Homesickness is a habit. Just like being used to eating home-grown scallions and never adapting to cilantro in big cities. My mother’s pickled mustard greens are a memory that’s hard to find now.

Pickled Mustard Greens

My memory of pickled mustard greens starts from my childhood. In our local area, it has a nickname “Mom’s Greens” because many families were more accustomed to eating this dish. As a child, I used to go up the mountain to pick pickled mustard greens, which was a lot of fun. Pickled mustard greens are seasonal, at the time when the winter cold hadn't dissipated, but when spring was approaching, pickled mustard greens would begin to emerge from the land after a winter, adding some green scenery to the bare earth. Whether in the fields or along the roadside, you could always find pickled mustard greens. When the two leaves just emerged, that’s the best time to harvest them, because the leaves are very tender and delicious, and green and healthy.

Tender Pickled Mustard Greens

Pickled mustard greens don't require much growing environment, they are everywhere in rural areas. In rural areas, every spring and autumn, farmers and laborers would fill their baskets with pickled mustard greens. Over time, they would accumulate, and then they would be boiled and frozen in a freezer for later consumption. In local restaurants, they are usually...

When mixed with mashed potatoes and a lot of garlic, it’s really delicious.It’s not easy to find this pickled mustard greens in the city. Now many restaurants have this signature dish.

In winter, local restaurants sell this dish for 80 yuan. Even though it’s a high price, the demand for pickled mustard greens remains high, on the one hand because of the dish’s great taste, on the other hand because it's a memory, it's the taste of Mom.During the famine years, in some areas, a few tenacious pickled mustard greens could save a family’s lives. In those days when food was scarce, some people made pickled mustard greens into porridge to eat, and some put them into cornmeal to make wotou (a type of steamed bun) to fill their stomachs. Especially for those who are older, pickled mustard greens may have been a main course during childhood.

Famine Era Street Food Scene

Medicinal Value of Pickled Mustard Greens

1,

Iron Deficiency Treatment, Cooling and HealthIt has a good effect on preventing and treating iron deficiency anemia and has a cooling effect.2,

Clearing Heat, Detoxifying, and Anti-inflammatoryIt has some effect on colds, bronchitis, and pharyngitis.3,

Cancer PreventionIt can be used to prevent cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, and anal cancer.This article was compiled by

West Coast OneHow long has it been since you last ate pickled mustard greens? Comment below with a dish to prove you were hungry, comments section....