As spring returns to the earth, everything recovers, and fresh wild vegetables also poke their heads out, adding a touch of natural umami to the table. These wild vegetables are not only delicious, but also have certain therapeutic functions.
While enjoying the delicious taste of wild vegetables, we also need to understand some precautions for eating. Next, I will give you a detailed introduction to the identification, origin and eating method of these six kinds of wild vegetables, so that you can taste delicious while also taking into account your health.
1. Cabbage
Shepherd's cabbage, a small life blooming in the cruciferous family, has become a messenger of spring with its unique charm. Its plant is tall, up to 50 cm, with erect stems, basal leaves clustered in rosette-like shapes with petioles of varying lengths, and stem-leaf leaves narrowly lanceolate or lanceolate. In the fields, we can often see two forms of shepherd's cabbage: the plate-leaved shepherd's cabbage and the loose-leaved shepherd's cabbage, each with its own characteristics, but equally delicious.
It is distributed in all provinces and regions of mainland China, and is also widely found in temperate regions of the world. They like to grow on hillsides, field edges and roadsides, and can thrive in the wild or cultivated. From January to March every year, it is the best time to pick shepherd's cabbage. At this time, the leaves of the shepherd's cabbage are tender, have an excellent taste, and are rich in nutrients.
Shepherd's cabbage is not only delicious and delicious, but also has the functions of harmonizing the spleen, diluting water, stopping bleeding and brightening the eye. In home-cooked cooking, we can make a variety of delicacies with shepherd's cabbage, such as shepherd's cabbage dumplings, shepherd's cabbage egg cakes, and shepherd's cabbage scrambled eggs. Each dish brings out the freshness of the shepherd's cabbage to the fullest, making people have an endless aftertaste.
2. Houttuynia cordata
Houttuynia cordata, the name of which is full of mountain atmosphere, makes people feel as if they have already smelled its unique fragrance. Houttuynia cordata, also known as folded ear root, is a traditional Chinese medicine plant that grows in mountains, ditches, ponds, river ridges or understory wetlands. In Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Anhui, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi and other places, traces of Houttuynia cordata can be found.
From July to September every year, Houttuynia cordata is at its most luxuriant and the best season for picking. Houttuynia cordata picked at this time has green leaves, strong aroma, and the best medicinal effect.
Houttuynia cordata is very cold, and people with weak and cold body and poor liver function are not suitable for consumption. Houttuynia cordata is mainly used for medicinal purposes, and has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, diuresis and swelling. But in home-cooked cooking, we can also transform it into a delicious dish. Chilling Houttuynia cordata or cooking it with eggs, chicken, and other ingredients will give you a taste of Houttuynia cordata's unique flavor.
III. Butterbur
Bracken, this little elf that blooms in the family of anchovy ferns, has won the love of people with its unique form and taste. It is also known as dragon head dish, ruyi dish, etc., and the name reveals a kind of auspicious meaning. Bracken prefers to grow in sunny plots in shallow mountainous areas, and its sparse mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests are its favorite.
From May to June every year, the bracken is at its most tender. The bracken picked at this time, the leaves have not yet fully opened, the taste is the most crisp and tender, and the nutritional value is also the highest. Bracken is rich in nutrients, containing a variety of vitamins, minerals and amino acids, which have the effects of refreshing, removing greasy and aiding digestion.
In home-cooked cooking, we can make a variety of delicious dishes with bracken. Cold bracken, stir-fried meat with bracken, etc. are very popular practices. The cold bracken retains the original fragrance and crispy texture of bracken, while the stir-fried meat with bracken perfectly combines the freshness of bracken and pork to whet the appetite.
Fourth, winter bamboo shoots
Winter bamboo shoots, which are developed from the side buds of the underground stem (bamboo whip) of Phyllostachys moso bamboo (Phyllostachys chinensis) around the beginning of winter, have become a treasure on people's tables with their tender taste and rich nutrition. It is mainly produced in Chishui, Guizhou, Yibin, Sichuan, Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Hunan, Guangxi and other places, and every bamboo forest may hide delicious winter bamboo shoots.
January to February is the best time to harvest winter bamboo shoots. At this time, the meat of winter bamboo shoots is the most tender and the taste is the most crisp. Winter bamboo shoots have the effect of regulating loss of appetite, loss of appetite, chest tightness, constipation, phlegm and salivation, body obesity, drunkenness and nausea, etc., and are a very healthy ingredient.
In home-cooked cooking, we can make a variety of delicious dishes with winter bamboo shoots. Dried stir-fried winter bamboo shoots, fermented bean curd winter bamboo shoots, etc. are very popular practices. Stir-fried winter bamboo shoots perfectly blend the freshness of winter bamboo shoots with the spicy aroma of chili peppers, which makes people have an endless aftertaste, while the winter bamboo shoots combine the fragrance of winter bamboo shoots with the salty aroma of fermented bean curd, and the taste is rich.
Fifth, spring bamboo shoots
Spring bamboo shoots, this delicacy that blooms in spring, are the nascent, tender, short, and strong buds or whips of bamboo shoots. Bamboo is native to China, with many types, strong adaptability and wide distribution, which also makes spring bamboo shoots one of the favorite foods of people everywhere.
The bamboo shoots unearthed after the "beginning of spring" are called spring bamboo shoots, and their bamboo shoot emergence period is divided into three stages: the early stage is from early February to early April, the middle stage is in mid and late April, and the late stage is in May and thereafter. Each stage of spring bamboo shoots has its own unique flavor and texture.
Spring bamboo shoots have the effect of absorbing fat, promoting food fermentation, aiding digestion and excretion, and are one of the most ideal foods for dieters. In home-cooked cooking, we can make a variety of delicious dishes with spring bamboo shoots. Chilled spring shoots, braised spring shoots in oil, etc. are very popular practices. The cold spring bamboo shoots retain the original fragrance and tender green color of the spring bamboo shoots, and the taste is tender and refreshing, while the braised spring bamboo shoots in oil perfectly combine the freshness of the spring bamboo shoots with the aroma of oil, which makes people appetize.
6. Toon
Toon, a delicacy known as a "tree vegetable", is the bud that grows from the toon tree in early spring. While it is widely cultivated in Shandong, Anhui, Henan and Shaanxi, it is also widely cultivated in northern Guangxi, western Hunan, Guizhou and Sichuan. April to May is the best time to pick toon buds, when the toon buds are at their most tender and delicious.
Toon helps to improve the body's immune function and moisturize the skin. It is rich in vitamin C, carotene and other substances, which are good for enhancing the body's immune function and keeping the skin hydrated. In home-cooked cooking, we can make a variety of delicious dishes with toon. Scrambled eggs with toon sprouts, toon sprouts toed with tofu, toon sprouts pancakes, etc. are all very popular recipes. Each dish brings out the flavor of the toon to the fullest, making people intoxicated.