This vegetable costs 80 yuan per jin and is hard to find; it can be eaten raw directly, its nutrition is comparable to eggs, and it is a gout nemesis
The first time I saw this vegetable, I thought it was bao'er cai, but it looked yellowish and a bit strange; good-quality ones sell for about 80 yuan per jin. Later I learned it is called chicory (Cichorium intybus), a premium vegetable popular in European and American markets. It is rarely seen on the market and hard to buy, but the price really is premium!
The edible part of chicory is the fleshy bud ball. It is rich in nutrients, tender and juicy, with a crisp, tender texture, and can be eaten raw directly by biting into it. Of course, it tastes even better dressed in cold dishes or made into salad, and it can also be stewed in soup or stir-fried.
Chicory is rich in nutrients. Its protein content is as high as 22.87%, and it also contains large amounts of fat, amino acids, vitamins, carotene and calcium, making it more nutritious than eggs.
It is also a vegetable for both food and medicine. The medicinal part is the root and stem of chicory, which also has the medicinal effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting diuresis and reducing swelling, strengthening the stomach and promoting bile secretion, sobering up after drinking and helping with weight loss. Chicory root tea made from chicory root also has good health benefits and is a gout nemesis.
Chicory is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Asteraceae family. It has strong stress resistance, is cold-tolerant and drought-tolerant, and prefers to grow in sunny field edges, hillsides and other places. It is distributed both domestically and abroad.
It has now been listed by the Ministry of Health as a "medicine-food homology" food, and has also been praised by the National Nutrition Alliance as the green "king of health."
However, after all, wild chicory is limited in quantity. Now chicory can also be planted artificially, including in pots, and pests and diseases rarely occur during its growth period.