Can You Freeze Tatsoi?

3 minutes

Tatsoi is a leafy green that doesn’t get as much love as its close relative, bok choy. It can be eaten cooked or raw and has a bitter, rich flavour that works well with red meat. With it being so hard to get hold of, how should you store it when you do get some?

How to Freeze Tatsoi

Tatsoi is a very tender and delicate vegetable. This means that it has to be handled with care to be sure that it freezes well. With that in mind, here are the steps that we would recommend the following when freezing tatsoi:

1. Wash and Dry: Give the tatsoi a good wash under running water then drain it in a sieve.
2. Slice: Slicing the leaves crossways is the best way to do things – cutting against the natural direction of the leaf in this way ensures that it’s a cleaner cut.
3. Blanch: Drop the sliced leaves into a pan of boiling water for 2 minutes before draining and dropping it into ice-cold water and then drain thoroughly.
4. Bag Up: Transfer the sliced tatsoi leaves to freezer bags. You may need a few. Don’t be afraid to compress them into the bags a little, as that will make sure that the leaves are taking up as much room as possible within those bags.
5. Seal: Removing excess air from the bags is essential for the reason we mentioned just above – air will eventually become ice, which will lead to freezer burn.
6. Freeze: Freezing the tatsoi is probably the easiest part. Place the packaged bag toward the centre of your freezer, and do your best to ensure it doesn’t directly touch any ice.

3 Tips for Freezing Tatsoi

Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing tatsoi to have the best results:

Blanch Them
Blanching delicate vegetables has long been done to preserve them – boil for two minutes before dropping them into ice water. This will help the tatsoi leaves retain their colour, texture and vitamin content.

Freeze Into Cubes
If you want to freeze individual portions of tatsoi, then blanch for 2 minutes before squeezing out the excess water, then pack them into an ice cube tray. Freeze for a few hours before popping the frozen cubes into a freezer bag.  

Avoid Freezing Whole Bunches
Freezing whole bunches of tatsoi will likely lead to a poor freezing experience. The reason for this is that whole bunches have many air pockets that will rapidly condense and freeze, leading to freezer burn.

How Long Can You Freeze Tatsoi?

You can freeze tatsoi for around 1 month before you notice a dropoff in quality. The reason for this short freezer time is that tatsoi is a delicate leaf – it can be very delicate when frozen.

Unfortunately, you’ll find that tatsoi, like many leafy greens, quickly loses texture in the freezer.

How Do You Defrost Tatsoi?

The best methods for defrosting tatsoi include throwing it directly into a hot pan. If you freeze according to the method we outlined above, you can throw the frozen leaves into a stir fry or a noodle broth.

Be careful when throwing whole frozen leaves into large volumes of oil, however. Water and oil do not mix well!

Can You Refreeze Tatsoi?

Technically, yes, as tatsoi doesn’t contain meat, fish, or dairy, it can be refrozen. However, we would advise against it.

Tatsoi leaves are exceptionally delicate, and repeated freezing will likely lead to intense damage to the leaves. They will soften each time and, when you come to consume them, they’ll be slimy and soggy.

Does Tatsoi Freeze Well?

Not really, no. Within a week or so, you’ll find that the tatsoi becomes soggy. This is why you may as well keep it in the fridge where it will last for 1 week.

With this in mind, we wouldn’t say that tatsoi freezes well. It can be made to freeze acceptably but not exceptionally well.

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing tatsoi or tatsoi in general, then these may help: