One of the vegetables I grew up with is garlic scapes. My mom described it as an edible straw, like the slender tube for drinking liquid although it wasn't to be used for drinking any liquid. It was a fun thing to eat, with its soft crunchy sound and just the 'coolness' factor of eating the straw itself. But I didn't see it for years after moving to the states.
Then in the last few years, along with other vegetables such as ramps (명이 - myoung yi) and shishito peppers (꽈리고추 - ggwari gochu), garlic scapes started showing up everywhere, at least in farmers' markets in the city. It seems that it's come to be recognized as one of the cool vegetables. Although in my mind, it's always been the cool kid on the block. Don't be scared off at the first whiff of its strong garlicky smell, which is good or bad depending on how much you like garlic. Even the slightest cooking will bring out its naturally sweet flavor while the garlicky flavor moves aside still with a hint of its pungency.
The garlic scape season is pretty short in New York, for about a month in June as one of the sellers in the farmers' market tells me. I have noticed some that remain tough regardless of cooking time, probably because it's nearing the end of its season. Pesto seems to be a popular way of enjoying garlic scape which you can search for its recipes with the help of the internet. But I'm here to help you navigate through simple Korean recipes, so I'll share a simple and flavorful garlic scape recipe that's very common in Korean homes. If you happen to walk through a farmers' market this weekend, pick up garlic scapes. Its price seems to vary, from $5/lb. to $10/lb., depending on whether it's organic or not, but sometimes I couldn't figure out a rationale behind it. You can make this side dish to enjoy over the weekend and pickle the rest to keep for a while (a post on the pickled garlic scape is coming soon - I'm just waiting for its color to turn).
Having missed most of the spring and transition into the summer, I'm slowly coming back to my blog with simple summer recipes and updates on more classes - stay tuned!
Enjoy this beautiful summer weekend regardless of the weather situation in your area. ^^
Spicy-Tangy Garlic Scape Salad
Yields: 2 packed cups (0.5 lb.)
INGREDIENTS:
0.5 lb. Garlic scapes, dry ends trimmed and cut to 2-inch length
Water and salt to blanch garlic scape (about 4 cups of water to 1/4 cup of coarse sea salt)
Dressing
2 tablespoons Korean red pepper paste (고추장 gochujang)
1 tablespoon Rice vinegar
1~2 teaspoons Soy sauce
1 clove Garlic, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon Toasted sesame seeds
DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring water to a rolling boil in a pot big enough to hold 6 cups of water comfortably. Add salt and stir to dissolve. Add garlic scape. After about 1~2 minutes, when the color turns bright green and its texture still remains soft-crunchy, remove from water. Shock in ice water or rinse in cold water just until garlic scapes cool down. Set aside.
2. Make the dressing by mixing together gochujang, rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, grated garlic and toasted sesame seeds. Toss garlic scape in the dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessasry with soy sauce. Serve cold. It is typically eaten as a side dish for rice. I think it can also be a punchy condiment for many meat entrees and an addition to a regular salad. Keep it refrigerated for storage. It should be eaten within a couple of days.
RELATED POSTS
KOREAN WORDS
마늘 (ma neul) garlic
마늘종 (ma neul jong) garlic scape
마늘쫑 (ma neul jjong) wrong spelling/pronounciation but
a more common way people write/say garlic scape
