33 Asian Vegetables, Herbs, and Spices You Should Grow

The world of Asian vegetables can seem a bit intimidating if you haven’t grown up around it. But there is such variety, uniqueness, and flavor in them that they are well worth a quick study!

Asian vegetables can be hard to find outside of the countries where they originate, and not all cities have stores specializing in importing vegetables. Growing in your own backyard is often the best bet. 

Growing Japanese eggplant, lotus root, or taro root in the backyard can make your homemade cooking pop with flavor! From the mild flavor of napa cabbage and gai lan to the delicious bite of bitter melon, Asian vegetables open up a whole new world of cooking. 

Bitter Melon

Bitter melon, or Momordica charantia, also known as balsam pear, is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family. As the name suggests, it is an incredibly bitter vegetable. While it’s shaped like a cucumber, it has a striking bubbly, shiny surface. This vining plant needs a sturdy trellis to take the weight of the fruit it produces. 

As the fruits increase in bitterness with age, they’re usually harvested while young and pickled, stuffed, or cooked with sauce in a stir fry. While especially common in Okinawan food, it’s also found in Chinese cuisine, Thai cuisine, and Filipino food. 

Luffa Gourd

Winged Bean

Sometimes referred to as the princess bean or goa bean, the winged bean or Psophocarpus tetragonolobus has a similar growth habit to regular pole beans. But the plant itself is unique in appearance, looking like a four-sided or winged cucumber.

The winged bean is a very traditional Asian vegetable. Like other beans, it is also protein-rich and adds nitrogen to the soil.

Yardlong Beans 

A member of the bean family, Vigna unguiculata ssp. Sesquipedalis or yardlong beans not only feed you but also the garden! This nitrogen-fixing plant will deposit nutrients in the soil while pushing out its namesake crop of beans almost up to a yard long! It’s for the long stringy appearance that they’re also sometimes called asparagus beans. 

While common in many Asian countries, yardlong beans are a bit crunchier than Western beans. They are commonly used in stir-fries. 

Bottle Gourd

Bottle gourds or Lagenaria siceraria come from the Cucurbitaceae family. Like many of its cousins, they vine their way up a trellis and produce a multitude of double-curved gourds. With a mild taste similar to summer squash or cucumber, they’re generally eaten stir-fried or in a curry. 

They’re usually harvested at a young and immature stage if eaten. If left on the vine, they’ll grow hard and eventually can be hollowed out to make birdhouses or other projects. 

Snow Peas

Snow peas, or Pisum sativum var. macrocarpon, are a fast-growing vining crop that will twist and wind their way around the garden. The snow pea itself is a 3-5 inch long light green pod with peas growing inside it. Unlike many other types of peas, snow peas are eaten whole, pod and all. They are a great crunchy and sweet addition to any stir fry. 

Winged Yam

Winged yam, or Dioscorea alata, is actually a ‘true yam’. Different from American sweet potatoes often mistakenly called ‘yams’, this plant is also known by the name ‘ube’ in Philippino cuisine. Popularly used in deserts, it has a naturally sweet flavor and comes in a range of colors. The bright purple Zambales is a popular variety. 

This Asian vegetable is native to the Philippines and Indonesia but has been eaten for thousands of years. It reputedly has medicinal use for hemorrhoids and fevers. It is invasive in the southeastern corner of the United States. Opt for a regular sweet potato in these regions.

Lentils

Lentils, or Lens culinaris, are a traditional and protein-packed little bean in the legume family. Tiny little protein factories, you need to eat quite a few of these in soups, stews, or salads to get enough protein. But their delicious flavor in dishes like tarka dhal has cemented them as a popular food in Indian cooking.

Their flavor is mild and nutty and easily blends with whatever spices are added to it. Growing on short vine-like plants, the lentils grow inside pods. 

Daikon Radish

Daikon radishes are the mild version of the western radish. Growing in a range of colors from milky white to red to watermelon patterned, the daikon radish is most often pickled to make delicious accents and side dishes. It’s the enlarged taproot of daikon radishes that are usually eaten. The Japanese daikon radish, a large white veggie, is particularly famous. 

Chinese Celery

Chinese celery may seem a little odd to many people unfamiliar with Chinese food. It has a more pronounced flavor than Western celery and can easily be mistaken as an herb. Not only is this Asian vegetable great for digestion, but it is also much smaller than Western celery. The thin stalks and the leaves of the plant are eaten as well. Varieties range in color from white to dark green. 

