Chinese celery, or Nan Ling Celery (Simplified Chinese: 旱芹, Pinyin: Hàn qín) is smaller, tougher, and more pungent in flavor compared to its Western cousin. As such, Chinese celery is rarely eaten raw, but commonly used in stir-fries and soups. Also called leaf celery, the shorter, smaller stalks of Chinese celery have more leaves than the Western variety. Nutritionally the two types of celery are nearly identical, according to the USDA. The Chinese and Western varieties are just different varieties of the same plant species.
While you can certainly use regular “Western” celery, Chinese celery is worth taking the time to find. The flavor is much more intense and aromatic… [Chinese] Celery is popular to eat for the lunar new year. The belief is that eating celery has positive meaning because the word for celery in Cantonese kun choi is a homonym for diligence.
Grace Young
Growing Chinese celery in your garden
I have yet to try growing my own Chinese celery. The following advice is a summary of the information at Evergreen Seeds:
Chinese celery is easy to grow, but it likes cooler temperatures. You can plant it after the first frost. Chinese celery is not particular about light: it will thrive in full sunlight if the temperature is moderate, or do well in partial shade when the temperature is hotter.
Plant the seeds in mounded rows, 12 to 24 inches apart (30 to 60 cm). Use a good soil mix with vermiculite and lots of compost. If the leaves appear yellowish, the plants may be undernourished. If you use fertilizer, a 10-10-10 or 8-8-8 mix is recommended.
There are several stalks to a root, and you can cut the stalks as needed for cooking. The plants mature in 60 to 90 days, and can be harvested when the stems are 12 inches tall (30 cm).
The plants need daily watering, but do not water the leaves! Water the ground around the roots.
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