Vegetables · FFET10474
Chinese chives (garlic chives)
Chinese chives regrow after cutting; the leaves go into eggs and dumplings, and the flowers become a fermented sauce.
CanonVegetablesChinese chives are perennial alliums with flat leaves that can be harvested repeatedly. The leaves are used in scrambled eggs, dumplings and stuffed chive pancakes, while the flowers become a fermented sauce; yellow chives are the pale form grown without light.
What
Chinese chives, Allium tuberosum, are perennial alliums with flat leaves. The leaves, white bases and flowers are eaten; the pale form grown without light is called yellow chives.4,5
When
Ancient verse describes an offering of lamb and chives. Historical growing instructions call for sowing in the second and seventh months, cutting at a height of three cun, and harvesting once in the first year and no more than five times annually afterward. These describe practices recorded at the time.1,2
Where
Chinese chives are grown in Beijing's Tongzhou, Shunyi, Fangshan and Changping districts. A farm in Shunyi combines open fields, plastic-covered greenhouses and solar greenhouses to supply them year-round.6
How
Historical growing instructions call for raking, watering and manuring after each harvest. In the kitchen, the leaves go into scrambled eggs, dumplings and stuffed chive pancakes. The white bases can be stir-fried with dried shrimp, and the flowers fermented into chive flower sauce.1,3,4,5
Why
Chinese chives regrow after cutting, allowing repeated harvests from the same plants; historical growing instructions also set how many cuts to take each year and call for manuring after each. Green chives and pale yellow chives offer different forms for cooking.1
Impact and influence
The third chive-picking festival in Shunyi, Beijing, ran from April 12 to May 5, 2026, making chive growing part of a farm picking event.6