Are Feicai and Jiucai the Same Vegetable? This Article Will Help You Tell Them Apart

Everyone knows jiucai (garlic chives), a common vegetable in daily life. There is also a vegetable called “feicai,” and many people may be very puzzled: is feicai the same as jiucai?

1. Is feicai the same as jiucai?

In fact, feicai and jiucai refer to the same vegetable. “Feicai” is actually a variant character form of “jiucai,” so feicai means jiucai. If you see feicai, you know it actually refers to jiucai.

2. The benefits of jiucai

1. Warms the middle and promotes the flow of qi; dissipates blood stasis; removes toxins. Mainly used for kidney deficiency and impotence; internal cold with abdominal pain; dysphagia and regurgitation; chest impediment pain; nosebleed; vomiting blood; blood in the urine; dysentery; hemorrhoids; carbuncles, sores and swelling; lacquer poisoning; and traumatic injuries.

2. Tonifies the kidney and warms yang: jiucai is warm in nature and pungent in taste, but contains no aphrodisiac ingredients.

3. Benefits the liver and strengthens the stomach: it contains volatile essential oils and special components such as sulfides, giving off a unique pungent aroma that helps regulate liver qi, improves appetite and enhances digestive function.

4. Promotes the flow of qi and regulates blood: the pungent aroma of jiucai helps dissipate blood stasis, invigorate blood and move stagnant qi, making it suitable for traumatic injuries, regurgitation, enteritis, vomiting blood, chest pain and other conditions.

5. Moistens the intestines and relieves constipation: it contains large amounts of vitamins and crude fiber, which can promote gastrointestinal motility, treat constipation and prevent intestinal cancer.

3. How is jiucai eaten?

1. Some varieties of jiucai have roots that can be eaten; the roots and flower stalks are used as food. The root system is thick and fleshy, with a pungent aroma, and can be pickled or boiled. The flower stalks are plump and tender and can be stir-fried, and the young leaves are also edible. Root chives reproduce mainly asexually, have strong tillering ability, vigorous growth and are easy to cultivate. They are mainly harvested by digging in autumn.

2. The leaves of jiucai are broad, thick, soft and tender, with a low bolting rate. Although they can also bolt and be eaten during the reproductive growth stage, they are mainly eaten for their leaves and leaf sheaths.

3. Some are grown specifically for harvesting the flower stalk portion as food. Its leaves are short and small, coarse and hard in texture, with strong tillering ability and a high bolting rate. The flower stalks are tall and thick, crisp and tender in quality, shaped like garlic scapes, and especially fine in flavor. They are cultivated relatively widely in Lanzhou City, Gansu Province and Taiwan, China. Shandong and other places also have scattered trial plantings.