I bet 99% of people have never eaten this magical vegetable that can make lamb less smelly!

If you ask "Where in China is the most delicious mutton?", everyone may have their own answer, but there is one place where the quality of mutton is absolutely recognized, and that is the mutton in the northwest - fat and not smelly.

The reason why Northwest lamb has such a taste is inseparable from a unique local ingredient - sand onion. Cattle and sheep use sand onion as fodder, and they have already "marinated" themselves before they are served.

This may be the first time you have heard of this food, but it doesn’t matter, you will understand it after reading this article!

Is sand onion "onion" or "leek"?

According to the Flora of my country, Allium mongolicum, also known as Mongolian chives, is a plant of the genus Allium in the Liliaceae family. It grows mostly in deserts, sandy land or arid hillsides at an altitude of 800 to 2,800 meters. It grows in Xinjiang (northeast), Qinghai (north), Gansu, Ningxia (north), Shaanxi (north), Inner Mongolia and Liaoning (west) in China.

Allium sandii is originally "onion". Image source: Wikipedia

Seeing this, some friends are confused: Is the sand onion an onion or a leek? In fact, the sand onion is of course an onion in terms of family. And from the appearance alone, the sand onion and chives are also very similar. They are both slender, green cylindrical leaves, but the difference is that the leaves of the sand onion are thinner, and the cylindrical leaves are solid, not hollow. The reason why it is called "Mongolian chives" may be because the sand onion is not as spicy as chives or scallions. In addition to the aroma of onions, it also has the aroma of chives. In addition, the sand onion leaves are rich in water, and there is a hint of sweetness when they are eaten. It is crisp and refreshing, which is very friendly to friends who want to eat raw onions and raw leeks but are afraid of spicy and irritating. It is this spicy but not spicy taste that determines the different fate of the sand onion and chives and scallions-chives and scallions can only be used as seasonings, while the sand onion can be used as a seasoning, and can also be directly used as a vegetable to be eaten cold, fried, and used as stuffing for buns and dumplings.

There is also a magical legend about sand onion:

Legend has it that it was discovered by Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, while he was leading his troops to war. After a day of fighting, the soldiers did not like the strong smell of mutton, which led to less food intake and physical exhaustion. In a hurry, Kublai Khan ordered people to find a way to make mutton less greasy, but to no avail. Until a soldier found the tender green sand onion in a barren desert. Unexpectedly, after making it into a dipping sauce, it not only greatly reduced the smell of mutton, but also made the mutton very delicious. Since then, sand onion has become an excellent match for beef and mutton, and has spread to the people.

Sand onion is drought-resistant and wind-resistant and can survive in harsh natural environments. It is not only an important vegetable on the tables of people in the northwest, but also a good expert in preventing wind and sand on the grassland, and has made a significant contribution to the prevention and control of grassland desertification.

Why did the sheep eat the sand onion?

More delicious meat?

The grassland people have always believed that sand onion is a high-quality forage for cattle and sheep. This is not only because sand onion can overcome the harsh environment and grow in the barren desert, becoming a rare food for cattle and sheep, but also because herders have observed that sheep eating sand onion grow faster and have more tender meat.

There is research evidence for this!

Allium mongolicum extract can increase the feed conversion rate of sheep, improve the tenderness of mutton, promote the absorption efficiency of protein by sheep, and improve the quality of mutton.

Image source: pexels

In addition, the meat of sheep fed with sand onions has a lighter mutton smell than that of sheep not fed with sand onions. The secret is that the sulfide in sand onions can help break down the branched-chain fatty acids that give mutton a strong mutton smell. A study by Inner Mongolia Agricultural University found that the mutton fed with sand onions has a significantly lower mutton smell than mutton fed with ordinary grass.

What are the nutritional values ​​of shallot

When sheep eat sand onions, their meat becomes less smelly, tender and high in protein. So, if humans eat sand onions, can they also become more delicious and gain higher nutritional value?

Sand onion contains flavonoids and polysaccharides, which have certain antioxidant, lipid-lowering and antibacterial effects.

Not only that, sand onion is also a high-potassium, low-sodium vegetable with a potassium content of up to 808mg/100g, which is much higher than the "potassium supplement expert" banana (256mg/100g), and is quite friendly to patients with hypertension.

At the same time, allium is also a vegetable with a high calcium content, with a calcium content of up to 115 mg/100 g, which is comparable to the calcium content of the high-calcium vegetable kale (121 mg/100 g). Although the calcium in vegetables is affected by oxalic acid and phytic acid, and the absorption rate is lower than that of dairy products, it is still a source of calcium supplementation.

