In our first season at Growing Home we learned an immense amount about what vegetables varieties our families know and want. While we relied mostly on donated plants and seeds, we tried to search far and wide for sources of culturally appropriate planting material. A lot of our families surprised us with seeds of their own. We experimented with varieties and learned what grows well in this climate. To our joy many of the vegetables our families prefer grow easily. For example, amaranth or pigweed grows rampant around this region and our Nepali families all prefer this to kale or collards. Some of the most popular vegetables were bitter melon, long beans, mustard greens, ching baung, loki, asian eggplant, amaranth, and more.
While we did take time to teach them about new vegetables like summer squash or beets we tried as much as possible to support the cultivation of culturally appropriate crops. These plants help families to connect to their diet, religion, and food preparation methods. Over the winter, we held a meeting with over 80 gardeners in attendance where everyone got to vote and give their input on which vegetables and varieties they like the most. Each cultural group had clear favorites and uses. We then paired down to what grows well here and in small spaces.
This year we get to use some greenhouse space and even grow lights in my basement to propagate some of the more rare, hard to find varieties like Ching Baung.
Over the next few months we will feature some of these crops on our blog.
Chin Baung in Burmese refers to roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa). It is a species of Hibiscus native to the Old World tropics. Last June all the Burmese, Karen, and Chin plots became filled with these little stems. At first I took some out thinking they were weeds and was properly scolded. Turns out, our families had been ordering Ching Baung at the asian market and then planting the stems to root and regrow. Ching Baung is commonly known as Burmese Sorrel or sour plant because the leaves have a lovely sour taste. It is culinarily & culturally significant for many different ethnic communities from Burma.
I had previously grown roselle in Thailand for the flower buds, but never knew the leaves were edible. The bright red flowers are used to make teas in Jamaica, Thailand, the carribean, Mexico, and parts of Africa. The plant is believed to reduce hypertension and cholesterol. Due to the length of our season and that we got a late start the roselle barely got to flower. However, it was still very productive for the edible leaves, whose crunchy sourness is so refreshing. We were told that roselle is perhaps the most widely eaten and popular vegetable in Burma. Most of our families said they made a cooling, light soup with the leaves and dried prawn stock. The leaves are also fried with garlic, dried or fresh prawns and green chili or cooked with fish. It is traditionally cooked with chillies and shrimp paste turning the leaves into a dark reddish brown paste. The buds can be used to make jam.
Below you will find a few recipes. You may be able to find Roselle leaves in an Asian market near you!
Roselle Leaves Soup
5 cups water
1 bunch roselle (leaves only, stems trimmed)
1 large onion
2 tablespoons dried shrimp
2 tablespoons fish sauce (available in Burmese and Asian markets)
5 thin green chilies, sliced thin.
Boil 1 cup of water in the pot, then add roselle leaves, stir until the leaves shrink. Stir in onions. Add 4 cups of water. When it boils, put dried shrimp and fish sauce in and then add green chilies. Sprinkle salt if needed.
Fried Roselle (Chin Baun Kyaw)
1/2 cup canola or other vegetable oil
1/3 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon ground pepper
1/4 cup dried shrimp (available in Burmese or Asian markets)
1 pound roselle leaves (no stems)
2 small sliced onions
4 tablespoons fish paste (available in Burmese markets)
1/4 cup sliced green thin Thai pepper
Put oil in frying pan on medium-high heat, add turmeric and ground pepper and stir for 30 seconds. Add dried shrimp and roselle leaves. Wait until the leaves simmer down into tiny pieces, add onions and fish paste and stir until oil comes out. Put in the green pepper and wait a minute or so and the dish is done. Variations of this dish include bamboo shoots and or cooked shrimp, and a clove or two of minced garlic.
Roselle and Bamboo Shoots
Ingredients
2 bunches roselle leaves
1 small canned shredded bamboo shoots (not raw)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/4 tablespoon red chilli powder
1/4 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 medium sized red onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon pounded dried shrimp
6 green chillies
Fish Sauce to taste
1. Prepare the vegetable by breaking off the leaves at the base. Wash roselle leaves and drain the water.
2. Heat up the oil in the frying pan.
3. Add the turmeric, red chilli powder, onion and garlic. Give it a stir until the onion paste becomes golden brown.
4. Add dried shrimp, roselle leaves and 1 tablespoon of water and stir well.
5. When the roselle leaves turn soft then add the shredded bamboo shoots and green chillies. Cover and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, occasionally stirring the mixture until the leaves turn into a dark reddish brown paste. It is ready when the oil has separated
Mayor Michael Nutter arrived to Growing Home just as the Nepali singing and dancing was in full swing. It was a true honor to welcome him to our space and introduce him to some of the families, volunteers, and staff who have made this project incredible! From the first minute Mayor Nutter was amazed by the gardens and positive celebration. It took awhile to explain to our refugee families what Mayor means but some came up and confidently introduced themselves and told their stories.
Photos on this post courtest of Harvey Finkle
