Yao Cheng, Part II

I went back to Yao Cheng Farms this week to continue my report on their offerings. I found largely the same selection of leafy greens and gourds, but with just a couple noticeable alteration: it was out with the honeydew, in with wintermelon and shark fin squash!




The latter is a green-and-white speckled, fairly rare variety of winter gourd, which often appears in soups. Though I didn't buy the shark-fin squash, I did pick up half a kabocha squash, which I'm quite excited to try. I also filled up a bag with the chrysanthemum greens I saw at Yao Cheng last week, which I've never seen or tried before.



It has a powerful floral flavor and aroma, which I think is going to be amazing in the tangy lemongrass soup I plan to make with it later this week. (Stay tuned for that recipe.) Yao Cheng also had some absolutely gorgeous green onions, which I snatched up and will also incorporate into the soup.

In general, the market had a strong selection of the citrus we've seen all season: navel oranges, mandarines, oro blancos, pommelos, and Fuji apples. I picked up a couple navels from Garden of Eden, which were quite dry, so I plan to stick with Sweet Tree next time. If you've seen anything fabulous, please do let us know.