Sauté the onion, ginger, and garlic before cooking. This seemingly ordinary process is actually an original technique of Shandong cuisine. However, with the spread of Shandong cuisine across the country, chefs from all over the country have learned this trick. The onion, ginger, and garlic are excited by the hot oil, and immediately emit a strange fragrance, so they are vividly called the “three treasures” of the Chinese kitchen.
Chinese cooking is inseparable from onion, ginger and garlic, but do you know the secret behind these spice plants?
Peace grass – green onion
In Shandong, onions that are not taller than a person are ashamed to call themselves scallions. In 2020, a green onion planted in Zhangqiu, Shandong set a Guinness World Record with a height of 2.532 meters.
Our country has a long history of planting onions. In the “Book of Yin Duwei” in the Han Dynasty, there is “Growing Onions”. As for eating green onions, it is written in “Qing Yi Lu”: “Scallions and soup have many flavors. If the medicine must use licorice, so the classical Chinese is called peace grass.” Whether it is stir-fried, fried, stewed, or braised, grilled and mixed with soy sauce, it is inseparable from the onion to add flavor.
But why can’t we feel the onion flavor if we don’t break or cut the onion? This is because onions contain colorless and odorless alliin substances. When the tissues of onions are damaged, the alliin substances will be decomposed into strong-smelling compounds under the action of alliinase. This appears. However, these spicy substances are afraid of heat, and they will decompose in large quantities when heated. The content of alliin in scallion leaves is usually lower than that of scallion leaves, so scallion leaves are often used in cold dishes, while scallion leaves are often used in frying, stewing and deep-frying.
The unique pungent taste of scallions can suppress the smell of roast duck
Chives are a great ornamental garden plant because of their pretty purple flower heads
Most of the shallots in the southern market of our country are clumps of shallots, which are called fen scallions, and their pungent taste is much lighter than that of scallions; most of the scallions in the northern market are scallions, and there are also shallots that look similar to fen scallions, but they are called fen scallions. Chives (scientific name chives), is characterized by fragrance. Compared with scallions, chives have shorter scallion whites, thinner scallion leaves, and less spicy flavor. Interestingly, chives are also grown as garden plants due to their beautiful purple bulbs (scallions and shallots have white bulbs). Regardless of the north and the south, people love to use white scallions in hot pot, but remember that the cooking time should be as short as possible, otherwise the nutrients in the white scallions will be destroyed; Delicious and delicious.
In addition to our common onions, there are many kinds of allium plants such as Lou onion (upside down onion), shallot and so on. No matter what kind of onion or how to eat it, the stimulation when eaten raw, the softness after stewing, and the burnt aroma after frying will double your appetite. What’s more, eating green onions often can also lower blood fat and regulate blood sugar.
The ancestor of dishes – ginger
Ginger, which is indispensable for stewing meat, is the ginger that adds fragrance and flavor to Sichuan-Chongqing cuisine. A small amount can balance the fishy smell of meat, and a large amount can exude a unique spicy aroma. Since ancient times, ginger has always been the core seasoning of Chinese cuisine, enjoying the reputation of “the ancestor of cuisine”. In the West, ginger is incorporated into desserts and becomes an important part of gingerbread, ginger candy, and ginger beer.
Ginger, also known as Dixin, we eat its rhizome (ie ginger). Ginger’s “ginger” was written as “ginger” in ancient times, which resembles the way it thrives in the soil. As early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, there were records of using ginger in our country. Confucius said “don’t withdraw ginger food”, that is, every meal must be accompanied by ginger. Ginger can still be eaten after sprouting, but if the ginger body is rotten and moldy, it still needs to be thrown away, because the rotten ginger will produce safrole, and excessive intake will be toxic to the liver.
