What is this vegetable?

[Jennalynn]

I bought this at a Korean Supermarket in Los Angeles.

It's not scallion or spring onion, since they were next to it, with a sign.

This vegetable had a sign that said: "Twingo". I've googled Twingo, and nothing food related comes up.

Tastes oniony - garlicy. Thought it might be a type of ramp?

Anyone know for sure?

[Jennalynn]

Well... I've been using and loving this green all week. Chopped it into a omelet... wonderful. Grilled lightly next to fish... Great. I'm going to give it a go with a Korean Scallion Pancake today. Not sure how often I'll pop for $1.50 a bunch, but every now and then I will.

[John E.]

If I saw a vegetable at a market and was unsure exactky what it was, I would simply ask someone that was selling them ; )

[ninrn]

There's a chocolate-covered cookie called Twingo that I used to see in Chinatown years ago, but have never seen elsewhere. I wonder if someone made signs based on a shipping list or something and just matched the wrong name with this item.

[small h]

I googled "scallion-like vegetable" and learned that cong bai is a Chinese term for scallion. I've seen weirder mistranslations than twingo for cong bai, so maybe that's it? 'Cause those are scallions.

[ediblover]

Heck with the sign, they're scallions. They look like scallions and your description of the flavor match scallions. They probably ran out of the other stuff and had a bunch of scallions so put them in that section. On the off-chance they're not, they're still in the same family (so that's a place to check).

[Jennalynn]

AH! Success. I figured scallions, but the scallions were 3 bunches for a dollar. These were $1.49 a bunch. I decided to buy them because I was intrigued.

Just looked at the receipt and it says: JJOK PAI... which is a sort of green onion but not exactly.

"Jjok pa:
Possibly green garlic rather than green onion, as it has a garlic flavor. Used in soups, stir fry, kimchi, and the popular PaJeon or scallion pancake."

Sounds more like a type of ramp to me.

[ediblover]

They're all related (same genus). So... Stronger flavor than what's expected?

[Jennalynn]

Yes. The garlic edges out the onion. It's nice actually.

I may try the Korean Onion Pancakes with it.

[Mr. Roboto]

In French it's called "AILLET" also known here in California as "GREEN GARLIC." It's just immature garlic that's not been allowed to reach the bulb stage. Add them to omelettes and scrambled eggs, you can substitute it for scallions or leeks in many recipes.

[babette feasts]

Late July seems awfully late for green garlic. At the restaurant our suppliers were done with it at least a month ago. Or is it a crop that is planted frequently throughout the year and does not have the limited season I think it does?

[jeniyo]

wow. that kinda boggles my mind too. I can't think of anything else but green onions.