There is such a saying in the countryside: "Eat radish in winter and ginger in summer", which shows that radish is a good product for nourishing and maintaining health in winter. China's vegetable varieties are rich and diverse, among which there is a vegetable that looks like a radish for more than 2,000 years.
Its output is as high as 7,000 catties, and it was the life-saving food of our people in the past period. Nowadays, it has gone out of China and into the world, capturing the hearts of the people of many countries. What is this sacred? What are its unique values?
This vegetable may be relatively unfamiliar to friends in the north, because it is widely cultivated in the south and is a common vegetable on the table of southerners. Especially in southern Zhejiang, almost every family has the experience of eating plate dishes.
Because of its flat shape, it is called a plate dish, and in some places it is also called a round root dish or kohlrabi. However, it has a little-known scientific name – turnip.
In 153 A.D., the people were plagued by locusts, and there was no grass growing everywhere. Emperor Heng of the Han Dynasty issued an edict ordering the extensive planting of dish vegetables in order to relieve the suffering of the Li people. It can be seen that since the Eastern Han Dynasty, China has begun to grow Pancai on a large scale.
Although it is as similar as 80% to radish, and it is also known as "flat radish", its taste is actually very different from radish. Pancai has been cultivated in China for more than 1,000 years, but in the earliest days it was actually a foreign product, a real alien species.
According to relevant historical records, it is very likely that Pancai was brought back to China when Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions, because it has a crisp taste and is deeply loved by people, so people began to study its breeding and cultivation methods. The origin of Pancai is in the countries bordering the Mediterranean, as well as in Pakistan, Afghanistan and other regions.
Different from other root vegetables, the dish cabbage is strong, and the weight of a single can be as high as more than 6 catties. The planting season is after the beginning of autumn, and the harvest season is in winter, and the harvest season lasts from November to January.
The requirements for the environment and nutrients are not very high, and only need loose soil, sufficient water and fertilizer, and a suitable temperature. In addition, it is easy to store and keep fresh, which can be compared with the Chinese cabbage hoarded in the Northeast. Such a vegetable that is easy to grow and preserve has naturally become the first choice of many growers.
Although pancai, like radish, is a vegetable harvested in winter, they have a very different taste. After experiencing frost and burial, the meat is more delicate, and the lips and teeth are fragrant and full of juice after biting, so the dish here is also a good product favored by exporters.
There are many innovations in the way people eat pancai in southern Zhejiang, the most famous of which is a way of eating "pancaisheng". It is said that the dish is sliced and marinated in salted water for a few days, mixed with your favorite sauce, and eaten for a month.
The sugar and moisture of the dish are mainly concentrated in the roots, and the texture is crisper than that of the radish, and the way to eat it is more abundant, not only can it be used for steaming and frying, but it can also be directly pickled and eaten as sauerkraut. In the hot and humid climate of the south, it is a delicious dish to be able to eat pickled ice plate dishes or as a side snack.
There are also a variety of recipes for making cooked food with dish dishes, such as braised plate dishes, steamed plate dishes, etc. We can use the garlic leaves as a garnish, thicken with cornstarch, and a bowl of braised dishes is ready. Mr. Yang Renkai, a famous artist, praised this dish after tasting it in Wenzhou, and painted Wenzhou's dish on rice paper to commemorate this delicacy in the world.
In ancient times, when agricultural technology was not developed, the yield of cabbage per mu could reach 2 to 3 thousand catties. In modern times, with the upgrading and iteration of people's planting experience and technology, the average yield per mu of cabbage can easily exceed 5,000 catties. Because it survived with almost all the soil and water, it became a life-saving ration for people in that era of famine, feeding countless people who were on the verge of starvation.
There are also records and descriptions of dishes in historical materials, and they are full of praise in the poems of literati and ink writers. During the Three Kingdoms period, Pancai was called Zhuge Cai because its seeds and cultivation methods were taught to the local people by Zhuge Liang when he pacified the southwest region. At that time, Pancai was also used as a military ration to provide a steady stream of food supplies for the soldiers who fought bloody battles on the front line.
The Tang Dynasty writer Han Yu has a poem: "Yellow and yellow Wu Qinghua, peach and plum are also finished." "Praise the important position of plate dishes in people's minds. In the Song Dynasty, Zhang Si deliberately left poems for Pan Cai that have been recited through the ages, and the famous gourmand Su Shi specially used Pan Cai to create a unique delicacy, which was also included in the historical materials.
Nowadays, there is experience in growing dish vegetables all over the country, even in the north where the average annual temperature is relatively low, people have studied the cultivation methods of this vegetable, and the appearance of the dish is also loved by countries all over the world.
In particular, people in Japan and South Korea not only import a large number of dishes, but also use them as a variety of delicious dishes and snacks. In recent decades, Pancai has become a famous vegetable exported by our country, contributing to the creation of income for farmers and making a fortune.
Because of its crisp and sweet texture, it doesn't need to be seasoned with a lot of seasonings, and it can be turned into a rich side dish and snack by mixing it with salt and chili, and the famous Korean kimchi can also be used as an ingredient.
In some countries, which are accustomed to heavy diets, they will dry the vegetables and cut them into thin slices or shredded vegetables. Then, marinate in salted water or soy sauce for about a week, add sesame oil, chili pepper and other seasonings, the taste is tender and crisp, and you can eat it for a long time in a jar.
And some countries that prefer a light diet can also use plate dishes as a side dish to season and enhance freshness. For example, one can add a dish to the broth, and the whole pot of soup will taste sweet and nutritious.
All in all, the cooking method of dish dishes is relatively simple, and it can be eaten raw or cooked to meet people's dietary needs. To some extent, the way of eating in foreign countries is not as rich as in China, and many people are more concerned about whether a dish is cooked in a simple way. It is not surprising that such a delicious and easy-to-cook vegetable has become a famous export vegetable.
Pan Cai has changed from the previous "life-saving food" to a Chinese delicacy with soaring exports, which can reflect the strength of our country and make countries around the world want to know about China's vegetable varieties. In addition to widespread cultivation in the south of our country, some areas in the north have gradually begun to adopt high-tech experimental breeding.