This common vegetable was once a tribute to emperors, and now we eat it often

Red choy sum, also known as Hongshan choy sum, and also called "yun cai tai" or "purple song", is a local specialty of the Hongshan area of Wuchang, Wuhan, Hubei. Red choy sum is purple-red in color, crisp, tender and fragrant, and rich in nutrients. It never grows tiresome to eat often, and it is one of the home-style dishes of Wuhan people in winter and spring, ranking alongside Wuchang fish. As early as the Tang Dynasty, red choy sum was already famous throughout the world, and it was once a local specialty of Hubei presented as tribute to emperors.

Regarding red choy sum, a Qing Dynasty writer once sang in "Hankou Bamboo Branch Lyrics": "No need to study the menu, winter household food is good, rice wine and tangyuan are friendly at night, bream is fat and delicious, and choy sum is fragrant." Empress Dowager Cixi regarded it as "golden palace jade vegetable" and often sent people to Chu to obtain it. Red choy sum is rich in nutrients, containing calcium, phosphorus, iron, carotene, ascorbic acid and other components, and a variety of vitamins higher than those of Chinese cabbage and baby bok choy. It is also brilliant in color and crisp and tender in texture, making it an excellent accompaniment to meals.

Red choy sum can be stir-fried plain, stir-fried with vinegar, or stir-fried with Sichuan pepper and chili. Its color is green with purple, and its taste is fresh, tender and refreshing. There is no Wuhan person who does not like to eat it. Of course, among these, red choy sum stir-fried with cured meat is especially the most unforgettable.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that red choy sum is sweet and pungent in taste and neutral in nature. It can promote blood circulation and dissolve stasis, benefit the intestines, and stop bleeding. It is used for women after childbirth, for blood stasis and abdominal pain; for vomiting blood, dysentery with bloody stool; and for constipation.