Broccoli Rabe

A delicious and hearty green, broccoli rabe or Brassica oleracea var. Alboglabra is common throughout the world. In appearance, it’s the cousin to Gai Lan with thick stalks and broad leaves. However, broccoli rabe has a curled leaf and a flavor a little more similar to broccoli despite not being related. 

Similar to Chinese broccoli and cool-season crops, it will bolt and become bitter if eaten once temperatures begin to climb. 

Bok Choy

Bok choy (Brassica rapa var. chinensis) comes in many different varieties. This green-leafed vegetable is one of the most well-known Chinese vegetables outside of China. A type of Chinese cabbage, Bok choy grows more like a small head of lettuce. The stalks are firm with tender greens and range in color from bright white to a pale green.

Different types are grown for different styles of cooking. Use in stir-fries with tofu or meat and steamed vegetable dishes. This is one of the most common veggies you’ll find in Asian markets! 

Napa Cabbage

Napa cabbage, or Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis, is one of the more commonly found Chinese veggies found in Western supermarkets. A cabbage with more delicate leaves than Western cabbage, it’s eaten thinly sliced and cooked with soy sauce, pickled to make kimchi, or even eaten raw in salads. 

This versatile food from the cruciferous family is one of the first plants to go in the spring. It takes a few months to fully mature. However, the flavor of this cabbage is what makes it so sought after. 

This variety of Chinese cabbage is much larger than Western cabbage. There are also a number of varieties to try, like Red Dragon Chinese Cabbage or the Red Dragon Hybrid Chinese Cabbage. 

Mizuna Greens

Mizuna greens, sometimes called spider mustard, are a peppery salad green similar to mustard greens and not for the faint of heart! These greens are one of the most nutritious vegetables in the entire world. While the mizuna green can be eaten in stir-fries, it’s often served raw, or even pickled for long-term storage. 

This cool-season crop has a flavor that gets stronger with age. Mizuna comes in a variety of colors and shapes, but they all have a characteristic wispy or spiky leaf that grows in a mounding rosette shape. Leaves range in color from pale green to a striking dark purple that contains anthocyanin. Spider mustard is a prolific producer, grown in the early spring before many other vegetables are ready. It is often succession planted and eaten raw in salads. 

Tatsoi

A fast-growing green, Tatsoi (Brassica rapa var. Rosularis) is one of the most nutritious plants in the entire world. Prized for its source of vitamins, this low-growing plant looks similar to bok choy. However, it is shorter and darker in color than its well-known cousin.

Used commonly in Chinese cuisine, you can cook it with lo bok or zucchini. Its juicy stalks are often cooked down in Chinese traditional dishes with bamboo shoots or water chestnuts.

Gai Lan

Gai lan is a popular Asian vegetable for stir-fries or traditional steamed vegetable dishes. Known as Chinese broccoli, it has wide flat leaves growing around a thick fibrous stem. It looks similar to Choy sum and is very common in Asian food.

This Asian green is unique in that it can be eaten after it has begun to flower. Florets, leaves, and stems are all edible and desired parts of this Chinese broccoli. The dark green leaves are packed full of vitamin C and it is wonderful when pickled as well! 

Peppers

While not native to Asia, peppers have become a staple Asian vegetable since their introduction hundreds of years ago. Peppers are grown both as a vegetable and as a flavoring agent.

Since their introduction to Asia, hundreds of new varieties have emerged, from sweet peppers to mouth-pain-inducing spicy ones such as the Thai Chili pepper. Used in Thai, Chinese and Indian cuisine, peppers are a dominant flavoring agent.  

Eggplant

While also eaten widely in Europe, this vegetable has many varieties that are unique to Asia. The Japanese eggplant is a long thin and dark purple eggplant that lends itself well to grilling or as a stir fry with ginger and scallions. 

Several different types of Thai eggplants look like small green or purple balls. These eggplants can be stir-fried with corn and spinach or even fried and eaten in salads. Popular in Southern Indian cuisine, larger purple eggplants that look similar to European eggplant are often stewed with onion and tomatoes to make curries. 

Lotus Root

Lotus root is an herbaceous perennial native to Asian waters. It’s the root of the beautiful lotus flower and is a crunchy delight in a lot of Chinese and Japanese dishes. It grows in the mud of ponds or small waterways.

