Nuts, ginkgo nuts, raw

Ginkgo nuts are the pale green, starchy seeds inside the ginkgo tree's fruit, shelled and typically simmered, steamed, or pan-roasted before eating since they aren't eaten raw straight from the shell. They're a familiar addition to Chinese and Japanese dishes like congee, stir-fries, and chawanmushi, a savory egg custard, where their soft, slightly chewy, faintly bitter-sweet texture works as an accent rather than a main ingredient. Roasting them in the shell over heat until it pops open is a traditional way to prepare a small handful as a snack.

Buy shelled or in-shell ginkgo nuts in small quantities, since they don't keep as well as harder tree nuts, and store them in the refrigerator, cooking within a few days of shelling. At 182 calories per 100 grams, with a one-ounce, 28-gram serving as the typical portion, they're a moderate-calorie addition to a dish rather than a snack eaten in large amounts, and traditionally only a small handful is used per dish. Sodium is naturally very low at 7 milligrams per 100 grams, and they carry a modest 11% DV potassium and 17% DV vitamin C, fitting best as an occasional, textured addition to a rice or custard dish.