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mystery vegetable?
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Posted by bwv544 (My Page) on Tue, Feb 27, 07 at 16:50
it's a vine, propagated by rhizomes, that likes shade. the leaves are edible, and shaped a bit like the ones to the left of the "post a message to the forum." they are a bit leathery, though, and dark green. my grandmother, from taiwan, calls it "tswan chi," but says she cannot find it in the markets over there...it seems to be somewhat obscure. a family friend from singapore says that the "tswan chi" she knows is NOT this plant, so really, we have no idea what it is. when stir-fried, it tastes a little spinach-y, without any acidic abrasiveness, and also has some mucilaginous goo to it---but not a lot.
any help would be greatly appreciated. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: mystery vegetable?
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| Does it have a red stem? Does it look like this?
 
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RE: mystery vegetable?
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| It's a fast-growing vine. You pick the leaves, wash them and stir-fry with a little bit of ginger and sesame oil for a minute. A common dish in Taiwan. |
Here is a link that might be useful: tswan chi
RE: mystery vegetable?
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| chicogirl, Do the photos of the leaves resemble the leaves of the plant you're talking about? The plant above is a fast growing vine. Also, your link is in Asian characters. There is no English or any photos. |
RE: mystery vegetable?
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| Yes, violet. I had typed in the Chinese characters in order to find the photos. Can you see the photoes at this link?
http://www.dtps.tp.edu.tw/sg1/plant.htm The fourth photo from left is the one I was talking about. You can enlarge the photo by clicking on it. I am not sure about the name of this vine:
(Madeira-vine) Anredera cordifolia(Ten.)Steenis |
RE: mystery vegetable?
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Thank you, the URL worked. Here's the photo:
 Yes, this is known as Malabar Spinach (Basella alba syn Basella rubra) in the states and is what I posted in the photos above. There are different varieties and you can choose from a red or green stem. And red or green leaves. Anredera cordifolia (madeira vine) is an edible weed similar to ceylon spinach but with a smaller edible leaves and small edible tubers. 
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Here is a link that might be useful: Evergreen Seeds: Malabar Spinach
RE: mystery vegetable?
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ah, thank you. i actually don't think it's malabar spinach, because it doesn't look quite like it---it looks a lot more like the madeira vine. that would explain the arguments between different people about whether or not it's even called "tswan chi," though...so am i to assume that "tswan chi" means malabar spinach?
thank you so much for the help! |
RE: mystery vegetable?
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- Posted by eggo z10soCal LBC (My Page) on
Tue, Mar 13, 07 at 2:37
| Ivy Gourd (Coccinia grandis) ??? |
RE: mystery vegetable?
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| Ivy Gourd leaves would not be mucilaginous when cooked and they're also not thick enough in this case. |
RE: mystery vegetable?
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I don't think "tswan chi" is malabar spinach. The leaves are similar, but the flowers are different:
Madeira-vine (Anredera cordifolia（Ten.）Steenis)
= "tswan chi", "teng san chi", or "yang luo kuei" http://www.yctsayl.idv.tw/html/9d/9d001.htm
http://www.wretch.cc/blog/leontsai&article_id=7383586 Propagation: by cutting or bulblets, the plants rarely set seeds
http://www.tndais.gov.tw/Veggie/E10.htm
http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?11070212191297 ----------------------------------------------------------- Malabar Spinach or Ceylon spinach (Basella rubra)
= "Huang Gong Tsai" (means Emperor palace vegetables) or "luo kuei" Propagation: by cutting or seeds
http://www.yctsayl.idv.tw/html/9d/9d000.htm |
RE: mystery vegetable?
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| chicogirl, You'll find that this information was stated above in the 6th post down. Madeira Vine: Anredera cordifolia = "tswan chi"
Malabar Spinach: Basella alba |
RE: mystery vegetable?
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| They are similar because they are both part of the Basella Genus. But they are different species within that genus meaning they can not cross breed. |
RE: mystery vegetable?
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Yes, violet you are right :-)
Madeira Vine: Anredera cordifolia = "tswan chi"
Malabar Spinach: Basella alba I was trying to answer bwv544's question:
"so am i to assume that "tswan chi" means malabar spinach?" The flowers and bulblets are the easier ways to tell if it was "tswan chi". |
RE: mystery vegetable?
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| chicogirl, Ah... got it. So what are the visible differences in the flowers and bulbs? Isn't the Anredera cordifolia stem red? And the other not? |
RE: mystery vegetable?
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| Since iVillage took over GardenWeb, it doesn't allow a direct link that comes from forign countries. That's way the web link was failed in the third post. You just have to copy and paste these URL in order to see the flower pictures: Madeira Vine: Anredera cordifolia = "tswan chi"
http://www.yctsayl.idv.tw/html/9d/9d001.htm Malabar Spinach or Ceylon spinach (Basella rubra)
http://www.yctsayl.idv.tw/html/9d/9d000.htm The flowers of "tswan chi" have longer spikes.
Also "tswan chi" use bulblets and Malabar Spinach use seeds for propagation. Yes, the Anredera cordifolia stem is red. The Mallabar Spinach stem is usually green, but that's beaucse only the green variety has introduced from Thailand and commercially avaiable in Taiwan. |
RE: mystery vegetable?
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| For my location, what we call "malabar spinach" is red stemmed. As in this photo:
I'd be interested in seeing the photos of a green stemmed Malabar Spinach (Basella alba). |
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