Red velvet

Red Chinese cabbage

Purple and green, bitter and strong flavor

Red mizuna is a small to medium-sized plant, averaging thirty centimeters, and grows in clusters from a central stem with thin stalks and feathery leaves. The stalks range from light green to magenta and offer a crunchy texture. The smooth leaves are purple-red, multi-branched, and have serrated edges with a fringed appearance. On the underside, the leaf appears green with dark purple veins, while on the upper side it reaches different shades of red, purple, and green.

Property

Red mizuna is harvested both in the baby leaf stage and when mature, with the younger, more tender leaves offering a peppery, spicy, and slightly bitter flavor with a hint of sweetness.

It pairs well with pomegranate seeds, apples, pears, tarragon, leeks, broccoli, tomatoes, sunchokes, portobello mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, new potatoes, goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, poultry, poached eggs, shrimp, salmon, and vinaigrette. The leaves will keep for up to ten days if wrapped in a cloth and stored in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.

Interesting facts

In Japan, red velvet, like green varieties, is marinated with salt and served as an appetizer or with beer. Its leaves are also added to hot pots, known in Japan as nabemono, or are traditionally steamed or added to French fries. Red velvet is one of the "Kyo yasai" vegetables protected by torty-one grown in Kyoto, once the center of politics and culture in Japan, from the 18th and early 19th centuries.

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