Mustard Spinach, a Prime Source of Calcium

2011-05-13 00:00

Pronounced as “kong xin tsai” in Chinese, Mustard spinach is grown commercially in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. It’s available in many Chinese restaurants even though it usually doesn’t enjoy a prominent spot on the menu. Perhaps its name has something to do with that. Not too many people out there would fancy drizzling mustard on spinach and taking a bite. Tasting nothing like that, this vegetable when stir-fried has a somewhat bold taste that is distinguishable from other leafy greens. This taste is strong but at the same time mixes well with other flavors. And as can be expected, whenever something is in demand, it’s usually hard to get. Mustard spinach is hard to get not because of people lining up around the corner at super markets but rather due to its inability to handle extreme temperatures.

Aside from being a great way to supplement your diet, mustard spinach when eaten regularly is proven to also benefit health and is safe for diabetics to eat. It’s a natural diuretic as well. Chefs looking to make use of mustard spinach in their dishes should remember to not include any old withered portions in with fresh mustard spinach. Due to its high nutritional content it is an extra appealing vegetable for those who need to watch their diets.

Its popularity stems from its great taste more so than its exceptional nutritional properties but if people were to find out just how much nutrients were in this vegetable, they might change their minds. Having 17% of the daily recommended dietary fiber is not bad as is the 13% of your iron that it provides. But, that’s not even close to how much calcium it provides. A lot of foodies and even chefs look to milk as their only real source of calcium and rarely give thought to how much calcium is in the food they eat. Now everyone can bolster their calcium levels by not only having a glass of milk each day but also making sure to eat more mustard spinach.

Garlic Stir-Fry Mustard Spinach

Ingredients

700 g mustard spinach

15 g scallion

5 g salt

5 g sesame oil

25 g peanut oil

Garlic to taste

Preparation

1. Prepare scallion and garlic then put aside. Wash and clean the spinach then put aside till dry. Add oil into pan and heat.

2. Pour in peanut oil when the pan is hot enough and wait until the oil too is hot. Once it is hot, add scallion and garlic.

3. Drop in the mustard spinach and stir-fry while adding salt and drizzling sesame oil on top.

4. Cook until done then serve. Make sure not to cook the mustard spinach for too long as overcooking it results in a loss of nutritional value.

Niphon Goodyear

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