When I was growing up, mom says watercress was very cheap and that's why we often ate it. I remember her stir frying it with bacon, a little soy sauce and I don't know what else. She doesn't remember either, but my brother and I loved it.
Watercress is best bought at the farmers market in Hawaii. It seems fresher than what we see at the regular market. Our Hawaiian watercress looks like a different variety than what we got on the mainland.
Mom and I eat it by dabbing the leafy stalks into a plate of mayo and soy sauce. Art eats it plain. I used to chop off and discard the stems, but Art insisted they would be great to eat alone. I didn't believe him. However, when we had sandwiches the other day I ate the stems with him and it was wonderful! It was better and healthier than eating chips. Really. It was surprising delicious. It added just a touch of crunch and spicy flavor to the sandwich. Yum!
Watercress is best bought at the farmers market in Hawaii. It seems fresher than what we see at the regular market. Our Hawaiian watercress looks like a different variety than what we got on the mainland.
Mom and I eat it by dabbing the leafy stalks into a plate of mayo and soy sauce. Art eats it plain. I used to chop off and discard the stems, but Art insisted they would be great to eat alone. I didn't believe him. However, when we had sandwiches the other day I ate the stems with him and it was wonderful! It was better and healthier than eating chips. Really. It was surprising delicious. It added just a touch of crunch and spicy flavor to the sandwich. Yum!
When I bought watercress recently They sold it with the roots on. I guess they last longer this way. I will have to try it on a sandwich, that sounds good!
ReplyDeleteMy children and I eat chips smashed in our sandwiches. Probably would be better to eat watercress stems:)
ReplyDeleteit sounds so nutritious, I think my dad used to put it into his soups.
ReplyDeleteI love all kinds of greens, Kay, but I don't see watercress very often anywhere around here. I'll look for it. :-)
ReplyDeleteMy dad used to eat watercress sandwiches (moment of nostalgia). I have not even seen it around here for ages.
ReplyDeleteI have never eaten cress, is it like spinach? Could I interest you in some snow Kay, just a bit, I'll send it your way,
ReplyDeleteI must try this, if I can find it. It's got to be better than all the dandelion wine I could make! (I'm picturing the two of you looking like happy little rabbits, munching the stems.) Yesterday, I saw a bunny in my yard break a stalk of dandelion at the bottom and eat it like a strand of spaghetti, but blowing away the white puff-ball of seeds from the top. DrumMajor
ReplyDeleteWe used to pick water cress along the banks of the moountain strams in Colorado when I was a young girls. We would just rinse it off and eat it. I loved the taste.
ReplyDeleteWatercress was a regular part of my growing up. We had it for Sunday tea along with shrimps (really tiny prawns) and winkles a very small shellfish a bit like a whelk) which were bought from the travelling fish man who came round on his bicycle. We used to have to tease the winkles out of their shells with a pin. And watercress in brown bread sandwiches with just the tiniest smear of mayonnaise is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThe watercress we get in Fresno has very small leaves. Yours looks to be more like another green that we sometimes get in our CSA box and whose name escapes me. As you can probably guess, I would throw it in with my juicing ingredients.
ReplyDeleteWatercress sandwiches...now that's an idea for our lunch. Husband likes frying it tempura style, even the kids go for it. We sometimes stir fry it like your mom did, or just blanch and eat with a soy sugar dipping sauce. We get a good supply of really nice fresh bunches at our local grocery store. We always eat the stems. I cut just about 1/2 inch when I get home from the store and the rest is consumed.
ReplyDeleteL...w
Watercress tempura? Now THAT sounds really scrumptious!
DeleteKay, OMG. Our family ate watercress the same way (with the mayo/shoyu mixture) after it was parboiled. We eat it raw in tofu salad. Must be a local Japanese thing!
ReplyDeleteGee... must be. Another cousin told me the same thing.
DeleteI have never purchased watercress but now wonder if I can grow it here in the spring. It is a very popular addition to restaurant dishes at this time of year on the mainland.
ReplyDeleteUs too!
ReplyDeleteAloha
And it is good for you too. When I was younger it seemed that watercress sandwiches with the crusts cut off were served to the upper crust social set. It was considered dainty and proper. Think I will see if I can grow some.
ReplyDeletenever thought of using it that way!
ReplyDeleteWatercress sandwiches are a real treat.
ReplyDeleteI confess I have never tasted watercress.
ReplyDeleteMy mom made it the same way, stir fried with some crisped bacon bits and a little salt to help wilt the leaves when you first put them in. My mom would send me to the watercress yasai-san (vendor), who was just a little ways up the road, at the Fukunaga residence (which has artesian wells and a fresh water stream running through the property) with a dime in my hand which I would offer to the old man working in the field there, and he would gather a bunch of watercress with his sickle and wait while I played with the crayfish under the stems. I remember the water was unusually cold there, not at all like the normal temperature of stream water in hawaii. He would wrap the bunch in newspaper and send me back home. Over the years the price went up to a whopping 15 cents. Years later I heard the property was listed for something a little bit higher. I heard the Fukunagas had moved to the Vegas area :(
ReplyDeletewalt
Mom made it for us last night. I love it!
DeleteWait a minute? A dime? Sheesh!
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