Nira Chives
Allium tuberosum
Nira chives a.k.a. Chinese leek, is a decorative allium (onion family) that produces a beautiful flat leaf with a garlic flavor. It is a perennial, with a clumping habit, which can be used as a decorative garden edging plant, much like Liriope. Nira chives blooms are globe-like with pretty white flowers. The seed can easily be saved and propagated the following year. For culinary use, they are often used fresh in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cooking, especially in gyoza, otherwise known in English as potstickers. They can also be chopped and dried to use in winter-time soups.
Height: up to 24″
Zones: 4 – 10
Days to Harvest: 100
Container: yes
Deer Resistant: yes
Fertilize: late spring/early summer with high nitrogen
Plant Color: green
Bloom Color: white
Bloom Time: late summer/early autumn
Life Cycle: perennial
Spacing: 12″
Juglone Tolerant: yes
Sunlight: full to part
Soil: medium
Water: medium
Design Styles: formal, informal, potager, herb
Guild Use: pest repellent
History
Nira Chives is native to the Chinese province of Shanxi, and in the Siberian – Mongolian _ North Chinese steppe region is cultivated and naturalized.
Uses
These are ways you can use this plant in your landscape or farm:
* edging
* potager
* formal designs
* naturalized
* fruit tree guilds
* around Black Walnut trees
Design
You can grow Nira Chives in sunny to part shade locations. It provides an elegant draping habit in clump form. The flowers in late summer to early autumn provide a subtle display, although more notable in forest garden edges given the blooms are white and are more easily seen in shady locations.
Benefits
By choosing this plant, you can eaily grow a beautiful planting in areas previously thought to not allow for food plants to be grown.
This plant also provides health enhancing benefits, especially for its high Vitamin C content.
Amount per 1 bunch (150g)
Calories –
Total Fat .73 g
Saturated fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 0 mg
Potassium 0 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 4.35 g
Dietary fiber 2.5 g
Sugar 0 g
Protein 3.27 g
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Vitamin C 70%
Iron 12%
Vitamin B6 0%
Magnesium 12%
Phosphorus 8%
% Daily Value
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
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Calcium 9%
Vitamin D 0%
Manganese 18%
Zinc 6%
Vitamin A 4353mg
a Simple Nira Chives Recipe
Blanched Nira in a Sesame & Soy Sauce
Bunch of Nira approximately 1″ in diameter
1/2 Tbl Soy sauce
1/2 Tbl Sesame oil
4 cups boiling water
sesame seeds (optional)
Add water to pot and bring to a boil.
Trim off any dried stems or leaves.
In a medium sized pot, bring water to a boil. While water is heating, mix soy sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl.
Add Nira chives to boiling water and cook for 30 seconds, drain, cool. Squeeze out excess liquid, and then chop into 1/4-inch pieces. Place blanched Nira in the sesame & soy sauce. Sprinkle sesame seeds, if desired, and serve.
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