As a housewife who always prepares food in the kitchen for her family, you should know various spices, including the best substitute for leek. This will make it easier for you when you are running out of scallions. You don’t panic when you want to cook, you don’t have to rush to the shop to buy it, just use the following types of leek substitutes.
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The Best Leek Substitutes
Leeks are vegetables in the genus Allium, they are closely related to onions, garlic, scallions and shallots. If you ever run out of leeks, you can try a variety of vegetables that are closely related earlier.
The leek has dense, white petioles at the base of the leek plant. All of them can be eaten and are quite delicious to add in soups, instant noodles, or in other dishes. The most commonly used part is the white and solid base. It tastes sweet and fragrant and light. Apart from being used in soups, leek is also used in stews, and chopped up in salads or added to certain foods as a garnish.
Leek that is still fresh is usually rather difficult to get in stores, because it can dry out or wilt one day so it is not fresh for cooking. Unlike other onion families, such as shallots or garlic, which are always available, they last longer because they are tubers, not leaves. Well, during the summer, sometimes leek is also expensive because it’s hard to get.
Depending on what you use it for, you can use other onions in your cooking instead of leek. For example, scallions, shallots, garlic, frozen leek are vegetables that can replace fresh leek when you run out of leek.
Of course, when substituting these vegetables for leek, adapt them according to the recipe. Sometimes you prefer to use shallots, or sometimes it is better to use garlic, and so on. Here we take a look at some of the best substitutes for leek in your dishes and recipes.
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Best Leek Substitutes Should Trying
1. Scallions
Scallions are the best substitute for leek and are closer in taste and appearance to leek. So, if you run out of leek, you can easily replace it with scallions. It’s perfect for use in foods such as salads, garnishes, and other recipes that call for some extra fresh leeks.
2. Frozen Leeks
If you have frozen leek before, you can use frozen leek as the best substitute for your fresh leek. You can buy leeks in bulk at a time and freeze them in the freezer. It will be very useful for you in the future when you have to run out of fresh leek.
For dishes like soups that require a lot of leeks, you can try using frozen leek instead. It will still give the same taste as fresh leek.
3. Shallots
The best substitute for this leek is very easy to find everywhere, it includes long-lasting vegetable tubers. But it is best to substitute sauteed scallions. Soups and stews can also use some shallots for a sweet and savory taste.
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4. Garlic
Garlic is a popular vegetable in traditional medicine. The allicin content in garlic is good enough to fight various diseases, such as those caused by fungi, bacteria and viruses though. However, garlic benefits not only as a medicine, but also as a substitute for leek in some recipes.
You just need to add a little minced garlic, this will add a leek-like taste and aroma to the dish.
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5. Sweet Onions
Sweet onions have a stronger flavor than leek itself. But sweet onions are the best substitute for leek, besides being easy to get, it also has a low price.
To replace leek, sweet onions simply need to be chopped, and included in stews, soups, and other recipes.
Those are the 5 best leek substitutes and are easy to get and can provide a similar taste and aroma. Hopefully it can increase your knowledge about cooking.
