Noble spinach
Unlike lowly eggplants and cowpeas, spinach has a status and a status. First of all, the name spinach is a bit foreign, the surname pine, pineapple, spinach pine, polka, made out of the dish is also called pineapple or jade or something; secondly, the story of spinach in the vegetable and the Chinese emperor is the most.
(The picture in the article comes from the Internet)
When spinach was introduced from Nepal to China's Sui and Tang Dynasties, spinach called spinach was precious. Wei Zheng, a zhenguan liangchen who liked to give advice to Tang Taizong Li Shimin, in addition to liking to eat celery, also fell in love with the bite of spinach, and became addicted, wanting to eat every day. Once, in order to thwart Wei Zheng's aggressive vigor, Li Shimin specially set up a banquet for Wei Zheng to eat spinach (Wei Zheng's wife hated spinach very much at home), and used this to ask Wei Zheng to put forward all his opinions on him, so as not to lose face in front of the courtiers in the future. In the face of the turquoise and fragrant spinach, Wei Zheng could not say a word except for the long stream of saliva. At this time, Li Shimin pretended to say that Wei Zheng had no appetite and asked someone to remove the spinach for the next dish, at this moment, Wei Laofuzi was anxious, and quickly put down the shelf and said: "No, no, no, no! Don't change! Don't hide it, Wei Zheng loves spinach the most..."
Spinach also has several interesting names: red root, red root vegetable, etc. Since the red root part is very similar to the head beak of a bird, spinach also has a stage name called "parrot dish". It is said that the Qianlong Emperor went down to Jiangnan for the fourth time, in a peasant house in northern Fujian, the peasant woman made spinach roasted tofu (tofu fried into two sides of yellow) for him, and registered as "golden inlaid jade seal red-billed green parrot brother". After Qianlong tasted the famous spinach roast tofu of the farmhouse, he was full of praise and returned to Beijing to make this famous dish in the Imperial Dining Room.
There is also a story by Mr. Lu Xun in the "Huagai Collection Sequel · It is recorded in "Talking about the Emperor": "What the emperor wants to eat cannot be given casually, otherwise he will eat it again, and if he can't do it, he will kill people." Spinach is available all year round, and it is not difficult to give him spinach every day. But if it is spinach, he will be angry again, because it is a bargain, so everyone will not call it spinach, and another name, called 'red-billed green parrot'. ”
In fact, spinach is eventually favored by people for its color and its freshness, and almost all major cuisines have representative dishes with spinach as raw material, and the name of the dish is mostly named "emerald". For example, the famous Dish "Emerald Soup" in Beijing is a thick soup cooked together with the fine mud of spinach leaves and chicken breast meat, this dish tastes light and tender, after pouring into the plate, the white and green colors are clear, so it is called jade soup; The famous Dish "Emerald Shrimp Beads" is made of fried green spinach at the bottom, and the fried shrimp beads (fresh shrimp are chopped into puree, with salt, duck egg white, dry starch kneaded balls) are lined up on spinach; Hunan famous dish "Emerald Chicken Leg", which is a dish shaped like chicken leg cooked with spinach juice and chicken puree, has a crisp appearance. Tender delicacies inside. There are also famous dishes made from spinach: Sichuan's "pineapple silver lung soup", "white juice spinach roll", Hunan's "pepper salt spinach heart", Shaanxi's "spinach braised tofu", "spinach pine", Ningxia's "soft fried spinach" and so on.
It is worth mentioning that one year back in Chengdu, my brother Mu Pingfan, who pays attention to health and frugality, unexpectedly made me a "golden hook roasted spinach root". Now many people generally throw away the red-billed roots of the "red-billed green parrot", while the brother uses the upper body of spinach to cook noodles and green at noon, and keeps the roots of the lower body for night meals. I saw my brother soak the golden hook in hot water first. Heat the pot on the fire and put in the mixed oil, then add the appropriate amount of green onion, ginger and garlic, add the soup and the raw water of the golden hook after the aroma is fragrant; put the appropriate amount of salt, then add the golden hook and vegetable root, burn for 2 to 3 minutes, drizzle the appropriate amount of water starch and serve. Without waiting for everyone to come to the table, I tried a chopstick first, and the root of the vegetable was sweet and pink, soft and smooth, which was not available in the upper body of spinach. Brother said that spinach root, celery root, eggplant handle, winter melon peel, etc., do not throw away, these things can be made into a delicious and healthy good West.
(Beijing Nanxincang Tianxia Salt Restaurant)
In addition to my fondness for making spinach meat ball soup, spinach crispy broth and spinach red amaranth oil tofu soup, I also often use a pound of brown rice, two or two soybeans, soaked in water overnight and then polished into a paste, and then added the right amount of salt and pepper, and then washed and dried spinach hung on this paste, put into the vegetable oil pot and fried until it was yellow, fished out and eaten while hot, the taste of the near and tender, not just hang a paste on what kind of pulp can reach.
By the way, the relationship between spinach and its original wife tofu. Because the oxalic acid in spinach and the calcium in tofu produce some small friction and separate them for so many years, the so-called spinach and tofu are compatible. In fact, the combination of oxalic acid and blood calcium that we eat is insignificant, and we don't eat spinach roasted tofu all year round. In fact, Mr. Yuan Mei lao as early as 200 years ago harvested spinach to cook tofu into his "Suiyuan Menu": spinach is fat and tender, add sauce water, tofu boiled. Hang's name "gold inlaid white jade plate" is also. The Qing Dynasty salt merchant Tong Yue recommended that there was also a spinach soup in the "Tuning Ding Collection": first stir-fried in sesame oil, with gypsum tofu, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger to make soup; spinach: fried, with fried rotten skin, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger juice, stir-fried sesame seeds. Or add a badge of dried dice.
Spinach is a therapeutic effect, Chinese medicine theory believes that spinach taste sweet and cool, has the function of nourishing blood, stopping bleeding, quenching thirst, moisturizing, and has a certain effect on blood in the stool, scurvy, constipation and so on. Recent studies have reported that spinach has antibacterial and cholesterol-lowering effects, as well as anti-cold, anti-coronary heart disease and anti-cancer effects, and is known as anti-cancer food. In the "Food Traditional Chinese Medicine and Folk Remedies" published by Jiangsu People's Publishing House in 1973, there are home remedies for spinach to treat hypertension, constipation, headache, redness, dizziness, etc.: fresh spinach is blanched in boiling water for about 3 minutes, mixed with sesame oil, twice a day. I have a friend who tried this recipe and it worked well.
Fried spinach
1. Use one pound of brown rice, two or two soybeans, soak in water overnight and grind into a paste (or with egg bean flour), then add the right amount of salt and peppercorns.
2. Hang the washed and dried spinach on this paste, put it in the vegetable oil pan and fry it until it is brown, and eat it while it is hot.
(Ermao new work)