As for the delicious taste of sand onion, which is similar to onion and leek, and is fresh and juicy, it is mainly attributed to the sulfur compounds and umami amino acids in sand onion. Like green onion and leek, sand onion contains sulfur compounds that are spicy and stimulate appetite, but because the content is not high, it is not irritating. Sand onion also contains a lot of flavor amino acids, such as aspartic acid and glutamic acid, which are the main source of the "umami" taste of food. Such amino acids are relatively abundant in beef, mutton, seafood, and mushrooms.

It can be seen that the love of sand onion by the people of Northwest China is not without reason. It can not only be used as forage to feed cattle and sheep, but also help remove the mutton smell and improve the quality of mutton; it can also be used as a nutritious and delicious vegetable on the table to enrich the daily diet. It can be said that it is both internal and external, and has outstanding strength.

Unlock the delicious taste of sand onion

Start with these simple steps

1

The most homely: Scrambled eggs with shallots

Believe me, as long as you can fry eggs, you can fry eggs with shallots. The only thing you need to pay attention to is that you must fry the shallots and eggs separately, and stir-fry the shallots quickly over high heat, stir-frying a few times to stimulate the aroma, and don't heat it for too long. Let's focus on the original flavor. Other eggs can also be fried with shallots. Stir-fried goose eggs with shallots is the signature dish of a Xinjiang restaurant near my home.

2

The most original: cold shallot salad

If you don't want to lose the freshness of shallots, you can blanch them in boiling water for one minute, then add garlic paste, salt, vinegar, sesame oil and other seasonings to make a fragrant and uniquely flavored cold shallot salad. If you want to make the taste more tempting, you can also add some hot oil. However, this will increase the intake of fat, so those who want to control fat and calorie intake should consider it carefully.

Image source: Photographed by the author

3

The best grassland: Sand onion mashed potatoes

In addition to sand onions, the Northwest is also rich in delicious potatoes. The potatoes grown in the sandy soil are not only chewy, but also soft, sweet when steamed. Mixed with freshly blanched sand onions, a little salt, vinegar, and soy sauce is all that is needed to make a delicious dish that can be eaten as a meal. No wonder, a dish of mashed potatoes with sand onions has become a famous dish on the list recommended by the Inner Mongolia Office in Beijing.

4

The most motherly taste: Sand onion and mutton buns

A few days ago, I watched a live broadcast of a mother from Inner Mongolia making big steamed buns stuffed with shallot and mutton with her children. The fragrance could be smelled through the screen. Just imagine, the fresh and not smelly lamb meat with shallot, fat but not greasy, mixed with the already very delicious shallot segments, wouldn't the steamed buns made from it be even more delicious?

More "luxurious" methods include pickled shallots and shallot sauce.

Pickling shallots is similar to pickling other kimchi. The main ingredient is salt. All it takes is the right temperature and humidity, yeast, and time to make it delicious. And shallot sauce is usually made with shallot flowers. The method is similar to chive sauce. It only requires salt and crushed shallot flowers. The shallot sauce is paired with local mutton, and the taste is quite delicious. Just thinking about it makes me salivate.

Unfortunately, because allium sphaerocephala is not resistant to storage and has not been widely promoted for cultivation, it is not easy to find allium sphaerocephala outside the northwest region. Next time you eat shabu-shabu mutton, if you come across a restaurant that serves allium scrambled eggs or allium sphaerocephala sauce, don't hesitate, just go in!

References

[1] Liu Wangjing, Tang Defu, Ao Changjin. Effects of Allium mongolicum and its extracts on production performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality and serum biochemical indicators of small-tailed Han sheep[J]. Chinese Agricultural Science. 2022, 55 (17).

[2] Zhang Xiuyuan. Effects of Allium mongolicum and its extracts on lipid metabolism and volatile flavor composition of mutton and its related mechanisms[D]. Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, 2019.

[3] Fan Zejun. Effects of Allium mongolicum extract on the expression and methylation of genes related to muscle lipid metabolism in Duhan hybrid sheep[D]. Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, 2019.

[4] Ba Junjie, Zhang Chunli, Gao Jianping, Qin Yurong, Wu Caixia. Analysis of nutritional components of Allium mongolicum[J]. Journal of Inner Mongolia Agricultural University (Natural Science Edition), 2002(04):114-115.

[5] Shan Xuemei, Li Zhenxing, Gao Yuan. Research progress on chemical components and biological activities of Allium mongolicum[J]. Specialty Products Research. 2020, 4.

Author: Wang Lu, registered nutritionist in China

Review | Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Food and Health Information Exchange Center