Author Topic: Okinawan spinach  (Read 2889 times)

LivingParadise

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Okinawan spinach
« on: March 31, 2017, 04:05:23 PM »
Very easy to grow. Pretty to look at, half purple and half green. Extremely easy to propagate by cuttings. A taste that is halfway between parsley and seaweed, which leaves me conflicted. Okinawan spinach has strong medicinal properties. But, I am a huge fan of the taste of parsley - like I could eat it all day - and very much someone who gets nauseous at the taste of anything fishy. So I find that I can't manage to eat more than 5 leaves of Okinawan spinach at a time, and not cooked in anything.

So for me it's a good supplementary plant. But for someone who enjoys Japanese food/sushi for instance, I can imagine this being very enjoyable. I could see it being great as an alternative to seaweed in a sushi roll with avocado and some sesame seeds, if you don't mind that it also kind of tastes like parsley. I have considered using it in broths as a fish sauce substitute, since I am vegetarian, but I rarely have need for that kind of flavor so have not tried it yet.

It's reasonably drought-tolerant, but so far I have not had any lucky growing it in local soil. It seems to only grow in the rich organic soil in my pots. But since I eat so little of it, that hasn't really been a problem.

Luisport

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Re: Okinawan spinach
« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2017, 04:22:14 PM »
I love to get them but i don't know any source in europe. Any sugestion? Thank's.  :)

Chupa King

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Re: Okinawan spinach
« Reply #2 on: March 31, 2017, 06:15:45 PM »
I use it as a ground cover. We also use other perennial greens as ground covers as well.
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roblack

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Re: Okinawan spinach
« Reply #3 on: March 31, 2017, 08:40:32 PM »
grows great in a 5 gallon pot. no need to put it in the ground. I like to eat it solo, and mix it in salads with other greens.

Galka

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Re: Okinawan spinach
« Reply #4 on: April 01, 2017, 01:51:37 AM »
Do you eat leaves only? I also have this plant and it's flowering right now. It's overgrown and I need to prune it back. Very easy to grow, doesn't need a lot of attention. 

DimplesLee

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Re: Okinawan spinach
« Reply #5 on: April 01, 2017, 10:27:18 PM »
Actually find Okinawa spinach (Gynura bicolor) to be quite bland? Do you eat the mature leaves or the new growth? It tastes just the same as gynura procumbens (plain green gynura) except the green one holds a bit better during cooking - doesn't turn as mushy. If you're the type of vegan who eats at least soups with clear broth you can add both types of gynura to soups - just add them after you turn the heat off (say let them steep for 5-10 minutes) so they don't turn into mushy consistency like malabar spinach.


For me at least, I find it makes a nice addition to any asian dish that calls for moringa leaves or tatsoi.
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