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'Chives - Garlic'
Allium tuberosum

Chives - Garlic

Season: Spring - Fall



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Allium tuberosum is a rhizomatous, clump-forming perennial plant growing from a small, elongated bulb (about 10 mm, 13⁄32 inch, across) that is tough and fibrous. Unlike either onion or garlic, it has strap-shaped leaves with triangular bases, about 1.5 to 8 mm (1⁄16 to 5⁄16 in) wide. It produces many white flowers in a round cluster (umbel) on stalks 25 to 60 cm (10 to 24 in) tall. It grows in slowly expanding perennial clumps, but also readily sprouts from seed. In warmer areas (USDA zone 8 and warmer), garlic chives may remain green all year round. In cold areas (USDA zones 7 to 4b), leaves and stalks completely die back to the ground, and resprout from roots or rhizomes in the spring.



Line Spacer Herb Height
  Mature Height
  24 Inches
Line Spacer Herb Width
Mature Width
12 Inches
Line Spacer Herb Light
Light
Half Sun
Line Spacer Herb Water
Moderate
High


Herb Uses

Uses
Uses have included as ornamental plants, including cut and dried flowers, culinary herbs, and traditional medicine. Garlic chives have been widely cultivated for centuries in East Asia for their culinary value. The flat leaves, the stalks, and immature, unopened flower buds are used as flavoring. Another form is "blanched" by regrowing after cutting under cover to produce white-yellow leaves and a subtler flavor.

The leaves are used as a flavoring in a similar way to chives, scallions as a stir fry ingredient. In China, they are often used to make dumplings with eggs, shrimp, and/or pork. A Chinese flatbread similar to the scallion pancake may be made with garlic chives instead of scallions. Garlic chives are also one of the main ingredients used with yi mein dishes. Its flowers are fermented to make garlic chive flower sauce. When grown in dark environments, it is known as jiuhuang and is used in various stir fry dishes.

In Manipur and other northeastern states of India, it is grown and used as a substitute for garlic and onion in cooking and is known as maroi nakuppi in Manipuri.

In Japan, where the plant is known as nira, it is used for both garlic and sweet flavors, in miso soups and salads, stir-fries with eggs, and Japanese dishes such as gyōza dumplings and fried liver.

In Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, where the plant has been introduced through cultivation by Dungan farmers and ties with neighboring China, garlic chives are known by transliterations of their name. Used in cooking, it is sometimes added as a filling to manty, samsa, laghman, yuta, ashlan-fu, and other typical dishes.

Known as buchu, garlic chives are widely used in Korean cuisine. They can be eaten fresh as namul, pickled as kimchi and jangajji, and pan-fried in buchimgae (pancake). they are also one of the most common herbs served with gukbap (soup with rice), as well as a common ingredient in mandu (dumplings).

Herb information provided by Wikipedia, which is released under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0




Herb Uses

RECIPES

Chives & Eggs Stir Fry
PREP: 10 MINUTES COOK: 5 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS
5 Large Eggs
¼ Tsp Sugar
½ Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Sherry or Mirin
¼ Tsp Ground White Pepper
¼ Tsp Sesame Oil
4 Tsp Water
2 Cups Garlic Chives, Chopped
4 Tbsp Vegetable Oil


INSTRUCTIONS
1. Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Add the sugar, salt, sherry/mirin, white pepper, sesame oil and water. Beat the eggs for a good 30 seconds until you see a layer of small bubbles floating on the surface of the beaten eggs.

2. Mix in the chives until combined.

3. Heat a frying pan or wok to medium low. Add oil. Coat the pan or wok with oil. The oil should be hot, but not smoking, when you add the egg mixture.

4. Pour the eggs into the wok, flip and stir them slowly with a spatula, being careful not to let the eggs brown or firm up too much. Cook for a minute or two, until just cooked.

5. Remove egg dish to plate.

Chives - Garlic
Season: Spring - Fall



Looking for a Specific Herb?
Search Our Herb Almanac Below:



Allium tuberosum is a rhizomatous, clump-forming perennial plant growing from a small, elongated bulb (about 10 mm, 13⁄32 inch, across) that is tough and fibrous. Unlike either onion or garlic, it has strap-shaped leaves with triangular bases, about 1.5 to 8 mm (1⁄16 to 5⁄16 in) wide. It produces many white flowers in a round cluster (umbel) on stalks 25 to 60 cm (10 to 24 in) tall. It grows in slowly expanding perennial clumps, but also readily sprouts from seed. In warmer areas (USDA zone 8 and warmer), garlic chives may remain green all year round. In cold areas (USDA zones 7 to 4b), leaves and stalks completely die back to the ground, and resprout from roots or rhizomes in the spring.



Herb Height
  Mature Height
  24 Inches
Line Spacer
Herb Width
Mature Width
12 Inches
Line Spacer
Herb Light
Light
Half Sun
Line Spacer
Herb Water
Moderate
High


Uses
Uses have included as ornamental plants, including cut and dried flowers, culinary herbs, and traditional medicine. Garlic chives have been widely cultivated for centuries in East Asia for their culinary value. The flat leaves, the stalks, and immature, unopened flower buds are used as flavoring. Another form is "blanched" by regrowing after cutting under cover to produce white-yellow leaves and a subtler flavor.

The leaves are used as a flavoring in a similar way to chives, scallions as a stir fry ingredient. In China, they are often used to make dumplings with eggs, shrimp, and/or pork. A Chinese flatbread similar to the scallion pancake may be made with garlic chives instead of scallions. Garlic chives are also one of the main ingredients used with yi mein dishes. Its flowers are fermented to make garlic chive flower sauce. When grown in dark environments, it is known as jiuhuang and is used in various stir fry dishes.

In Manipur and other northeastern states of India, it is grown and used as a substitute for garlic and onion in cooking and is known as maroi nakuppi in Manipuri.

In Japan, where the plant is known as nira, it is used for both garlic and sweet flavors, in miso soups and salads, stir-fries with eggs, and Japanese dishes such as gyōza dumplings and fried liver.

In Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, where the plant has been introduced through cultivation by Dungan farmers and ties with neighboring China, garlic chives are known by transliterations of their name. Used in cooking, it is sometimes added as a filling to manty, samsa, laghman, yuta, ashlan-fu, and other typical dishes.

Known as buchu, garlic chives are widely used in Korean cuisine. They can be eaten fresh as namul, pickled as kimchi and jangajji, and pan-fried in buchimgae (pancake). they are also one of the most common herbs served with gukbap (soup with rice), as well as a common ingredient in mandu (dumplings).

Herb information provided by Wikipedia, which is released under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0




RECIPES

Chives & Eggs Stir Fry
PREP: 10 MINUTES COOK: 5 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS
5 Large Eggs
¼ Tsp Sugar
½ Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Sherry or Mirin
¼ Tsp Ground White Pepper
¼ Tsp Sesame Oil
4 Tsp Water
2 Cups Garlic Chives, Chopped
4 Tbsp Vegetable Oil


INSTRUCTIONS
1. Crack the eggs into a large bowl. Add the sugar, salt, sherry/mirin, white pepper, sesame oil and water. Beat the eggs for a good 30 seconds until you see a layer of small bubbles floating on the surface of the beaten eggs.

2. Mix in the chives until combined.

3. Heat a frying pan or wok to medium low. Add oil. Coat the pan or wok with oil. The oil should be hot, but not smoking, when you add the egg mixture.

4. Pour the eggs into the wok, flip and stir them slowly with a spatula, being careful not to let the eggs brown or firm up too much. Cook for a minute or two, until just cooked.

5. Remove egg dish to plate.