China News Service, Wuhan, February 20 (Xinhua) -- Purple gas "winter" is auspicious, and the bell of the tower shadow is fragrant.
Author Wu Yili.
In winter and spring, Hongshan cabbage has become the "darling" of Wuhan's New Year's goods market. In terms of appearance, purple stems, green leaves, and yellow flowers are not good at first glance; In terms of status, the locals say that "meat is not changed", and it is firmly in the "C position" of the New Year's dinner table.
Hongshan cabbage is named because it is planted in the Hongshan area of Wuhan, and was called "Aster" in ancient times. As early as the pre-Qin literature "Xia Xiaozheng" recorded that the Qing Dynasty's "Wuchang County Chronicles" praised it as "the taste is particularly good, it is not as good as everywhere", and the Chu people called it and Wuchang fish "peerless double pride".
Whether Hongshan cabbage is authentic or not, Wuhan gourmets have their own judgment: Baotong Temple, located at the southern foot of Hongshan, has a history of more than 1,600 years and is known as "the first Buddha land of Sanchu". The Hongshan Pagoda in the northeast of it was built in the Yuan Dynasty, there is a "tower shadow field" in the lower left, in the hearts of many Wuhan people, only in this vegetable field listen to the bell of Baotong Zen Temple, absorb the aura of Hongshan Pagoda "grow up" of the cabbage is "the purest bloodline".
Thanks to the sheltered and sunny microclimate, the Hongshan cabbage sprouts produced from Baotong Temple to Zhuodaoquan's 'Nine Ridges and Eighteen Recesses' are of the best quality, and the cabbage sprouts in the 'Taying Field' add a touch of Zen because they grow in the pure land of Buddhism. Xia Huiyong, president of the Wuhan Hongshan District Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Association, told reporters that Hongshan had planted rapeseed sprouts in a large area, but with the development of the city, only 80 of Wuhan Shipailing remainedThe 13 acres of land are protected as the place of origin, and it is located in the second ring road, where every inch of land is valuable, and the price of vegetables is also rising.
Compared with ordinary cabbage, Hongshan cabbage is thicker and more tender, and the best time to appreciate it is from November to February of the following year.
Every morning, before the dew dries, vegetable farmers shuttle between the ridges, and the lush sprouts are as thick as a woman's wrist, and the leaves are red and purple. The vegetable farmer holds a knife in his hand, aims at the base and gently pinchs it, the juice overflows, wipes the dust, peels the skin, and can be eaten raw. If you experience cold, wind, snow and frost, it is even sweeter.
In January 2024, sorters graded Hongshan cabbage sprouts according to their condition and thickness. (*From China News Service).
The sorters divide the Hongshan cabbage into special grade, first grade, and second grade. "Appearance" is not high, abandoned; Vegetable stalks hollow, discarded. The trunk is straight, the rhizome is strong, and the single root weighs more than 1 catty, which is a special grade, and the price is nearly 1,000 yuan (RMB, the same below) 1 catty, which is in short supply. Someone once bought 50 kilograms of the best Hongshan cabbage at an auction at a "sky-high price" of 100,000 yuan, which once caused heated discussions after being reported.
However, in the market, the most popular Hongshan cabbage is still the majority, and it is a local home-cooked dish. According to data from the Meituan platform, since New Year's Day this year, the sales of Hongshan cabbage sprouts in Wuhan have increased by three percent year-on-year.
Stir-fried bacon with Hongshan cabbage sprouts is the favorite way of eating for locals. Chu cuisine chef Zhang Degang said, with the hands of the cabbage into the length of the little finger, to remove the skin, leave flowers and leaves, bacon on low heat to stir out the meat oil, stir-fry in the pot, wait for the stem from green to purple, add a little salt to get out of the pot. The stems are crisp and refreshing, the flowers and leaves are fresh, and the flavor of wax is strong, and the appetite is greatly aroused.
The red bacon and seaweed sprouts complement each other, corresponding to the meaning of "purple gas coming from the east". It is said that when Su Dongpo, a writer of the Northern Song Dynasty, served in Huangzhou, he came here three times in order to eat Hongshan cabbage, and only then did he "taste" what he wanted.
In 2019, Wuhan Hongshan Caizhi Park was completed and opened, which is the only park named after vegetables in the local area. Recently, there are even Internet celebrity restaurants that have launched the "Hongshan cabbage sashimi", which cuts the rhizome into thin slices and pours sauce on it to eat, which shows the love of Wuhan people for cabbage.
Three or four percent of our customers are wanderers, and they come to buy authentic Hongshan cabbage every year. Xia Huiyong said that some Wuhan people overseas specially asked him to purchase seeds and bring them to Canada and Australia to plant. However, ex-situ transplantation, even if it takes root and sprouts, the color and taste are not as good as the place of origin, which is mainly to temporarily solve the thoughts of the wandering perch. (ENDS).