Chinese chives

韭菜

補腎溫陽（民間「起陽草」）行氣活血溫中開胃

Chinese (garlic) chives, flat dark-green leaves with a pungent garlicky bite, sold in bundles. Cut into lengths and added in the last minute or two of a rolling soup — classically with pig's blood curd — they keep their aroma and a slight chew.

TCM properties

Nature · warming　Flavour · pungent　Meridians · liver、kidney、stomach

Traditional food therapy

In Cantonese food therapy chives are the warming 'yang-raising herb' of folk tradition, taken to warm the middle, open the appetite and move qi and blood.

Cautions — read first

Those with yin deficiency and flaring fire, or with heavy heat, should eat only a little
Tradition counts it a 發物, a food said to trigger flare-ups, so take care if you have sores or eye trouble
High in coarse fibre, so keep it moderate if your digestion is weak
Folk wisdom says eating a lot of it while breastfeeding may dry the milk up (a traditional saying)

Preparation

Wash and cut into lengths, adding them in the last 1 to 2 minutes of a quick-boiled soup (滾湯).

Origin

全國栽培 — Bundles (and dearer yellow chives) at Australian Asian grocers are locally grown

Availability in Australia

Common at Asian grocers · A$2.19–2.19 / pack
pack of 2 bundles, sale (was $2.29); yellow chives 200g $9.49 (≈$47.45/kg); chive flower bundle $3.69

Pairs well with

Pig's blood curd Fresh ginger Peppercorn, chiefly white

Soups that use this ingredient · 1

Pig's blood curd and Chinese chive soupNot yet surveyed (we say so honestly)

韭菜豬紅湯

nourishes bloodmoistens the lungsAll year

百子櫃Pig's blood curd· 600 g街市Chinese chives· 150 g街市Fresh ginger· 2 to 3 slices百子櫃Peppercorn, chiefly white· a pinch

“The pot she makes when someone needs looking after.”