This thin-skinned, white-fleshed vegetable has lots of holes on the inside of the root. It is so beloved in China that babies’ chubby arms and legs are lovingly referred to as a lotus root. 

Ginger

Galangal

While galangal, also known as Alpinia galanga or Alpinia officinarum, is often confused with its cousin ginger, galangal is its own plant with a more toned-down flavor than ginger.

A common Asian vegetable in Thai cooking, these rhizomes grow in a pale tan tuber-looking shape underground with beautiful tropical green foliage above the ground. 

Turmeric

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a tropical rhizome that produces the colored turmeric spice common in Indian cuisine. It can also be used as a dye and a medicinal plant. It has a very earthy flavor that adds lovely spice to dishes, especially curries. Above ground, broad green leaves shoot up and out and have a distinctly tropical look. 

Taro Root

Taro root, or Colocasia esculenta, is a type of elephant ear plant that has enormous leaves that get up to six feet tall in a range of colors. It is a staple crop in parts of Southeast Asia and looks like a ringed and hairy potato.

The taro interior comes in hues ranging from white to pink and has a sweet, nutty taste. The tubers are shaped like potatoes but have a thick tan exterior with pointed tips. They need processing to be rendered edible.

Garlic Chives

Garlic chives, also known as Chinese chives, are versatile members of the allium family. This plant is a clumping and herbaceous perennial. At first glance, it looks like a grass, but when white blooms rise out of the center of the plant in late summer, it quickly shows its true colors.

Cilantro

Cilantro is one of the most popular herbs found in cooking today. A fresh green bite that compliments any meal, cilantro is a cool-season crop and will only grow in temps below 65-70°F (18-21°C) before bolting and producing flowers and coriander seeds. Coriander seeds are also a well-loved and desired spice most often used in Indian cooking.

Cumin

As the second most popular spice in the world, cumin is a widely used herb grown for its flavorful seeds. Cumin, or Cuminum cyminum, is actually also used for its medicinal properties and is full of vitamins and minerals. The plant is a small feathery green plant that produces a small banana-shaped seed called cumin.

Vietnamese Coriander

Vietnamese coriander, sometimes called Vietnamese cilantro or laksa leaf, is a great alternative to the cilantro commonly available in the US. While it isn’t related (and thus good for people who think cilantro has a soapy taste), it is similar.

This plant is also far more heat tolerant than regular cilantro. So, when high temperatures cause cilantro to bolt, this plant is still growing. Its pointed and oblong leaves and dense growing habit make it great for herb gardens.

Thai Basil

Thai basil is a cousin to the Western Genovese basil. While it may be lesser-known among Westerners, it is certainly not for lack of flavor. With a punchy taste that combines basil’s sweet tones with a peppery bite, this plant is used to garnish soups and cooked alongside Japanese eggplant and water chestnuts to make delicious stir-fries.

With dark green leaves and purple flowers, this Asian vegetable can serve as an ornamental as well. 

Mint

Mint is one of the most popular fresh herbs in the world. With a refreshing peppery taste and a tendency to take over the garden, this is an herb you’ll never tire of. Used for both its culinary and medicinal properties, mint is used in a variety of dishes from a refreshing mint tea to a scintillating Indian chutney.

Keep yours in a container to prevent unwanted spreading and invasion of other areas of the garden.

Leeks

Leeks are known throughout much of the world but are originally from Asia. While it doesn’t pack the same punch that other members of the Allium family like shallots or bunching onions do, the more subtle flavor of the leek lends itself well to soups and roasts.

Leeks have alternating flat broad leaves and grow in stalks with white bottoms and dark green tops. Depending on the cuisine, almost the entire plant is eaten. 

Onions

Onions are used extensively in Asian food, whether sauteed with mushrooms and cauliflower or used as garlic with grilled meat. You can eat a wide variety of onions too! Whether grown for their yellow, red, or white bulbs or for their green stalks, the variety you use and how you cook it can make or break a dish. 

Shallot

Shallot is the perfect cool weather crop to grow in the garden. Packed full of a sharp flavor, grow shallots where you’re most likely to have openings in your garden space. Originally from Asia, these alliums grow as bulbs much like garlic does. Able to last in the pantry for several months, and quite expensive at grocery stores, this crop is a sure bet! 

Lemongrass

Lovely lemongrass provides a citrusy note to many dishes, particularly those of Thai origin. The grass also makes a lovely ornamental in most garden settings. Grow some of this tall grass for a bright and citrusy flavor booster!