Articles & Essays

I’d never heard of tatsoi until Debbie asked me how to grow it.

I found tatsoi in Asian seed catalogs listed as Brassica navinosa or “spoon mustard.” That name refers to the unique shape of the leaves. Also, tatsoi is more petite than most mustards, so it’s often harvested early and used as a baby green.

Tatsoi’s growing requirements are similar to other plants in the family, which includes the familiar chard, collards, cabbages and mustard greens. Tatsoi grows best in cooler weather, so seeds can be sown in the garden or containers now. Reseeding can continue every two weeks until early June.  If you plant tatsoi in the fall, it should overwinter just fine in the Piedmont and eastward.

Like Swiss chard, it’s pretty enough to use as an ornamental foliage plant, and tatsoi’s yellow flowers attract bees and other beneficial insects. If the flowers go to seed, some amount of volunteer reseeding will occur, but tatsoi shouldn’t become invasive because it’s an annual plant that just happens to be winter hardy.

The dark green leaves and crisp white stalks have a mild mustard flavor when watered regularly, but can become bitter if watering is sparse or irregular.  Harvest individual outer leaves after the central rosette forms, or harvest whole plants and plant more seeds in the empty spaces.

Provide full sun to partial shade, and allow four to six inches between plants.  Plant in rich, loose soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. Mulch lightly with organic compost after the seedlings appear.  At maturity, tatsoi is less than a foot tall, so greens lovers should plant plenty of this pretty Asian delicacy.

Debbie Moose cooks it

Like Carol, I was surprised by tatsoi. My first encounter with the leafy green was when a bunch appeared in a fall community supported agriculture delivery. The head, with its flat circular shape, looked like a frilly green-and-white baby’s hat.

And the flavor was different from other greens, too. I consider it a mid-range green in taste - great for those who consider mustard or collard greens too bitter, but who want a little more assertive flavor than spinach provides.

The texture is more tender than kale, which can be a little tough. When picked small, tatsoi, which is also called “Chinese flat cabbage,” can easily be used raw in tossed salads. It has no tough center stem to remove; as with bok choy, you eat the entire leaf.

Handle tatsoi as you would other greens: Store it in the refrigerator and don’t wash it until you’re ready to use it. Place it in a large bowl or sink of cold water, swish for a minute or two, then let it sit so that any dirt or sand will fall to the bottom. Then lift the tatsoi up and out of the water.

You can find tatsoi at Asian markets, along with the miso and sriracha (a Thai chili-garlic sauce) you’ll need for this salad recipe. You may even find tatsoi seeds – the Asian market I frequent has an ample rack of seeds for Chinese and Japanese vegetables.

Tatsoi-Rice Salad

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon miso

¼ teaspoon sriracha or to taste

½ teaspoon minced fresh ginger

½ teaspoon minced garlic

Salt to taste

1 ½ cups shredded tatsoi (see Note)

¼ cup finely chopped carrot

2 cups hot cooked basmati rice

Toasted sesame seeds for garnish

IN a large bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, miso and sriracha until smooth, then stir in the ginger and garlic. Taste the dressing, then add salt if needed.

ADD the tatsoi, carrots and hot rice. Stir to combine the ingredients. Let sit at room temperature for an hour or so before serving, for the flavors to blend. Or cover and refrigerate as long as overnight, but bring to room temperature to serve. Sprinkle on toasted sesame seeds just before serving.

Yield: 4 servings

Note: If tatsoi is unavailable, substitute baby bok choy or baby spinach.