How to choose amaranth? Can the amaranth stems be eaten?

Amaranth, also known as green fragrant amaranth, red amaranth, red vegetable, rice amaranth, etc., is a vegetable with extremely high nutritional value. In particular, it contains more minerals such as iron and calcium, as well as more carotene and vitamin C. It is one of the main green leafy vegetables that the public likes in summer. Many friends who pay attention to health care like to eat amaranth. So how to choose amaranth? Let's open it to learn about the specific methods!

Contents of this article

1. How to choose amaranth

2. Can the stems of amaranth be eaten?

3. Several ways to cook amaranth stems

How to choose amaranth

1. Amaranth with mud on the roots is more durable. Amaranth with mud on the roots is fresher and more durable. Although washed amaranth looks cleaner, it is not easy to store. It is best to eat it on the same day after buying it home.

2. Dark-colored leaves are nutritious. Dark-colored leaves are mostly grown in open-air environments. These amaranth leaves are thicker and taste older, but they have a higher density of nutrients. It is worth noting that the size of amaranth leaves is not a sign of whether the taste is older or younger.

3. The taste of amaranth with fewer roots is tender. Amaranth with small roots is harvested earlier, so it tastes more tender. The thick roots mean that it has grown for a long time and tastes older. In addition, the roots of young amaranth have fewer and shorter roots, while the roots of old amaranth have more roots and are relatively longer.

4. The ones that are easy to break are relatively fresh. When selecting, you can pinch the rhizome slightly. Fresh amaranth can be broken by pinching, and it is tender and crisp. Old amaranth is not easy to pinch. In addition, whether the leaves are straight can also be used to judge the freshness. If the tips of the amaranth leaves are curled up, or become wilted and yellow, it means that it is not fresh.

Can Amaranth Stems Be Eaten?

The stems of amaranth can be eaten. Amaranth grows very fast, so the time it can be eaten is very short. For tender amaranth, you can stir-fry it directly and eat the stems. But for old amaranth, the stems need to be peeled off, otherwise it is difficult to chew.

Amaranth:

Amaranth, also known as green fragrant amaranth, red amaranth, red vegetable, rice amaranth, etc., is an annual herbaceous plant of the Amaranthaceae family with tender stems and leaves for food. It is native to my country and is widely cultivated in the Yangtze River Basin. Because of its strong resistance, easy growth, heat-loving, drought-resistant, moisture-resistant, and less pests and diseases, it is one of the main green leafy vegetables in summer that the public likes. Amaranth is a vegetable with extremely high nutritional value, especially containing more minerals such as iron and calcium, as well as more carotene and vitamin C. There is a saying among the people that "Amaranth in June is as good as eggs; Amaranth in July is worth more than gold." Amaranth leaves are ovate, rhombus-ovate or lanceolate, 4 to 10 cm long and 2 to 7 cm wide, green or often red, purple or yellow, or partially green with other colors, with rounded or concave tops, convex tips, wedge-shaped bases, entire or wavy edges, and hairless; petioles are 2 to 6 cm long, green or red. Flower clusters axillary, reaching lower leaves, or with terminal flower clusters in pendulous spikes.

Several ways to cook amaranth stems

Spicy stir-fried amaranth stems: 300 grams of amaranth stems, 3 chili peppers, 3 dried chili peppers, 1 purple garlic, appropriate amounts of oil, salt, and MSG. Tear off the skin, old tendons, and stems of the amaranth stems, cut them diagonally into inch-long sections, cut the chili peppers and dried chili peppers diagonally into thick strips, and smash the purple garlic; heat oil in a pan, and when it is 30% hot, pour in the dried chili peppers and minced garlic and slowly stir-fry until fragrant; add the amaranth stems, increase the heat and stir-fry until cooked, add chili peppers, salt, and MSG to taste, and serve.

Amaranth stems for casserole: 500g amaranth stems, 25g pointed red peppers, 50g vegetable oil, 4g refined salt, 6g MSG, 5g black bean sauce, 15g mushroom and chicken essence, 5g steamed fish soy sauce, 10g whole dried peppers. Wash the amaranth stems, remove the tendons, and cut into sections; remove the stems of the pointed red peppers and cut into rings; cut the whole dried peppers into sections.

Take a small bowl, add salt, monosodium glutamate, mushroom chicken essence, and steamed fish soy sauce to make a sauce for later use. Put the casserole on a high-heat stove, heat it up, add vegetable oil, add fermented black beans and dried pepper segments, stir-fry until fragrant, then add the chili pepper rings and amaranth stems, add the sauce while frying, and fry until the amaranth stems are 80% cooked, cover, place on a heat-insulating mat, and serve.

Stir-fried amaranth stems with olives: amaranth stems, 1 spoon of minced garlic, 1 spoon of olives, 1 spoon of fried peanuts, salt, soy sauce, vinegar to taste. Cut the amaranth stems into sections, marinate with a little salt for a while (to make the stems more crisp and tasty), and set aside; heat a wok and add oil, sauté the minced garlic and olives on medium-low heat, turn to high heat, add 1/2 cup of amaranth stems and stir-fry, add salt to taste (add salt to taste, olives are salty), spray a little soy sauce, add a few drops of vinegar, stir-fry until cooked, and add 1 spoon of fried peanuts before serving.

Pickled amaranth stems: When the amaranth stems grow to the thickness of a child's arm, use a kitchen knife to cut off the long amaranth plants, remove the branches and old leaves, leaving the bare amaranth stems, and then cut them into one to two inch long segments with a knife. After washing and draining, they can be salted. The process of pickling amaranth stems is actually very simple: first prepare an earthenware jar, pour clean water into the jar, and add stewed salt at the same time. Generally, 50 kilograms of amaranth stems are used for 1 kilogram of stewed salt. After the salt is dissolved in the water, pour the amaranth stems in, and the standard is that the water can soak the amaranth stems.

After all the amaranth stems are soaked in salt water, cover the pot tightly with a lid. After half a month, open the lid and you will see a lot of white foam floating in the pot. Use chopsticks to pick up an amaranth stem and pinch it with your fingers. If the amaranth stem is very hard, it is not yet time to pickle it; if the amaranth stem is soft, it means it is already pickled. Put the pickled amaranth stems in a rice cooker and steam them until cooked, then you can eat them.