Greens, greens the magical fruit?

 

I have been craving a hearty salad -- not sad romaine shipped from Cali...not oldy spinach also from far away but something fresh.  I bought seeds to plant some micro greens but in the meantime, I thought I would try a few of the local greens raw, a suggestion from my dear mother.  When it comes to raw greens, of course the younger the better and if you are not used to this much roughage in your diet, I strongly advise mixing it with local lettuce or sad romaine from Cali.  Unless you are already on a raw diet--- very hard to do in Saipan ---some raw greens will surely clean you out. So get roughage ready for a short amateur greens lesson and then a tasty salad.

These greens (above) are a close relative or the same (Michelle thought it was different I thought it was the same) as what I have alternately known as gai lan, chinese broccoli or broccoli rabe. It's not always available here, but it is one of my favorite greens cooked so I pick it up whenever I see it. (I like to simply sautee in garlic and olive oil and then put oyster sauce when just cooked)

 

I like it raw, but in small quantitities. Strong mustard greens flavor and slight bitterness are not for the faint of heart.

These greens (above) are the leafy part of a green bean plant. They have a slightly fuzzy texture. It has a very pleasant light green bean flavor and I though it was tasty raw and cooked. (I sauteed some to put on pizza the day after salad day). The stems are hard and I found them be too woody to eat.

 

 

 

These greens (above) are widely available in Saipan and taste to me like baby bok choy or similar also known here by various other names. This is the most delicate of the three and easy on stomach raw-- I throw some in a salad regularly.

 

Saipan Shrimp Salad

 

Take the leaves off each kind of green you are using and wash thoroughly. Set stems aside (not for green bean greens but for the others) to use in soups stir fry or whatever later. Use a salad spinner to dry or if you don't have one, set aside and allow to drain while you deal with shrimp.

 

 

Prepare shrimp. Devein and remove heads, freeze the heads in a ziploc to make stock out of later.

 These beauties are from same local shrimp farm that normally comes to the farmers markets (you can get during the week often at XO market on middle road in the produce section) They were out of the smaller ones -- big ones are just as sweet bigger and more expensive.

 

 

Prepare shrimp marinade which consists of minced garlic, lemon grass, salt, pepper, fresh local citrus of your choice, fresh green chili, red chili flake and a little soy sauce or fish sauce. Mix marinade into deveined shrimp and refrigerate.

 

 

Prepare dressing from citrus, olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar, fish sauce and chili. As hot or mild as you prefer.

 

Section citrus. I used very sweet local tangerines. I got them from two different vendors because I never know which ones will be sweet and sometimes they are sour. This time the smaller ones were super sweet. You could use pomelo. If pomelo or grapefruit is used I would section it properly so there was no skin, but with the little tangerines didn't seem necessary.

 

 

 

Sautee shrimp in a little olive oil or pan spray until garlic done and shrimp turn barely pink.

 

Chop greens, put in serving bowl and add in whatever else you like, romaine cucumber, or whatever.

 

Add chopped basil.

 

Toss salad in vinagrettte.

 

Arrange shrimp on top.  

 

 

ENJOY!!!