5 ways to use ice plants 1. Steeped as tea The easiest way of consuming ice plant is to steep it as a tea. Hot water breaks down the succulent, making it easy to absorb its vitamins and minerals through the tea. 2. Raw in salads Ice plant can easily substitute crunchy leafy vegetables in your salads. It is light, filled with water and only slightly salty so it won’t overpower any other flavors you’d want to dress the salad with. 3. Garnish Thanks to the unique texture of the ice plant leaves, it can be used as an innovative garnish to add a textural element to any dish. 4. Deep-fried The Japanese are known to make tempura out of ice plant leaves. Just a thin coating of tempura flour and a quick deep-fry gives the leaves an extra crispiness. 5. Stir-fried This hardy vegetable makes for a good stir-fry ingredient as it is able to retain its crunchiness after frying. Because of its slight salinity, ice plant makes a great complement to seafood. Here’s a simple recipe from chef Benson Tong of Mahatma Commune