Hon Tsai Tai – Purple flowering Choy Sum
Hon Tsai Tai produces tender purple stems, green leaves and the typical Brassica yellow flower that are a welcome addition to stir fries.
Also useful in salads, just steamed or added to soups. It is recommended to harvest just before the yellow flowers open however I rarely get to this and have not noticed any flavour difference.
Sow: Aug to Oct, Feb to Apr (cool climate). Goes to flower quickly over the warmer months but possible to sow thickly and harvest as baby plants.
Spacing: 20cm plants, 30cm rows if grown to full size.
The name comes from Cantonese named “drooping vegetable”, often rendered ‘tat soi’, ‘tat choy’. However, its natural habitat is alongside the Yangtze River
