Why aren’t Chinese vegetables more popular?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love them but only if I know they haven’t been grown conventionally.

I don’t buy most vegetables at Hmart for the same reason I don’t buy most of the meat there - it’s all factory/hormone/pesticide produced.

For the record, it’s not a race thing. I also don’t buy conventional items at Safeway.

Same. I don’t shop at HMart and wouldn’t buy any food from China. I do buy bok Choy from WF.

[Anonymous]

Most fruit and veg we get are factory farmed meaning we get lots of the same kind of thing. It’s how we ended up with the awful Red Delicious apple and the bananas that are being made extinct by a particular banana disease. There’s money in economy of scale; not in producing diverse forms of produce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Convince me that they're grown in any sort of responsible and/or sustainable way. Then we'll talk.

Stick to your organic kale.

Same. I love Chinese vegetables but I have a feeling they’re doused with chemicals.

Because they are “Chinese”? What kind of absurd statement is that?

Looks like some of us are educated about air and water quality in China, and the overall state of environmental policies in China, and some are not. -NP

Actually...

Most Chinese vegetables sold and consumed in America are grown in America to American standards, not imported from China.

I don't know about here but in CA 99 ranch market specifies on the sign WHERE their produce is grown and most of it is grown actually in CA's central valley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there any chance that some of the greens and other veggies sold at Hmart are grown in the US? I just spent a few minutes trying to figure out where HMart sources its vegetables but was unsuccessful.

I don't know about HMart or stores here but in California the bigger Chinese/Taiwanese chains like 99 ranch specify where the food was grown (Most of it is grown right here in the USA in CA) and whether it's organic.

Chinese-American consumers, especially the more affluent ones in CA (lots of affluent Chinese out there) care a lot about freshness and organic produce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there any chance that some of the greens and other veggies sold at Hmart are grown in the US? I just spent a few minutes trying to figure out where HMart sources its vegetables but was unsuccessful.

Yes, many of the greens are grown here.

How do you know? Is it marked?

Depending on where you go, yes, many Asian grocers do mark with location of origin and whether it's organic/conventional.

[Anonymous]

We're trained since little of how and what to eat. It's hard to change the habit.

[Anonymous]

Have gotten some of these veggies at the Potomac vegetable farm at the falls church farmers market. On there website they have recipes for some of the lesser known greens.

[Anonymous]

I've gotten good bok choi and tatsoi at the takoma park farmer's market and also the Bloomingdale market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those of you who like Malabar spinach - how do you prepare it?

I had it traveling abroad - it was cooked basically like pea shoots, quickly sauteed with some garlic and soy sauce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most fruit and veg we get are factory farmed meaning we get lots of the same kind of thing. It’s how we ended up with the awful Red Delicious apple and the bananas that are being made extinct by a particular banana disease. There’s money in economy of scale; not in producing diverse forms of produce.

wait ... is it good to get "Chinese vegetables" from HMart because they are diverse, or is it bad because they are from China and full of pesticides? Confused ...

[Anonymous]

Bok choy is very easy to grow as a fall crop in DC. My most successful garden green by far and so good steamed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most fruit and veg we get are factory farmed meaning we get lots of the same kind of thing. It’s how we ended up with the awful Red Delicious apple and the bananas that are being made extinct by a particular banana disease. There’s money in economy of scale; not in producing diverse forms of produce.

wait ... is it good to get "Chinese vegetables" from HMart because they are diverse, or is it bad because they are from China and full of pesticides? Confused ...

They are not from China. Most are grown in CA, and some are organic. Just like the fruits and veggies at your regular grocery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe it's circumstantial, but I don't like any preparation of these vegetables I've ever tried, especially book chop. Slimy, salty sauces and over cooked bok choy do not appeal. And I've eaten at "the best authentic" in San Francisco, New York, etc.

This is just one preparation, and it is NOT common in many parts of China--I grew up eating my grandmother's Chinese cooking and we had greens quite often cooked in a variety of ways but NEVER had "slimy, salty sauce" poured over a plate of cooked vegetables. (It's like saying you hate potatoes because you hate one very specific preparation of it).

The cooked Chinese broccoli or greens with the 'slimy salty" oyster sauce glopped over it is a very specific way of cooking it in certain Cantonese cooking (it's often part of Cantonese-style dim sum). It happens the "authentic" "old Chinatown" restaurants in San Francisco often cook in this style because of who settled Chinatown in SF. However, there are many, many other preparations. Saying you hate Chinese veggies because you don't like this preparation is like saying you don't like greens because you hate southern style collard greens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Convince me that they're grown in any sort of responsible and/or sustainable way. Then we'll talk.

Stick to your organic kale.

Same. I love Chinese vegetables but I have a feeling they’re doused with chemicals.

Because they are “Chinese”? What kind of absurd statement is that?

Looks like some of us are educated about air and water quality in China, and the overall state of environmental policies in China, and some are not. -NP

The level of casual racism on DCUM by supposedly educated liberals continues to astound me. Most “chinese” vegetables sold at Hmart are grown in California, not China. Think about it for 2 seconds - greens can’t be shipped on container ships. Do you really think HMart is air-freighting bok choy from China to sell you at $2/bunch? On the other hand, a lot of your “organic” produce you find in non-asian grocery stores, especially hardier items and frozen items, are imported from China. Take some lessons on critical thinking and come back when you can do better.

I don’5 know why assume the commenters on this site are all educated liberals. One look at the politics page indicates otherwise. An educated person would not think that a vegetable with a Chinese name has to be grown in China.

[Anonymous]

Retailers are required to provide the country of origin for fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables (and some meat products as well).