“It’s harder to explain why I can barely contain my excitement watching these scallions regrow. Maybe it’s because we are five weeks in of our quarantine and there is not much to do. Maybe it reminds me of the heartiness and resilience of the human spirit in these dark days.“
Not to brag but, check out my scallions! I grew them myself.
I got the idea from a David Chang Instagram video a couple of days ago. I don’t remember what he was making but was intrigued when he chopped up scallions he said he had been growing and dropped the scraps back in the glass of water.
I was inspired to try it, which is strange in and of itself. But much has changed. I live and work in NYC, am always pressed for time, order in and eat out a lot, and I rarely cook. But since the COVID19 stay at home order I have rediscovered some dormant Korean food making skills, which has been a happy distraction. I’ve made over 20 different dishes in the last few weeks for my family. Scallions are absolutely essential for almost every Korean dish. Sadly they don’t last very long in the fridge and a goal in pandemic living is to avoid trips to the grocery store until absolutely necessary.
Here’s what I did: I chopped the scallions i had wilting in the fridge to about where the white starts to turn light green— about an inch from the root. Then placed them root down in a small container in an inch of water near a window.
Believe it or not there was noticeable growth in just a few hours! I changed the water once every couple of days. Here’s what they looked like after just three days.
Super easy right? It’s harder to explain why I can barely contain my excitement watching these scallions regrow. Maybe it’s because we are five weeks in of our quarantine and there is not much to do. Maybe it reminds me of the heartiness and resilience of the human spirit in these dark days. Maybe I should have been a farmer. Whatever the reason, I am happy and grateful to have this time and space to appreciate these small miracles.