Recipe: Orange Spinach with Garlic Scapes and Chinese Sausage

Jun 25, 2011 by The Bald Gourmet    2 Comments    Posted under: Main Course Recipes, Recipes

Orange Spinach with Garlic Scapes and Chinese Sausage

I built this recipe off my Wok Fried Spinach with Garlic dish, but it was inspired by the delicious garlic scapes growing in my garden.  It took a few tries to get just right, but I think I finalized it during lunch today.  Do try this; it is quite tasty.

The recipe calls for garlic scapes, which are the flower stalk of a maturing garlic plant.  The scape grows in fun corkscrew shapes, has a sweet and mild garlic flavor, and has a texture much like Chinese long beans and asparagus.  They can be eaten raw in salads or cooked in dishes like today’s recipe.  You can sometimes find garlic scapes for sale in farmers markets, but the best place to get them is out of your own garden.  Read my post, How to Plant and Grow Garlic for more information.

Garlic Scapes

Orange Spinach with Garlic Scapes and Chinese Sausage Recipe

• Roughly 8 cups chopped mature spinach
• 10 Garlic Scapes, chopped into 1 inch pieces (if not available, substitute with 1 cup garlic chives)
• Juice of 1/2 large orange
• Zest of 1/2 large orange
• 2 tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar or honey
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese Black Vinegar (click for description and substitution)
• Pinch of red pepper
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• 1 Chinese or chorizo sausage link, sliced
• 1/8 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice Powder
• 3/4 tablespoon soy sauce
• 3 Asian Pickled Green Chilies, sliced (optional)
• 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice

How to Cook Orange Spinach with Garlic Scapes and Chinese Sausage Recipe

Cook rice according to packaging instructions.  While rice is cooking, heat wok over high heat until very hot.  Add 1 tablespoon of oil and the garlic scapes.  Stir fry scapes until skin wrinkles and starts to caramelize, roughly 2-3 minutes.

Stir Fry Garlic Scapes Until They Start to Caramelize

While scapes are cooking, combine orange juice, orange zest, hoisin sauce, sugar, sesame oil, black vinegar, and red pepper in bowl and stir to combine and dissolve sugar.  After scapes have cooked, add liquid mixture to them and allow to boil and reduce for roughly 30 seconds.  The liquid should just begin to thicken.

Add Orange Sauce and Allow to Reduce Slightly

Add spinach and stir fry with the scapes and liquid until spinach is thoroughly wilted and stalks are tender, roughly 3-4 minutes.  Remove from wok and place in a bowl.  Set aside.

Stir Fry Spinach until Wilted and Tender

Add remaining tablespoon of oil to the wok, and add sausage once oil begins to smoke.  Season sausage with Five Spice Powder and brown on both sides.  Once browned, add soy sauce and green chilies, and stir fry until most of the soy sauce has been evaporated, roughly 1 minute.  Remove from heat and place over rice with the Orange Spinach and Garlic Scapes.  Or skip the sausage entirely and have a delicious vegetarian meal.

Serves 2

Orange Spinach with Garlic Scapes and Chinese Sausage Over Rice

Recipe by Jothan Yeager, June 2011

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