After stuffing ourselves on festival foods merrily all through the Chinese New Year celebrations, we really felt like taking a breather and eating light for a while. So we've been oohing and aahing our way through platefuls of our latest discovery, a plant/vegetable that, delightfully, looks as though it is covered with ice!
Its dewy sparkles caught my eye one day at the local wet market and I immediately asked about it. The vegetable vendor enthusiastically vouched for this strange new vegetable, telling me that it was absolute perfection when eaten as a cold dish. She even suggested a recipe!
And indeed she was right, this unusual vegetable made for a fabulous Crystalline Iceplant Salad with Soy Sesame Dressing 冷拌水晶冰菜, an easy to make, light, Chinese style cold dish. Not only was this dish yummilicious, we have gotten seriously addicted to this icy plant!
Super close up of the surface of the Crystalline Iceplant |
This fascinating little veg is originally from Africa. In the photo above you can see up close to the surface of the iceplant where it looks like a multitude of dewy drops of water are collected. Amazingly, when you touch the iceplant these dewy drops are hard, well, like ice. And therefore the name I guess.
Update (2021): To clarify, this edible iceplant's proper name is Mesembryanthemum Crystallinum and it has the distinctive "ice" like bladder cells on its stems. This plant is considered an invasive plant in Southern California so gardeners should really carefully consider if wanting to plant for their gardens.
There is another plant, also known as iceplant or highway ice plant, that is also known as an invasive species in parts of the world, with the proper name of Carpobrotus Edulis and that does not have the distinctive bladder cells.
The surprising thing about the iceplant is the taste and the texture. At first bite it tasted slightly salty, slightly sweet. The icy surface of the stems is slightly stiff, rubbery to the touch but once you bite into it the inside is crunchy and delightfully succulent.
The leaves are my favorite bit, it's just like eating luscious, creamy green velvet. The taste is mild and with a touch of the sweet and vinegary dressing it grows and grows on you. But the winning combination is the taste and the texture together. Really surprisingly delightful! (My 老公 is obsessed with this veg and constantly asks for it!)
A thought just floated into my mind as I was writing this...have you read Life of Pi? The story of the boy and the tiger lost on a boat in the ocean and at the last minute they are saved by a mysterious floating island. The boy, almost starved to death, crawls onto the green island and discovers, to his delight, that the green plant matter that makes up the green island is edible and yummy. So he eats and eats of this succulent plant. Well, eating iceplant reminds me exactly of that bit of the story!
We bought the crystalline iceplant at our local Hong Kong wet market, but only one market stall had it as far as I know. I've not seen it elsewhere. But I feel that this little veg will catch on like wildfire with food lovers so keep one eye out for these lovelies. If you do find it please try, try, try! It's so easy to prepare and really soooo yummilicious!
P.S. Please let us know where you've discovered it so that others can share the experience!
Crystalline Iceplant Salad w/ Soy Sesame Dressing
冷拌水晶冰菜
(Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 0 mins)
Ingredients:
- 300g crystalline iceplant (1/2 lb)
- 1/2 garlic clove
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds (optional)
Directions:
Wash the iceplant and spin dry with vegetable spinner
. If the leaves are large, gently break up to edible sizes.
Use the flat of your large chinese cleaver
and flatten the garlic. Or just mince garlic as finely as possible. Mix garlic with soy, vinegar, sugar, oil and sesame oil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Mix in sesame seeds if using. Toss the ice plant leaves with the dressing so lightly coated. Place onto your serving plate and serve immediately!
Tip: If you end up with extra iceplant that you haven't used (i.e. is completely dry) you can keep it for the next day. Just leave in bag or bowl, don't cover and keep in a dark cool area. If kept dry and cool, the iceplant should keep for another day or two.
Delightful Cold Dishes at The Hong Kong Cookery:
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Wow, I've honestly never heard of this before! HK is amazing, always on the forefront of new culinary discoveries!! thanks for sharing :) Question-- is this veggie eaten raw?
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle, it is neat isn't it? Yes, you can eat iceplant raw. My market veggie lady says you can also lightly stir fry iceplant but I haven't tried stir frying as it is so delicious raw. ~ellen
DeleteThank you for sharing! Gonna try at home. I have lots of ice plants growing in hydroponic system at home.
ReplyDeleteHey januarti - I can't believe you've got ice plants growing in your own home! How lucky are you! Hope you like our salad. It's one of our favorites, super easy to make and so delicious. ~ellen
DeleteIce plants are an invasive species the US National Park Service has been trying to eradicate from California's Channel Islands for decades. It choked out native plants and drove off birds after being planted as ground cover almost a century ago. I don't think anyone is eating ice plant here.
ReplyDeleteHi Cheryl - The ice plant you are referring to is different from the one I used. But they both use the name ice plant at times. I've updated the post to clarify. Thanks for pointing this out. ~ellen
DeleteThey actually both occur on the Channel Islands, apparently the crystalline ice plant is particularly invasive around Santa Barbara but occurs less often farther north. I'm busy trying to find some to eat around SF but no luck so far.
DeleteHi Elliot - As I mentioned in the post, the edible ice plant discussed above is not the same as the invasive species known by a similar name. I hope that you find the edible kind up in SH though, it is really delicious! ~ellen
DeleteHi Ellen, I see that this comment thread is rather old, but I do want confirm that Mesembryanthemum crystallinum is also invasive in Southern CA like the other comments say. Many different species of 'ice plants' are invasive in Southern CA. Crystalline iceplant is very invasive in saltier soils like coastal wetlands and islands. I've pulled out more bags than I can count at the local wetlands I work at.
DeleteHey Erin - I checked out your info and you're right. So all you gardeners out there be aware of the invasive nature of this plant before considering it for your garden! ~ellen
DeleteHi Alson - It wasn't that expensive, we got it at the wet market. They have been stocking more of the ice plant since it has been pretty popular. ~ellen
ReplyDeleteHi Ellen, I had it at a restaurant too and it just came on top of a bowl of ice with some salad dressing.
ReplyDeleteWhich market in HK can you buy it from? Can share the stall location?
Hi Lisa - we got it at the kennedy town wet market, but do note it's usually only available when the weather turns cold. At lot of the vegetable stalls sell, have a look around for it. ~ellen
ReplyDeleteHello I live in Maryland. Can someone plz tell me where I can get ice plants to eat & make yummy salads with!!!
ReplyDeleteI’ve been looking for them but can’t seem to find them anywhere. HELP!
Also I would love to know how you can grow ice plants at home with hydroponic system. Can someone share this wonderful knowledge . Thank you!
ReplyDeleteCan it grow at hot climate ? How to make it grow by hydroponic ?
ReplyDelete