This item
Watercress
- Many slender stems
- Small rounded leaflets along the stems
- Usually sold in bunches
Vegetables
Watercress
A bunched leafy green with many slender stems and small rounded leaflets, often used for soup in Hong Kong.
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3 identity clues
- Many slender stems
- Small rounded leaflets along the stems
- Usually sold in bunches
Names in other languages
- 繁體中文
- 西洋菜
- English
- Watercress
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Selada Air / Watercress (西洋菜)
- Tagalog
- Watercress (西洋菜)
Name in Cantonese (Jyutping): sai1 joeng4 coi3 No Cantonese voice on this device
What is it?
Watercress is the official Hong Kong market English name for 西洋菜; selada air is an Indonesian term.
How to identify it
Look for many slender stems carrying small round-to-oval leaflets. The bunch does not have the large arrow-shaped leaves of water spinach.
Common confusion
Compare
Water Spinach
- Long stems with a hollow tube
- Pointed or arrow-shaped leaves
- Visible nodes where leaf stalks emerge
How to identify it
Watercress has many small rounded leaflets; water spinach has longer thicker stems and larger leaves.
Common Hong Kong household uses
Commonly simmered in soup, or blanched and stir-fried.
Choosing & preparing
Open the bunch, wash sections under running water, clean stem-leaf joints and trim old roots.
Storage
Keep unwashed and dry in the refrigerator crisper and use soon.
Helper tip
Watercress has small rounded leaflets; water spinach has much larger arrow-shaped or elongated leaves.
What Ma’am or Sir may say
買一斤西洋菜煲湯，要嫩同新鮮。The employer wants about one catty of tender fresh watercress for soup.
Useful market phrase
唔該要一斤嫩西洋菜。Meaning: One catty (斤) of tender Watercress, please.
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