Spring chives are now on the shelves! The most delicious chives of the year!

Spring chives are probably the most popular "spring vegetable" besides shepherd's purse. Although it is not like shepherd's purse and amaranth, which can only be eaten in spring, there is no doubt that spring is the most delicious time of the year. There is a saying that "early spring chives are a bunch of gold".

Why are spring chives so delicious? How can we seize the best time of the year to eat chives? Let’s talk about it today~

Why are spring chives the most delicious in the year?

There is a saying in Compendium of Materia Medica: "Leeks are fragrant when eaten in spring, but smell bad when eaten in summer." Practice shows that although summer leeks are not "stinky," they are indeed not as fresh and sweet as spring leeks. This may be mainly related to the germination time and growth rate of spring leeks.

In spring, the temperature rises and the rain gradually moistens the earth. The growth rate of leeks is moderate. They neither grow as fast and wide as in the high temperature of summer, nor become thin and shrunken as in winter. Therefore, the leaves of spring leeks are thin and fleshy, tender and juicy. It is the season with the most delicious taste in the year.

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In addition, spring chives have their own "umami flavor" because they are rich in umami amino acids - glutamic acid and aspartic acid. Just add a little salt and combine with these two amino acids to produce monosodium glutamate and sodium aspartate. The former is the main ingredient of MSG, and the latter has a strong effect of enhancing flavor and freshness.

In daily cooking, in addition to using chives and coriander as the finishing touch to enhance the flavor, some local delicacies in my country also often sprinkle a layer of raw chopped chives in soups or dishes to enhance the flavor. For example, Qishan Saozi Noodles, in order to be delicious, in addition to the solid ingredients of "saozi", the indispensable ingredient must be the handful of raw chopped chives sprinkled by the chef at the end.

Don't mind the smell of leeks

Nutritional value lies here

Some friends are not used to eating leeks. They think leeks have a "pungent smell", somewhat similar to onions and garlic, and they are afraid that eating them will leave a bad breath. In fact, the special taste of leeks is the key to its health benefits.

As you might expect, leeks smell similar to onions and garlic because they all contain relatively rich sulfur compounds and various volatile essential oils. These sulfur compounds can help these "spicy" condiments to resist bacteria and inhibit bacteria, and they also have strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

Specifically, leeks are rich in sulfur compounds, flavonoids, steroidal saponins, etc., which can have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in the human body [1]. Experiments have found that compared with other vegetables, the total content of flavonoids in leeks can be regarded as one of the highest among vegetables [2]. This is a very beneficial effect for modern people. After all, modern people's diet tends to be refined, heavy in oil and salt, coupled with high work pressure, insufficient sleep time, environmental pollution and other factors, which are factors that induce and promote inflammation in the body. If we can supplement more natural foods with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, it will naturally be better.

In addition, another nutritional advantage of leeks is that they have a relatively high content of beta-carotene . Although it is not as high as spinach (2920ug/100g), the top vegetable in terms of carotene, the content of 1596ug/100g is higher than common vegetables such as rapeseed (1083ug/100g), broccoli (151ug/100g), Chinese cabbage (80ug/100g), and cauliflower (11ug/100g). Beta-carotene can be converted into vitamin A in the body, which helps improve dry eyes, night blindness, and dry and rough skin and mucous membranes caused by excessive use of the eyes and insufficient intake of vitamin A.

Leek also has a certain laxative effect. The dietary fiber content of leeks is 2.4g/100g, which is relatively high among vegetables. Rich dietary fiber can not only help with bowel movements, but also reduce the absorption efficiency of fat and sugar in the intestines, indirectly helping to control blood lipids and blood sugar.

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If you just mind the smell of leeks, you can brush your teeth or drink some tea or milk after eating them, which can help remove the smell caused by sulfur compounds.

A highly recommended way to eat leeks

There are usually two types of leeks on the market, one with wide leaves and one with narrow leaves. The former tends to have relatively tender leaves, but the spicy flavor and spiciness are not so prominent; the latter has a tougher texture, the spicy flavor of the leeks is more obvious, and the taste is more "pungent". You can choose according to your taste.

I don't know what you like to eat with leeks, but I guess fried leeks with eggs should be the first choice for many people. However, considering that more oil is often used when scrambled eggs, here is a recipe that uses less oil and salt and can retain the sweet juice of leeks to the greatest extent: leek tofu buns .

Ingredients:

Spring chives, southern tofu, vermicelli, eggs

practice:

1. Knead the dough as normal, note that the dough should be slightly soft.

2. Soak the vermicelli in warm water in advance, and cut it into small pieces of 2 to 3 cm.

3. Wash the chives and cut them into short pieces about 1 cm long. Add a little sesame oil and mix well to prevent the juice from coming out during storage.

4. Cut the tofu into small cubes and blanch it in water for two minutes to remove the bean smell.

5. Beat the eggs, spray a small amount of oil on a non-stick pan, and fry and mash the eggs.

6. Mix the leeks, tofu and chopped eggs, add seasoning according to personal taste and mix well.

7. Make the buns according to normal procedures and steam them until cooked.

In this way, the leeks are not subjected to high temperatures throughout the process (the temperature for steaming buns does not exceed 100 degrees), so there is little loss of nutrients and juice, and the fresh and sweet taste can be fully retained.

It is paired with tofu rich in plant protein and eggs providing animal protein, and vermicelli is used to add a chewy texture. It is so delicious that it will make your eyebrows drop in one bite!

References

[1] Li Shali, Wu Qi, Xu Shuai. Progress in the development of leek bioactivity and its medicinal and edible resources[J]. Food Research and Development, 2018, 5.

[2] Ye Chun, Nie Kaihui. Determination of total flavonoids content in 40 kinds of fresh vegetables [J]. Journal of Mountain Agriculture and Biology, 2000, 2.

Planning and production

Author: Wang Lu, registered dietitian

Reviewer: Ruan Guangfeng, Director of Science and Technology Department, Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center

Planning丨Yang Yaping

Editor: Yang Yaping

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin