This vegetable doesn't need to be planted in rural areas, and it can still survive even after its stems and leaves wither, but it's basically nowhere to be seen in the city.

I've been settled in Shandong for ten years now, and I've never seen this vegetable again. I've been thinking about it for several years, on and off. That unique, rich fragrance, with the coolness of mint and the sweet spiciness of schizonepeta, makes me crave it unbearably every time I think of it. On weekends I've run to vegetable farmers' plots more than a dozen times, only to find that in Shandong, nobody has even heard of this vegetable's name..

▲I won't say the name of the vegetable directly. Just looking at the picture, can you guess it?

At first glance, many people would think, isn't this just mint?

I'm telling you responsibly, no.

Alright, no more suspense.

The full name of this vegetable is stone coriander, and some people also call it ten coriander. It grows from the roots, has tenacious vitality, and is easy to keep alive. It only needs a handful of loess and a little clear water to survive. In ancient times, the best quality was produced in the area of the State of Cai (Shangcai County, Henan Province).

▲Stone coriander

Stone coriander is very easy to plant and keep alive. Rural people generally plant it in front of or behind their houses, or in flower pots. Water it once a day, and it will grow vigorously. It also has strong reproductive capacity and spreads very quickly. Each time you eat it, just pinch off the freshest leaves and tender shoots, and it will soon grow new leaves.

On this point, stone coriander is said to have three fears it does not have. First, it does not fear "beheading": if you pinch off the leaf heads on the stems of stone coriander, within a few days it will grow new leaf heads, and several of them. Second, it does not fear "exile": dig out a clump of ten coriander with its roots and casually place it in a flower pot or at the base of a wall, and it will still grow happily, and will soon spread around. Third, it does not fear "extermination": dig out a whole patch of ten coriander and leave it under the scorching sun for a few days until the leaves are dry and the stems withered. After one rain, new stems and leaves will grow from its roots, and it will soon flourish again. This shows the tenacious vitality of stone coriander.

How do you distinguish stone coriander from mint?

Stone coriander really does look very similar to mint. There are two kinds, large-leaf and small-leaf, but the leaves are all much smaller than mint leaves, and the plant is also much smaller. It has an obvious mint fragrance. In the past, rural people were relatively poor and ate fewer vegetables, so in summer they ate garlic noodles quite often, and stone coriander was the classic pairing for garlic noodles.

The legend of stone coriander.

Legend says that when the Yellow Emperor fought Chiyou, Chiyou was skilled in the arts of witchcraft and often used the poison of miasma to kill people in battle, and he could go without food or rest, being incomparably brave. The Yellow Emperor could not defeat him by force, so he asked the gods of heaven to help destroy him. The Nine Heavens Mysterious Woman granted the Yellow Emperor xiangcao to strengthen his body and keep him healthy, ward off filth and drive away evil, so that he would not fear the poison of miasma cast by Chiyou; she also granted the Yellow Emperor the art of escape techniques to oppose Chiyou, and thus he won victory at the first drumbeat and captured and killed Chiyou.

How to eat stone coriander.

First, stone coriander mixed cold with walnut kernels has the effects of strengthening the spleen, benefiting the brain, and promoting digestion.

Second, stone coriander leaves are pounded together with garlic and other ingredients, then made into a cold-dressing sauce.

Third, stone coriander used as filling for dumplings and steamed buns can remove gamey odors and tastes delicious, rich but not greasy.

If you also like it,you might as well plant a pot of stone coriander on your balcony. The fragrance of stone coriander also has the function of repelling mosquitoes. Rubbing the place where mosquitoes have bitten with its leaves can quickly stop the itching. It really is a vegetable with many uses.

▲After great effort, here is a stone coriander. Planting it on the balcony is also lovely~