Gingerol is a general term for substances such as gingerol, gingerone, and shogaol, which are responsible for the spicy taste and unique flavor of ginger. Interestingly, the boiling point of some gingerols is higher than the temperature in the pan when stir-frying, so the high temperature of stir-frying does not cause ginger to lose all gingerols. It can be seen that ginger is a very suitable seasoning for shabu-shabu.
sliced ginger and candied ginger
However, the spiciness of ginger is very mild, even people who don’t eat chili will not be disgusted by a little ginger. Moreover, gingerol can strengthen myocardial contraction, promote blood circulation, drink a bowl of hot ginger soup on a cold day, and immediately feel warm all over the body. Nowadays, ginger can be made into various diets such as ginger wine, ginger oil, and ginger slices. In addition, people have separated and extracted ginger essential oil from ginger, which has the functions of invigorating the stomach, anti-emetic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-bacterial, and is an important raw material for medicine, food, and cosmetics. Although many studies claim that ginger can resist oxidation and lower cholesterol levels, these results were obtained in animal experiments with purified substances. It is still unclear how much ginger in the diet can bring to human health.
ginger jar
From the Kangxi period to the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, a kind of jar was popular, with a flat cover and a round belly, the size of a human head. From the 17th to the 18th century, a large number of human head jars were shipped to Europe. At that time, European nobles were proud of eating ginger, so they used this precious porcelain to hold ginger, and called it “ginger jar”.
Good medicine in vegetables – garlic
Garlic can be described as a good medicine in vegetables – in ancient Greece, garlic was used as a “stimulant” for athletes; during World War I and World War II, soldiers used garlic juice to temporarily replace disinfectant; In addition, it is also used as a food preservative. As the saying goes, “If you eat meat without garlic, the aroma will be halved.” There is a scientific basis behind this proverb. Scientists have found that garlic has a strong food-attracting effect. The so-called food-attracting effect means that the fragrance released by garlic can greatly increase the appetite of animals, and greatly increase the eating speed of animals that smell the fragrance. At the same time, garlic can also promote the secretion of gastric juice and gastrointestinal motility in animals. Many breeding companies will mix garlic or garlic leaves in the feed, which is very popular with livestock. Human beings are also animals, so naturally they cannot escape the “magic” of garlic.
Chinese people can eat garlic, but also thanks to Zhang Qian. Zhang Qian went on a mission to the Western Regions and brought back several heads of garlic. This plant, originally named “garlic”, quickly conquered the taste buds of Chinese people. Almost all green leafy vegetables cannot escape the “invasion” of garlic if they are fried. Since there is garlic, is there any small garlic? Indeed, the scallions in the traditional Chinese five dishes “Kwai Leek Huoxie (xiè) onions” are small garlic, also known as jiào heads.
Today, my country is the world’s largest garlic grower and exporter. In 2020, my country’s garlic output will be about 24 million tons, of which about 10% will be exported, and most of the remaining garlic will appear on our table. Garlic usually does not release the slightest spicy taste. Once its “coat” is peeled off and chewed in the mouth, the garlic cells will be destroyed, and allicin will be produced, which makes people unbearably hot.
Laba Garlic
Garlic is fermented under high temperature and high humidity conditions, and it will become black garlic with a good taste
Tissue softens, turning into translucent, waxy garlic
It is precisely because of its unique stimulating taste that garlic has won the favor of people from all over the world. For example, Germany has garlic honey and garlic wine; Japan has garlic potato chips and garlic ice cream; , such as green as emerald Laba garlic, crispy and refreshing sugar garlic, etc.
In the world of garlic, there are also garlic sprouts and garlic sprouts, and their edible value is also very important. Especially in southern China, the frequency of garlic sprouts in cooking is even higher than that of green onions.
In addition to satisfying the taste buds, garlic is also an antibacterial expert. This is because allicin can sneak into bacterial cells, control the intake of glycine and glutamic acid by bacteria, and eventually “starve” bacteria. As we all know, there will be an unpleasant smell in the mouth after eating garlic, but the latest research shows that people can increase their “body fragrance” after eating garlic. This is because the smell of human underarm sweat is due to microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses, and the sterilizing effect of allicin discharged with sweat will make sweat smell good. However, the sweat smells good, and the breath smells bad, so you have to brush your teeth in time after eating garlic.
Since ancient times, various spicy seasonings have attracted people with their own unique tastes, such as the numbness of peppercorns, the spicyness of chili peppers, and onion, ginger, and garlic have also conquered people’s taste buds with their unique spicy stimulation. However, people with gastrointestinal diseases should avoid eating too much onion, ginger and garlic at one time, and it is best to heat and cook them before eating.
