How do you use your garlic chives?

I’ve been growing garlic chives for years… it’s a nice looking herb and easy to grow… but I have to admit, other than chopping a few leaves to sprinkle into an omelet, I really don’t know what to do with them, which explains why my grassy clumps keep getting bigger and bigger. It seems such a waste?

The fact was clearly highlighted last year when chatting with fellow OG contributor Jerry Coleby-Williams. He has stopped growing true garlic because it takes up too much space for too little return. In the kitchen, he substitutes true garlic with garlic chives, which demands far less valuable space, and grows back after harvesting, time and time again. Nice idea, but I needed more.

Seeing huge bunches of them in Asian markets has made me realise that Asian cultures have a pretty good idea about how to make good use of them. I also caught a little bit of celebrated Chinese chef Kylie Kwong on the tele last week throwing together a lovely stir fried dish featuring two big bunches of garlic chives, treating it as more of a vegetable than a herb. Now we’re talking.

Further searching on the net today for ‘Asian Garlic Chive Recipes’ has opened up my world to an endless array of culinary delights… all of which place the garlic chive clearly in the vegetable rather than garnish department… stir-fried eggs and garlic chives, pork and chive dumplings, lettuce and chive salad, garlic chive fried noodles, chicken noodle soup with spinach and garlic chives… and on it goes.

One recipe that caught my eye was the Korean Garlic Chive Kimchi which utilises 10 cups of chives! Can’t wait to get stuck into this one too! Only issue now is I’m not sure that I’m growing enough!