good asian veggie seed source

http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/1017/

I just got their catalog in the mail last week. Very nice.
They have lots of recipes in the back of the catalog.

srkrause
Do you order from them? What are some of your favorites?

I usually buy them retail at a Nursery in nearby Cupertino, Yamagami's. Been a while. Not sure what I bought. Maybe greens. Try some shiso. Do you know asian food/veggies?

What I am looking to do is give my two girls a taste of their heritage. My ex husband was adopted from Korea. He wants nothing to do with where he came from. He moved to Arizona and only sees the girls twice a year.
We live in an area that has few Asians. Most people think that they are Hispanic. So I would like to help them feel good about who they are and because I love to garden I thought about the three of us putting in a Korean vegetable garden. My oldest daughter babysits for one of the doctors in town. He is Chinese and his wife is Korean. It has been good for her to spend time with this family. At 13 (in her mind) the way you look is important.
Sorry if I have rambled.
If you have any suggestions of what to plant and what you think a 9 and 13 year old would eat. :) I would love to hear your ideas.
Thank you!

WOW! Cool idea. I am caucasian and my wife is Japanese American. There are resources for "Hapa" kids. My son would know more. I'd plant snow peas. Soybeans. If you have good kitchen skills or can follow directions you can make tofu from scratch. Ask the Korean lady what to plant. Also what to cook. Look for Korean recipes online. Greens. Are you girls picky eaters?

A year or so ago I was introduced to Tatsoi and love it. It resembles spinach, but I think the flavor is more mild. It's great in a stir-fry or soup. We also eat bok choy frequently. I've had very good success growing both. The outer leaves of the tatsoi can be picked early if you only want a little for soup and the plant will continue to grow. Margaret

I'm Caucasian & married (28 yrs.) to a great Chinese lady . She's a great cook (Cantonese) and does all sorts of culinary magic with the Chinese veggies I grow. I grow several types of Bok Choy, Chinese eggplant, Giant Red mustard and Mao Gwa---an Asian squash. The Bok Choys do best in Spring & Fall gardens and are good for soups or stir-fries. Joi-Choy is a good Bok Choy to grow and widely available as is Mei-Qing Choy. Good luck!!

Oooops.....forgot to add the web address for a reputable Asian seed source:
www.evergreenseeds.com

THX, -picker --------

srkrause......... my pleasure!!

I recently bought some seed from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co. Many of their seed is of asian origin. I was surprised that the order arrived so quickly.

I used to teach within walking distance from a community garden in San Jose. My class and I had a plot in the garden and would work on the plot once a week. Regardless of ethnic background, my students were always willing to sample what they had grown. The trick is to get the children involved in choosing what veggies to plant and to get them involved in the garden. I liked sharing my love of gardening with my students.

BettyDee

Here's the link to Baker Creek:


http://www.rareseeds.com/

BettyDee........ that;'s a success story if I ever heard one!!! Just simply doing "good" for the sake of doing good. Thanks for sharing.

Baker Creek is good... I am growing Daikon (Korean Raddish) right now and will grow some cabbages for Kimche as well. I lived in Korea for 2 years on a mission and speak the language fairly well even today. My 5 year olds favorite food is Korean. I will pay a little more attention to where the seed packets came from (planted at a class where they have lots of varieties and a million seed packets) I did personally buy some Korean pepper seeds from I think Baker Creek this year. (Pepper is Go-chu in Korean) and will try drying, crushing and removing seeds (we shall see.) I watched it being done a zillion times (with a machine.) I personally have considered adopting a little Korean boy as we just have girls. I applaud you for trying to show them a little culture. Take them for some Korean food (if there is a resturant nearby... if you need some suggestions as to what to feed them there initially ask... My 5 and 3 year olds love it but they have purposly not tried everything yet.) I dont want to blow it with them.

Drew

Drew, trying cooking Daikon about half/half with Irish potatos and serving mashed with a little butter. It willl be thinner than straight potatoes because of the higher water content in the Daikon, but an interesting and delicious flavor combination.

Yuska ---

What do you mean by IRISH potatoes???

S

As opposed to sweet potatoes. I realize this is a thread about Asian vegetables, but we can sometimes expect East to meet West. lol

We have many Asian "fusion" restaurants here in CA! Great stuff! But I just found out that California Roll sushi is really from Japan! Not a local invention...

Ever try fresh shiso julieanne in scrambled eggs?

S

I lived in San Jose (Willow Glen area) for a number of years and in San Francisco for a while and throroughly enjoyed the culinary variety that was available. The shiso dish is intriguing...would like to try it.

small world --- I lived in Willow Glen in early 70s. Started our family there! Now they are all grown up and NOT having babies of their own! So I nurture plants I guess.

Did you ever eat at the Ginza Cafe in San Jose's J Town?

Yuska and srkrause,

Reading your exchange has made me homesick for San Jose. One of the things I miss is the dining diversity the Bay Area has. We do have a very good Chinese Restaurant in La Grange, but if we want any other asian cuisine we have to go to Austin.

BettyDee

BettyDee,

I hope Austin is not too far away!

Steve

For more than ten years my traveling job kept me on the road almost constantly, and I sampled some really marvelous cuisine. Honolulu, Portland, Seattle, Denver, Chicago and of course Los Angeles and San Francisco, among others, were great dining experiences. San Antonio has some special spots. I only know of three outstanding Chinese choices - there are probably others - but we also have Japanese and Thai. I need to look for Polynesian and Caribbean. Gee, I'm getting hungry.............

This thread caught my eye because I recently added Asian vegetable seeds as a separate category in the Garden Watchdog: http://davesgarden.com/gwd/advanced.php?category=120&submit=Go

If you have experience with any of these companies, I'm sure they and other gardeners would benefit from your comment and rating; if you know of any other companies that specialize in Asian vegetable seeds, I'd be happy to add this category to their entry (or add them to the GWD.)
Terry

Sorry I know this was an old thread but I just got some seeds from a round robin and all that was written on it was "Asian pumpkin". Thanks for the info about Baker Creek it didn't help me find out what I have but I found some other squashes that I'd like to grow next season.
-Juli