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Jicama is a light brown, roundish tuber that grows on vines and has a crisp, juicy, slightly sweet flesh. Known as chop suey yam in Hawaii, it’s being grown here by North Shore farmers and is available at farmers markets.
In the past, jicama was imported, mostly from Mexico. It has been used and grown extensively in Asia as well.
When fresh, jicama’s skin is pale brown and thin; peel the skin to reveal the ivory-colored flesh.
What do you do with jicama? Enjoy it raw, cut into slices or sticks for a crudite tray. In Mexico, it’s cut into sticks along with cucumber and fruit such as mango, pineapple or papaya, drizzled with lime juice and sprinkled with chili powder and salt.
You can also cook jicama in quick stir-fries or in stews and braised dishes. Because it is rather bland, jicama takes on the other flavors in the dish and remains crunchy as it cooks, adding wonderful texture.
Jicama is often used in Vietnamese spring rolls, Filipino lumpia and a host of noodle dishes, with delicious results.
Whole jicama will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. Once you cut it, cover with plastic wrap and store for up to a week.
One bite and you’ll want to keep crunching on jicama — it’s one of those healthy veggie snacks to keep handy in the refrigerator.
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Hawaii food writer Joan Namkoong offers a weekly tidbit on fresh seasonal products, many of them locally grown. Look for "Fresh Tips" every Wednesday.
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