This dish looks ugly and "disgusting", but it is the "king of rice"! Thank you Zhejiang people

Have you ever eaten pork with preserved vegetables? Although it has a lot of fat, it is fresh and fragrant without being greasy, mainly because of the preserved vegetables in it.

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Although pickled mustard greens look black and ugly, they are really delicious and can be called the "king of rice dishes"! This seemingly ordinary traditional ingredient carries the memories of many people and is a delicacy that is hard to give up.

Prune is not a vegetable

Mei Gan Cai, also known as Mei Cai or Mo Gan Cai, is one of the more traditional pickled products in China. It is particularly common in the Yangtze River Delta region, and the Mei Gan Cai produced in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province is the most famous. As a famous local specialty, it has also spread to Guangdong during the course of history. Therefore, Guangdong, mainly Huiyang, is particularly interested in Mei Gan Cai.

In terms of eating methods, it is mostly cooked together with pork, chicken, fish, beans, etc. to make a variety of delicious dishes, such as pork with preserved vegetables, steamed dumplings with preserved vegetables, roast chicken with preserved vegetables, steamed fish with preserved vegetables, preserved vegetables pie, etc.

Picture: Pickled mustard greens (taken by myself)

**Plum dried vegetables are not vegetables that grow directly from the ground, but are made from vegetables that have been further processed. **Usually, it is made from nine-headed mustard greens (Potherb mustard), which are pickled, air-dried, and dried. In some places, radish tops, rapeseed, cabbage, winter vegetables, etc. are pickled and then air-dried to make dried vegetables, which are also called "plum dried vegetables".

Picture: Taken by myself

The reason why this dish is called Mei Gan Cai is that it is black in color and covered with salt frost, as if it is moldy, so it is called "Mouldy Dried Vegetables". "Mouldy" sounds bad, so it was changed to "Mei". Another theory is that the origin of the name of Mei Gan Cai is related to the plum rain season in the south, and it must be dried before the plum rain arrives.

In fact, the black color of pickled mustard greens is not due to mold. Rather, during the production process of pickled mustard greens, the sugar contained in the vegetables themselves and the additional sugar added will undergo the Maillard reaction, turning the original green-yellow color into dark brown.

Nutritionally as good as fresh mustard greens

After making nine-headed mustard greens (Potherb mustard) into pickled mustard greens, it not only retains its original taste and nutrition, but also gives it a unique color, aroma and taste, and is even tastier than fresh ones. From a nutritional point of view, the nutrition of Potherb mustard itself is good, and after being processed into pickled mustard greens, the nutrition is also very good, and some of the nutrition is even stronger.

1

Higher dietary fiber

Fresh mustard greens have an average dietary fiber content of 10.76 g/100 g, while dried mustard greens have a higher dietary fiber content, with an average of 15.58 g/100 g. Data from the Chinese Food Composition Table show that the insoluble dietary fiber content of mustard greens is 1.6 g/100 g, nearly twice that of Chinese cabbage, which can promote gastrointestinal motility and is beneficial to intestinal health.

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Another study compared the nutritional differences of pickled mustard greens from nine origins and found that Yinxin pickled mustard greens had the highest dietary fiber content, at 58%, while Fujian pickled mustard greens had the lowest content of 21%. Pickled mustard greens with high dietary fiber content have better chewiness and crispness.

2

Increased mineral content

The calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron and zinc content of fresh mustard greens are relatively good among vegetables, which are 230 mg/100 g, 281 mg/100 g, 24 mg/100 g, 3.2 mg/100 g and 0.7 mg/100 g respectively, each of which is much higher than that of Chinese cabbage.

**After dried and concentrated, the content of these minerals in pickled mustard greens doubles. **A study measured the nutrition of 15 kinds of pickled mustard greens from different origins and found that the calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, and zinc contents were as high as 610-2831 mg/100 g, 430-2952 mg/100 g, 70-230 mg/100 g, 14.08-87.83 mg/100 g, and 1.8-14 mg/100 g, respectively.

3

Contains flavonoids and phenols

The average total flavonoids content of pickled mustard greens is 0.18%, and that of fresh mustard greens is 0.13% . They also contain phenolic substances, all of which have certain antioxidant properties.

