Sand onion, a vegetable blind spot for southerners

If you were asked to quickly list the ingredients that go best with lamb, what would be the first thing that pops into your mind?

Who is the best partner for lamb? | Tuchong Creative

Is it the onion that adds flavor, the carrot that is refreshing and relieves greasiness, or the salt that looks ordinary but is actually crucial to success or failure?

Everyone has their own answer to the secret of the deliciousness of mutton. However, when it comes to sand onions , I am afraid that many people can only guess from the literal meaning and have a vague and general impression, and can no longer say more.

We have to admit that this "magic assist" of lamb is seriously underestimated.

Have you ever eaten sand onion? | Photo by Kang Kang

01

What is Allium sandii?

/ It looks like onion but not leek, with unique smell /

Allium mongolicum, also known as Mongolian chives, is a member of the Allium genus along with chives and onions. Allium mongolicum grows in the Gobi Desert at an altitude of more than 800 meters and can be found in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and other places in my country.

The appearance of sand onion is a bit like chives , grass green, cylindrical, and hollow in the middle. As for the smell, it is milder than chives . Sand onion has a spicy aroma, but it is not spicy. Overall, the taste is very peaceful, and fresh sand onion has a few hints of sweetness.

Sand onion looks a lot like chives | Douguo Food @胖胖小王

Well, after confirming the taste, it is the taste of freedom blown by the wild wind in the endless wilderness.

Sand allium is drought-resistant and cold-resistant. Although it grows in harsh conditions such as the Gobi Desert, sandy land or arid areas, it is rich in water. Strands of sand allium are slender, tender and grow obediently. If you try to pinch them lightly with your fingertips, fresh juice will immediately ooze out from the broken ends.

It’s so perfect to pair such juicy and fresh wild vegetables with the thick and firm texture of beef and mutton!

Allium sandii is drought resistant | Tuchong Creative

02

It is both feed and food

/ Cattle and sheep eat sand onions, and humans eat cattle and sheep /

Sand allium is the favorite of cattle and sheep. As the saying goes, no matter how beautiful the flowers are, they are just feed in the eyes of cattle and sheep. In fact, not only flowers, but also fresh and juicy sand allium is an excellent "snack" for cattle, sheep and camels . Moreover, after eating, livestock can also gain weight.

Sand onion is delicious, and the meat of cattle and sheep that have eaten sand onion is more delicious. In particular, the "mutton smell" that many people are not used to will be reduced a lot. Nowadays, " sand onion mutton roll " can be found on the menu of many hot pot restaurants in Inner Mongolia. Adding chopped sand onion to mutton really has the effect of 1+1>2.

Lamb rolls with chopped shallots, this one is a bit claustrophobic | Photo by Kang Kang

Unfortunately, due to transportation and publicity issues, the Allium sutchuenensis is still "kept" in the deep sea and is rarely appreciated. The further south you go, the rarer it is. If you don't believe me, ask a Cantonese person, and there is a high probability that he has never eaten this vegetable.

Sand onion is not very popular | Tuchong Creative

On the dining tables of Inner Mongolians, shallot buns, shallot dumplings, and shallot steamed buns are the most eye-catching, appetite-stimulating, and salivating specialties. The phrase "sand onion filling" or "sand onions just brought over from home" has stirred the hidden homesickness of countless wanderers.

Anyone who has eaten the scallion steamed buns will know | Tuchong Creative

03

A delicious protagonist

/ It can also be a seasoning or a side dish /

There is more than one way to make sand onion delicious, and there is no single recipe for sand onion.

When used as a seasoning in soups and blood sausages, it is the finishing touch to enhance the taste and freshness of rare and valuable things; when used as a side dish in stuffing, it is a rustic flavor that would be bland without it; simple dishes such as scrambled eggs with sand onions use the freshness of the eggs to set off the refreshing taste of sand onions, and easy dishes such as cold-mixed sand onions add a unique touch to the simplest homely taste; difficult dishes such as pickled sand onions and mashed potatoes with sand onions actually do not require too much effort, as this ingredient that grows wild in the wilderness under the sun of nature has never required fine cutting. Cooking as you like is the best way to respect wild vegetables like sand onions.

Scrambled eggs with shallots | Photo by the author

Scallion Mashed Potatoes | Douguo Food @ The Taste of Home

In addition to sand onions, you can also eat sand onion florets . Take the dried sand onion florets and sauté them in a pot, cook a pot of steaming hot mutton soup noodles, eat a bowl of it while it's still hot, and even the thinnest of you will look around with confidence: "No more words, where's my horse rod?"

Sand onion flowers are very beautiful | flickr scl1919

04

Other rare plants in the Northwest

/ Zamengmenghua&Malielie /

Zemeng flower is also called Zameng flower. Although it looks small, it is very useful. After drying, add a little to stir-fry or cook noodles, and the fragrance will overflow.

Dried Zamonmon flowers | Douguo Food @OhOpenOne

Jiaohao is also called Malielie, which has a unique flavor similar to mint and patchouli. Some people call it " Xinjiang mustard ". Whether it is used to stir-fry shredded potatoes or stew fish, there are unexpected surprises.

The green one is Artemisia annua | Douguo Food @ Snacks and Foods Zebao

Are there any unknown and unique ingredients in your hometown? Recording them is the greatest generosity to your hometown.

Author: Fan Beiming

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