Know your Rakkyo

Know your Rakkyo - Introduction

• • The Rakkyo onion, Allium chinense (in Japanese: ラッキョウ (rakkyō), also written as 辣韮, 辣韭, or 薤; in Chinese: 薤 (xiè) or 藠头 (jiàotou); in Vietnamese: củ kiệu; syn. Allium bakeri Regel, Allium splendens Willd. ex Schult.f.) is an edible plant in the Alliaceae family and may be a perennial.

  • It is commonly eaten pickled as a side dish.

  • Rakkyo can be found in Asian markets.

Know your Rakkyo - Botany

• • The plants do not produce seeds and are propagated by bulb division.

  • In mild climates, bulbs are planted in late summer, and the crop is harvested in midsummer of the following year.

  • Several small bulbs are obtained from each bulb planted.

  • The leaves have hollow blades.

Know your Rakkyo - Cultivation

• • Cultivation and botanical description of plant parts is similar to that of bulb onions.

Know your Rakkyo - Uses

• • A type of Japanese shallot, which is usually uncooked and pickled in light vinegar, some are canned.

  • Very often used as a garnish with grilled fish and meat.

  • Commonly available varieties of pickled rakkyo have a very mild and "fresh" taste.

  • They are also used as a cooked vegetable.

  • It is also used as a folk medicine curing heart disease.

  • This plant is used as a pickled meal during Vietnamese New Year- Tết holiday.

  • On many occasions it is eaten with sushi to balance the saltiness of the soy sauce that the sushi is sometimes dipped in.