4

Retains glucosinolates

Mustard belongs to the cruciferous plant family. Glucosinolate is a secondary metabolite in plants and is widely found in cruciferous plants. Preserved mustard greens have a high level of glucosinolate. A large number of experimental studies have shown that glucosinolate has antioxidant, antibacterial and anticancer biological activities.

5

Rich in organic acids

During the pickling and fermentation process of pickled mustard greens, the most active bacteria are lactic acid bacteria and acetic acid bacteria . These microorganisms will produce a large amount of organic acids with unique aroma and flavor while multiplying. Organic acids not only improve the flavor of vegetables and give them a certain fruity aroma, but also stimulate appetite and promote digestion.

Unfortunately, the vitamin C content of Chinese pickled mustard greens is not low, at 31 mg/100 g. However, pickled mustard greens undergo washing, salting, and drying during the processing process, which results in a large loss of vitamin C, leaving very little.

Very delicious, but don't eat too much

Although pickled mustard greens are nutritious and delicious, don't eat too much! After all, they are pickled foods and have a high salt content.

**Traditional pickled mustard greens are pickled with high salt content, with the amount of salt added mostly ranging from 5% to 10%, or even higher. **Someone compared the salt content of 15 kinds of mustard greens from different regions and found that the salt content of each kind was not low. Among them, the salt content of mustard greens from Lishui was the highest at 31.62 g/100 g, the lowest was Meizhou mustard greens at 2.3 g/100 g, and Zhejiang Shaoxing mustard greens at 19.8 g/100 g.

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" recommends that the daily salt intake per person should not exceed 5 grams, and eating too much salt is a major risk factor for high blood pressure. Therefore, when we buy pickled mustard greens, it is best to choose products with formal packaging and a nutritional information table, which is helpful for judging the salt intake.

For example, the one in the picture below has a sodium content of 9245 mg/100 g. To convert it into salt, you can directly divide this value by 400 to get the salt content.

Picture: Taken by myself

After calculation, it is known that the salt content of this pickled mustard greens is about 23 grams per 100 grams. A handful of pickled mustard greens is about 20 grams, which contains about 4.6 grams of salt. In order to better control salt intake, it is recommended to eat at most half a handful a day, and the dishes of the meal can be prepared without salt.

Photo: Lady 1 holds about 20 grams of pickled mustard greens (photo taken by myself)

Photo: About 20 grams of pickled mustard greens

Therefore, no matter how delicious pickled mustard greens are, don’t eat too much!

Summarize:

It's the season for eating pickled mustard greens again. With it, meat tastes even better! Pickled mustard greens are high in dietary fiber, rich in minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron, and contain antioxidants. They are delicious and nutritious. But considering the problem of excessive salt content, don't be greedy!

References

[1] Shen Qing, Lou Leyan, Yin Pei, Huang Rui, Ye Xingqian, Chen Jianchu. Comparative analysis of phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity of five kinds of preserved vegetables[J]. Food Science, 2018, 39(12): 212-218

[2] Zhang Jingyi, Na Lixin, Qu Chunbo, Li Jia, Miao Meng, Sun Zhidong, Chen Shanqiao. Research on the improvement of functional substances and antioxidant activity of preserved mustard greens compared with fresh mustard greens [J]. Agricultural Products Processing, 2022(17): 1-59

[3] Yang Yuexin. Chinese Food Composition Table 6th Edition Volume 1[M]. Peking University Medical Press, 2018

[4] Liu Liqi, Tong Yanjun, Yang Ruijin. Difference analysis and nutritional evaluation of preserved vegetables from different origins[J]. Journal of Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology, 2023, 23(1): 343-355

[5] Ru Qiaomei, Ren Guoping, Zhang Xuebing. Analysis of nutritional functions and harmful components of 15 kinds of pickled mustard greens from different origins [J]. Chinese Condiments, 2020, 45(9): 150-155

Planning and production

Author: Xue Qingxin, registered nutritionist

Review丨Zhang Yu, researcher/PhD, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, national health science expert

Planning丨Yinuo

Editor: Yinuo

Proofread by Xu Lai and Lin Lin