soil line, and the chives would regrow in a few weeks.
If you let them keep growing, flower stems will appear but you would have to grow a lot of garlic chives to grow a handful of garlic chive flowers to stir-fry. At the end of summer, allow the chive flowers to go to seed. You can either save the seeds and plant them in the spring in a pot or in a new spot. If you leave them alone, they will self-seed in the same area and grow.
Allergy Aware Garlic Chive Flowers Stir Fry
This recipe is free of top 9 allergens. A small sprinkle of salt will help the chive flowers to sweat and finish cooking. Or you can add a tablespoon of water and then season it with a small amount of soy sauce or oyster sauce. See What’s in Nut Free Wok’s Cupboard? Nut-Free Ingredients for alternate suggestions.
Stir-Fried Garlic Chive Flowers Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound flowering garlic chives
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon salt (optional, or season with 1 teaspoon soy sauce, oyster sauce, or sesame oil
Instructions
- Trim 1/2 inch off the bottom of the stems and any tough ends, discard any yellowed stems or flowers, and wash with water.
- Chop the chives into 1 to 1.5 inch lengths and set aside.
- Heat up wok or frying pan until hot (3-5 minutes), add oil and swirl plan (30 seconds).
- Add chives and stir fry until the stems are bright green (1-2 minutes).
- Add seasoning to taste, cook another minute (or two if you prefer a milder flavor).
Notes
Nutrition
Additional Garlic Chive Flower Stir Fry ideas
When I need a little simple comfort food, I make garlic chives with scrambled eggs like mom did: prepare 2 eggs for scrambled eggs and season with a dash of soy sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir fry chives as above and add scrambled eggs at step 5. Add 1 cup of cooked and chopped meat as desired (grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, roast pork, etc.).
You can also stir fry garlic chives with meat. Prep about 6-8 oz of sliced and marinated meat of choice, stir fry until it’s no longer pink/raw on the outside, add the garlic chives and continue stir frying for another 3 minutes until the chives are bright green and soften.
Related Recipes
Chinese garlic chives are more common and less expensive. Learn how to make Chinese Garlic Chives Stir Fry with Eggs Recipe.
If you like foods from the onion family, you might enjoy How to Make Scrumptious Scallion Pancakes.
Sometimes we need a trip to the grocery store but we might have some aromatics in the refrigerator and I would make a simple Aromatic Cilantro Onion Ginger Fried Rice.
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My chives have already bloomed and has many blossoms. Can it still be eaten like the buds?
It might be too chewy, at this point, I would recommend letting it flower and develop the seeds for next season. The seeds will be ready when the flower buds open and you can see little black seeds inside of them. I haven’t decided whether they seed better naturally (leave them alone) or if it’s better to clip a few flowers with the seeds and store them in a paper bag over the winter to plant in the spring. I usually do both.
This is one of my favorite dish with a drizzle of oyster sauce and sesame oil and I will definitely try it with garlic!
Oh yes, Linda! I love oyster sauce and sesame oil too.
Oh Serious Yum!!!!!! Yup, I’m going to need to move next to you. Opening a restaurant any time soon?
Oh, Caroline, we would have so much fun as neighbors! If I do open a restaurant called the Nut Free Wok, you’ll be the first to know! xoxo
These look like garlic scapes, just less curvy. But I bet they taste amazing.
Michelle, garlic scapes are so interesting, I’ve never heard of them until you mentioned them, thank you. I imagine they taste similar, garlic chive flowers are the stem and flowers from a type of chive plant and it is garlicky and spicy tasting.
This looks so good it makes me want to run to our local Farmer’s Market! Pinned and Shared, yum! I;ve never heard of Garlic Chive Flowers 🙂
Yay, Valerie! Let me know how you like it when you find it.
I’ve never heard of Garlic Chive Flowers! I’ll definitely be on the look out for some! This sounds great.
Enjoy, I hope you love it.
What a great and different side dish! Love quick stir fry sides 🙂
Me too, I love any easy veggie dishes that taste great! Enjoy!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I planted garlic chives in my herb bed several years ago, not realizing that they go crazy. They practically took over my bed, completely shoving out the regular chives. Now, I have a great recipe to use them in!
Whooo-hoo! Pam, that’s so awesome that your garlic chives are thriving. I’ll post a follow up recipe for you. We didn’t finish the garlic chive stir fry and so I added it to scrambled eggs and that was amazing!
I am so excited to try this! If I use the sesame seed oil it will be whole30 compliant! I can already smell it mentally cooking.