Delicious Ways to Prepare Lamb's Quarters as a Rural Summer Wild Vegetable, Plus Foods to Avoid Eating It With and Its Benefits and Effects
Lamb's quarters (Chenopodium album) belongs to the Chenopodium genus in the Amaranthaceae family. Also known as fenzicai, huitiaolai, huihuicai, huidiao, baili, laoli, laolin, luoli, yancai and so on, its seedlings or tender stems and leaves are harvested for eating from April to July each year. So how do you make lamb's quarters taste delicious? What can't it be eaten with? What are its benefits and effects?
The seedlings can be used as a vegetable, and the stems and leaves can be fed to livestock. The whole plant can also be used as medicine; it can stop diarrhea and dysentery, relieve itching, and can treat dysentery and diarrhea; combined with wild chrysanthemum in a decoction for external washing, it treats damp skin toxins and generalized itching. The fruit (called huidiaozi) is used medicinally in some regions as a substitute for “Kochia scoparia fruit.”
How do you make lamb's quarters taste delicious?
Lamb's quarters is fairly common in daily life, and many people pick it and make it into dishes to eat. Below, the editor introduces a few ways to eat it.
1. Cold-tossed lamb's quarters
Cold-tossed lamb's quarters is many people's choice and is a very delicious dish. The specific method is to first prepare the lamb's quarters and place it on a plate, then mince garlic cloves into garlic paste and add it, then add an appropriate amount of sesame oil and salt, and stir well.
2. Stir-fried
Quite a few friends also like to stir-fry lamb's quarters. The specific method is to take the lamb's quarters and wash it clean for later use. Then put oil, seasonings and sausage into the pan, then add the lamb's quarters and vinegar, and stir-fry until cooked.
3. Lamb's quarters pancakes
Ingredients: an appropriate amount of lamb's quarters, an appropriate amount of flour, one egg, an appropriate amount of salt, an appropriate amount of chili powder.
Method: Pick the tender leaves of lamb's quarters, blanch them in a pot of boiling water and wash away the bitterness, then chop them. Add flour and salt, crack in one egg and stir evenly. Heat oil in an electric pancake griddle, pour in the batter and spread it flat. Those who like spicy flavor can add chili powder to the batter, and pan-fry for more than 10 minutes until both sides are golden brown.
Precautions for eating lamb's quarters:
1. After eating lamb's quarters, avoid exposure to strong sunlight, because lamb's quarters contains photosensitive substances that can easily cause solar dermatitis; people with an allergic constitution are not advised to eat it.
2. Lamb's quarters grows in many places, but if it grows in polluted areas, eating it may be harmful to the body, so be careful.
3. Lamb's quarters has a slight toxicity and is contraindicated for infants and pregnant women.
What can't lamb's quarters be eaten with
There are currently no food contraindications.
However, any food produces two kinds of effects, and lamb's quarters is no exception. Lamb's quarters is a photosensitive plant containing purine-type substances; eating a lot of it combined with prolonged sun exposure can cause acute phototoxic inflammation, with symptoms such as red and swollen skin, stinging all over the body, and prickling and itching. Therefore, after eating lamb's quarters, one should try to avoid prolonged, intense sunlight exposure.
Benefits and effects of lamb's quarters
Lamb's quarters is cool in nature and sweet and bitter in taste. It has the effects of removing dampness and detoxifying. It can treat sores and ulcers, swellings and toxins, scabies and ringworm, wind-induced itching and other conditions. Lamb's quarters contains protein, fat, carbohydrates, crude fiber, carotene, vitamin B1, B2, vitamin C, as well as calcium, iron and various other inorganic elements. In addition, it also contains volatile oils and alkaloids.
1. Clearing heat and draining dampness
In the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, lamb's quarters has the effect of clearing heat and draining dampness, and is often used for wind-heat colds, dysentery, diarrhea and other conditions. If used externally, it can also treat skin itching and measles that won't erupt. Dosage 50~100 grams. For external use, decoct an appropriate amount and wash the affected area, or pound it, steam it hot, wrap it in cloth, and roll it externally over the chest, back, hands, feet and heart of the palms to promote eruption of measles.
2. Improving immunity
Because lamb's quarters contains various nutrients, such as protein, fat, sugars, crude fiber, calcium and so on, these nutrients can help our body function normally and also help improve immunity.
3. Promoting bowel movements and detoxifying
Because lamb's quarters contains crude fiber, as we know, after eating lamb's quarters, the crude fiber in it can speed up intestinal peristalsis in the intestines and promote the excretion of stool, so it has the effect of promoting bowel movements and detoxifying.
4. Eliminating bad breath
Many people in daily life have bad breath, which is especially embarrassing when talking with others. Because lamb's quarters contains volatile oils, chenopodium alkaloids and other substances, besides preventing parasitic worms in the digestive tract, it also has a certain function of eliminating bad breath.
5. Promoting growth
Lamb's quarters can help prevent anemia, promote children's growth and development, and also has a certain health-care function for middle-aged and elderly people with calcium deficiency.
Suitable groups
The general population can eat it.
It is especially suitable for patients with dysentery, diarrhea, damp sores, prurigo, and venomous insect bites.
Note: When people are poisoned by eating lamb's quarters, it is mostly because they are exposed to sunlight to work or play after eating it. Acute dermatitis occurs at exposed areas, while the skin and mucous membranes elsewhere show no changes.