As I have mentioned in a few posts (here and here), I am seriously anti- wasting food. So I am not proud to admit that last year I threw away a bag of spicy Asian greens. When I first got them in my farm share, I sauteed them with garlic and olive oil. Wow — they were bitter.
I kept the rest of the bag in the fridge for weeks, thinking I would magically be inspired to eat them. Then one day, I was happy sad to see that they had gone bad and had to be tossed out.
I am not the only one who avoided these greens. I split my farm share with my friend, L.B., who is a vegetarian and, quite fortunately for her, really loves vegetables. L.B. confessed that she too tossed her bag of the spicy mixed greens. “Just take them all this time,” she said when she heard we were getting more last week.
That gave me twice the motivation to figure out how to prepare the greens. I stored them in the crisper drawer for a week, while I pondered how to use them. Finally, I concluded that all these spicy greens really needed were a bit of sweetness. I decided to use an apple. From there, the rest of the recipe fell into place.
I must say, I was very pleased with how this turned out! A little salty, a little bitter, a little citrus-y, little sweet. I added shrimp for protein and enjoyed a nice light meal.
Shrimp with Wilted Asian Green
Pink lady apple, 1
Garlic, 2 cloves, minced
Olive oil, 1 tablespoon (If you have sesame oil, use that for better flavor. But olive oil works well too.)
Asian greens, 6 cups loosely packed
Chicken broth, 1 cup
Shrimp, cooked, about 20
Lime juice, from 1 lime
Fish sauce, 1 teaspoon
Fresh ginger, 1 teaspoon, minced*
- Cut apple into thin slices. Set aside.
- Sauté garlic in oil over low heat for 1-2 minutes.
- Add greens, chicken broth and shrimp. Cook for 5-6 minutes, until greens are wilted.
- Turn off heat. Add apple, lime juice, fish sauce and ginger. Stir.
- Eat immediately.
* Bonus kitchen tip: Did you know that you can keep fresh ginger in the freezer? When you need it, just let it defrost of a minute and use a knife to shave off ginger bits. Before I learned this, I would buy ginger for a recipe, use a little and the rest would shrivel up before I used it. Now, I throw the extra in a baggie and toss it in the freezer. Fresh ginger always available!