 Tony Moody |
Asian and Exotic
Vegetables YAM Dioscorea esculenta and Dioscorea alata Chinese: Shuyu | Japanese: Yama Imo | Malay/Filipino: Ubi | There are two main types of yam: Dioscorea esculenta and Dioscorea alata. Esculenta is the one favoured in Chinese cuisine and the variety sold in the market generally has a purplish/brown skin and much indented shape. It is also typified by uneven sprouting hairs, as in a bristly chin on a comic character. Alata has a brown to gold coloured skin and a more even tuber shape: it is the preferred variety of Pacific Islanders. Growing conditions: Frost free, well watered—Queensland and northern New South Wales. |
