Stir-Fry Mizuna Japanese Mustard 清炒水菜

Have you tried Mizuna 水菜 (Shui Cai) also known as Japanese mustard? Other than appearing as one of salad-greens components found in some grocery stores' salad boxes, this green vegetable can also be seen, sold on its own, as a whole bunch in some Japanese grocery stores e.g. Mitsuwa (San Jose location)


Japanese mustard greens are rich in the fat-soluble vitamins A and K, and water-soluble vitamin C. As part of the cruciferous vegetable family, which also includes kale, broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, it also offers similar cancer-fighting compounds. To extract maximum cancer-protection benefits, it is often best to consume such vegetables in their raw form e.g. in salads and juices.

However when a vegetable reaches the hands of a cook who is often into Chinese-style cooking, stir-frying jumps right in, in preference to salads; but a quick saute it will be, so as not to lose much of the nutrition.

Mizuna can be a great addition to salads as it has a subtle peppery flavor and yet as a mustard green, not as pungent as the Chinese mustard.






Stir-Fry Mizuna with Garlic
Add 1tsp cooking oil in the pan and when pan is hot, add 3 cloves garlic, minced, and 1tbsp fresh ginger thinly sliced into shreds/matchsticks into the pan and lightly saute till fragrant. Add the mizuna (stems first, then leaves), and quickly saute in less than 3mins till they are just cooked (or moment they wilt under the heat). Dash of sea salt, turn off heat, dish out, and set aside to serve.


You can also use the leaves in egg omelette or savory egg crepes


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