The many benefits of sow thistle make it a nutrient-rich wild vegetable

Sow thistle is a collective name for wild herbaceous plants in the Asteraceae family, also known in various places as ku maicai, ku jucai, ku macai and so on; its tender leaves can be eaten as a wild vegetable, and the whole plant is also often used in folk practice. It is highly adaptable and mostly grows in fields, along roadsides and on hillside grasslands, and harvesting the young shoots and tender leaves in spring each year is the most common practice.

From a traditional perspective, sow thistle tastes bitter and has a cold nature, and its main effects are clearing heat and detoxifying, and cooling the blood. In folk practice, when people have internal heat, a dry mouth or throat discomfort, it is often blanched and served as a cold salad or boiled in water to drink. It should be noted that these effects belong to the level of everyday dietary therapy and can only serve as a supplement; when symptoms are obvious, medical attention should still be sought promptly, and a wild vegetable cannot replace treatment.

The nutritional value of sow thistle is also fairly notable: the tender stems and leaves contain a variety of vitamins, carotene and minerals such as calcium, potassium and iron, with a relatively high dietary fiber content, yet very few calories. Its distinctive slightly bitter taste can, to a certain extent, stimulate the appetite and cut through greasiness, making it well suited as a change of pace on the everyday table.

When eating sow thistle, the tender leaves are generally taken, washed and first soaked in clean water, then blanched in boiling water to reduce the bitterness, after which they can be served as a cold salad, dipped in sauce, stir-fried plainly or made into soup. Note that sow thistle has a cold nature, so people with a weak, cold spleen and stomach or who are prone to diarrhea should eat less of it; when gathering it, avoid roadsides and farmland that have been sprayed with pesticides, and cook it only after cleaning it thoroughly, so that it is safer to eat.