Sometimes life has a funny way of inspiring me.
Last weekend, I had planned to make some smoky shrimp kebabs for a friend's birthday barbeque, so I headed down to Catalina Offshore. I was hoping to score some nice large shrimp (about the 16-20 per pound size) that I could marinate and use for juicy kebabs, but it turned out that they had everything but what I needed. Since I was there anyway (and they sell the most sustainable seafood in San Diego) I decided to pick up some of their bay scallops - I didn't really have a plan for them, but at $6.25 a pound, they were an inexpensive indulgence.
Catalina Offshore bay scallops, sourced from sustainable fisheries in Mexico.
Now my problem was, I was excited about getting awesome scallops, but I still needed those shrimp; I had bought some pretty nice tiger prawns from the Asian market before, so I zoomed over there to continue my quest.
(At this point I should probably mention that this was all happening early Saturday morning, at which time the Asian market is packed with families, old ladies, and generally no white girls like me. I consider myself pretty fearless, but let me tell you, no matter how small he is, when an ancient Chinese man gives you a stern look that says, "What the hell are you doing in my market," it can make you shake in your boots.) But I was on a mission, so I got in line, found exactly the shrimp I wanted, and headed to the checkout.
On my way, I was (predictably) distracted by one magical treat after another, until I found I had wandered over to the produce section. Immediately, these chive buds caught my eye because I had never seen them sold like this before. I impulsively bagged them and added them to my cart, figuring some internet research would clue me in on how to cook them.
Bundled Chinese chive buds from the Asian market.
Stems of the chives aren't hollow - making them a bit stiffer - and the flower buds are white.
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