THE CHINESE HERB GARDEN - Growing Chinese Vegetables in Your Own Backyard - page 124

COOKED SCALLIONS . If you've never prepared them as a braised vegetable, you'll find
this delicate and unusual enough to serve as a company dish. It takes only minutes to
prepare. Cut the whole onion in half vertically, from green stalk right down through the
white part. Sauté in a little sesame oil until golden brown, add enough chicken broth to
simmer, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. If you want, stir in a little soy sauce just before
serving, but I like the golden look of the vegetable without the soy. The flavor is as
different from the fresh onion as braised leeks are from raw leeks, more delicious than
you can imagine.
Garlic
S UAN , S UEN T OU
Allium sativum
(color photo, page xiv)
The use of garlic goes far back beyond recorded history. In Chinese writing, it's desig-
nated by a single symbol, proof that a word is very old. A native of western Asia, garlic
was introduced to China in prehistoric time. The Chinese consider garlic a medicine as
well as an essential ingredient in their cuisine. It's sold in health-food stores throughout
the United States in the form of tablets, but why not enjoy it in cooking instead?