Introduction: Eating wild vegetables in spring is naturally the freshest and most delicious, but it's also important to pay attention to safety and nutrition. Below, the editor will recommend a few simple, delicious, and healthy wild vegetable recipes. Today's recommendation is the indispensable spring wild vegetable—shepherd's purse.
For more spring wild vegetable recipes, check out our special feature: Tasting Spring's Enchanting Greens: Wild Vegetables A Grand Showcase of Spring's Fresh Green Recipes
When talking about delicious food in spring, plump and tender wild vegetables cannot be forgotten. Most wild vegetables grow in spring, and when people go for spring outings, it's a common pleasure to pick and eat them. Eating wild vegetables in spring is naturally the freshest and most delicious, but it's also important to pay attention to safety and nutrition. This week, the Food God will recommend a few simple, delicious, and healthy wild vegetable recipes. Today's recommendation is the indispensable spring wild vegetable—shepherd's purse.
Topic: Shepherd's purse with shredded tofu skin
Ingredients: 200g shepherd's purse, 150g tofu skin, half a carrot, moderate amounts of garlic, cilantro, and scallion, moderate amounts of sesame oil, prickly ash oil, light soy sauce, and vinegar
Method:
1. Pick and clean the shepherd's purse. Wash and shred the tofu skin. Wash and shred the carrot. Mince the garlic. Wash and chop the cilantro. Chop the scallions for later use.
2. Bring water to a boil. Blanch the shepherd's purse and tofu skin separately in the boiling water. After blanching the shepherd's purse for a short time, remove it, rinse it in cold water, and squeeze out the excess water. Cook the tofu skin until done, then remove and rinse in cold water for later use.
3. In another plate, place the shepherd's purse, carrot shreds, and tofu skin. Add minced garlic, cilantro, and scallions. Season with appropriate amounts of light soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and prickly ash oil. Mix well and serve.
Nutrition Tips:
I. On the third day of the third lunar month, shepherd's purse is as good as a magic elixir
Shepherd's purse, also known as "di cai," is a wild edible vegetable with high nutritional and medicinal value. In some regions of China, like Jiangxi, there's an old saying: "On the third day of the third lunar month, shepherd's purse is as good as a magic elixir." It is said that eating eggs boiled with shepherd's purse on this day ensures a year of good health without illness. Although this saying is an exaggeration, the nutritional value of shepherd's purse is an indisputable fact. Shepherd's purse is sweet and mild in nature, and has the effects of harmonizing the spleen, promoting urination, stopping bleeding, and improving eyesight. Traditional Chinese medicine practice has proven that it is effective for certain conditions such as dysentery, edema, gonorrhea, chyluria, hematemesis, hematochezia, metrorrhagia, menorrhagia, and red, swollen, and painful eyes. In herbal formulas, shepherd's purse is often combined with heat-clearing herbs like purslane and cogonon root to clear heat and stop bleeding.
From a nutritional perspective, shepherd's purse is rich in vitamin C and carotene. Carotene is a precursor to vitamin A, which is a crucial nutrient for protecting the eyes and maintaining vision. Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes that the liver should be nourished in spring, and nourishing the liver improves eyesight. Shepherd's purse perfectly fits this health principle. Therefore, choosing fresh, tender shepherd's purse as a vegetable source in the spring can not only clear heat and relieve dryness but also nourish the liver and improve vision, increasing the intake of vitamins.
II. Shepherd's purse has diverse cooking methods, but blanching is important
As a commonly eaten wild vegetable, shepherd's purse can be prepared in many ways. When used to make dumplings with pork or eggs, it has a delicious flavor. It can also be stir-fried with lard, blanched and served as a cold salad, or especially suitable for hot pot, where it becomes soft and tender, oily but not greasy, and adds a light, refreshing aroma to the soup, whetting the appetite and refreshing the mind. Of course, making an egg and shepherd's purse soup is both delicious and light, refreshing and easy on the stomach. For housewives who are always wondering what to cook, why not try different ways of cooking shepherd's purse during its freshest season!
However, the editor would like to remind everyone that as soil pollution in our country intensifies, wild vegetables are not necessarily safer than cultivated vegetables. They may be exposed to pesticides and heavy metals just as much, if not more. Therefore, don't overly迷信 (blindly believe in) wild vegetables; just enjoy them in moderation. Before cooking, be sure to wash them thoroughly. Whether used in soups, congee, stir-fries, or cold salads, it is best to blanch the wild vegetables in boiling water for about 10-15 seconds beforehand. This can remove most of the harmful factors, allowing you to enjoy the fresh taste while eating more safely.