This Tangy Salad Ingredient is Also Terrific Cooked. And, According to Traditional Chinese Medicine–and Your Grandmother– it’s Good For you, too!
I grew up gathering and eating wild watercress (we called them “creasie greens” in the South) and after a good rinse, we ate them in salads: raw and drizzled with whatever dressing happened to be in the fridge.
It wasn’t until many years later that I met up with cooked watercress: at La Varenne cooking school in Paris, we made quarts and quarts of watercress soup. It was incredible, but that kind of cooked watercress is not what I’m referring to here.
Stir-fry it. Wilt it. Barely cook it, and in minutes, a quick side dish is on the table. This tart, slightly bitter side dish is a welcome change from wilted spinach (which I love, but …a change is always nice.)
Watercress is in season, it’s widely available, and oh-so-easy to cook. One of my yoga teachers (we’ve traveled twice to India together) Cora Wen explained the importance of eating leafy greens–such as watercress–as we leave cold weather behind and build up our liver health. (Also known as liver chi, but we’ll leave that for another blog…)
Basically, the delicious bitterness of watercress is extremely beneficial to the liver, an organ that many of us (myself, included) may have abused during the winter months with rich, fatty foods and, um, maybe a little too much wine…
Google Traditional Chinese Medicine and you’ll find oodles of entries and plenty of dietary advice. Eating in season fascinates me, so stay tuned for more tasty locavore info in upcoming blogs.
Not only does food taste better in season ( ever had a good, local tomato in December in North America? I haven’t!) but ecologically, you’re conserving precious fuel by eating foods growing now and close to home.
One of my favorite ways to prepare for Sauteed Watercress is a variation of a recipe by renowned cookbook author, Nina Simonds. Simonds specialzes in Asian fare, and her books are well worth adding to your library.
SAUTEED WATERCRESS WITH TAMARI DRESSING
(inspired by a recipe by Nina Simonds in her book, A Spoonful of Ginger)
Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish
1 1/4 pounds fresh watercress
2 teaspoons toasted (dark) sesame oil, or more to taste
2 tablespoons Tamari (naturally fermented soy sauce), or more to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine, or to taste
2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1. Use kitchen scissors or a chef’s knife to remove the stems from the watercress. Place stems in a salad spinner, rinse well with tepid tap water, then spin dry. Set aside.
2. Place watercress leaves into the salad spinner, and proceed as for stems. Set leaves aside.
3. Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the oil and heat until smoking, but not burning. Add watercress stems and stir-fry about 1 minute.
4. Add tamari, rice wine, garlic, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Cook about 30 seconds. Add watercress leaves and stir-fry about 30 seconds more or until barely wilted. Taste for seasoning. Serve hot as a side dish or serve room temperature.
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