I popped into my local Asian shop yesterday afternoon to buy some chilis for a green onion bhaji and couldn't resist picking up a packet of these edible flowers as well. The shopowner told me they're often eaten in Vietnam and Thailand. I followed her simple recipe when I got home, thinly slicing some garlic and sauteeing it in a bit of oil before rinsing the blossoms and tossing them in. They turned a radiant green in a minute, and on the plate they were crisp and delicious, with the slightest hint of perfume.
are these linden flowers? they look similar to pickled linden flowers i had recently from a russian grocery store in brooklyn.
Posted by: crissy | 20 July 2009 at 11:22 PM
so pretty! that shop is my favourite asian grocer too! i always have a little chat with the owner and she is just so generous in sharing recipies and tips - love it!
i have a feeling we are pretty much neighbours in the 'analog world'. how funny :-)
Posted by: Kristina - no penny for them & mostly berlin | 21 July 2009 at 12:08 AM
Crissy, I'm not sure -- the label said kha cho. Kristina, how funny -- perhaps our paths will cross one day?
Posted by: Berlin Reified | 26 July 2009 at 10:30 PM
The proper name is : Hoa Thien Ly (vietnamese) english latin is Pakalana vine, Tonkin Jasmine, Cowslip Creeper, Telosoma Cordata.
It is an exotic vine, when blossoms it smells like Ylang-Ylang, when greenish it tastes like green pea :)
see at toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/garden_catalog/cat.cgi?uid=TELOSMA_CORDATA
Posted by: rapatang | 06 June 2010 at 10:47 AM