There are already more than one Chinese cabbage sold in the marketsyear, but earlier long oblong heads of cabbage were brought from far away, and they were not cheap, and few people knew about the amazing properties of this vegetable. Obviously, for these reasons, Chinese cabbage did not arouse much interest among buyers for some time. Currently, "Pekingka", as vegetable growers call it in common parlance, has been learned to grow in Ukraine and Russia, thanks to which it can now be bought in any supermarket. Judging by the name, it is easy to guess that Chinese cabbage comes from the Celestial Empire. "Petsai", as this cabbage is also called - an annual cold-resistant plant, is grown in China, Japan and Korea. There it is especially honored. Both in the garden and on the table. Chinese cabbage is one of the varieties of early ripening Chinese cabbage, has head and leaf forms.
Peking cabbage is good
Peking cabbage is good and bad
The leaves of the plant are usually collected in a denserosette or heads of cabbage, resembling Romaine lettuce in shape and reaching a length of 30-50 cm. The head of cabbage is yellow-green when cut. The color of the leaves can vary from yellow to bright green. The veins on the leaves of Chinese cabbage are flat, fleshy, wide and very juicy. Chinese cabbage is surprisingly similar in appearance to head lettuce, which is why it is also called salad cabbage. And obviously, for good reason, because young leaves of Chinese cabbage can easily replace lettuce leaves. This is perhaps the juiciest variety of cabbage, so young and tender leaves of "Chinese cabbage", with a pleasant taste, are perfect for making a variety of salads, green sandwiches. Almost all the juice is not in the green leaves, but in their white, denser part, which contains all the most useful components of Chinese cabbage. And it would be a mistake to cut off and throw away this most valuable part of the cabbage. It must be used.
Nothing can compare to Peking cabbage in terms of juiciness.one salad and no cabbage. And as the heads form, Chinese cabbage is used to make borscht and soups, stewed, made into cabbage rolls... Anyone who has cooked borscht with this cabbage is simply delighted, and many other dishes with it are distinguished by their pleasant taste and sophistication. In addition, Chinese cabbage differs from its closest relatives in that when cooked, it does not emit such a specific cabbage smell as, for example, white cabbage. In general, you can cook everything from Chinese cabbage that is usually cooked from other varieties of cabbage and lettuce. Fresh Chinese cabbage is also fermented, marinated and salted. Who has not admired the Korean salad - kimchi, made from Chinese cabbage? Haven't tried it? Then you definitely need to visit one of the markets in the near future and buy this culinary masterpiece. But keep in mind that, like any delicacy, kimchi is not cheap. For those who like spicy food, and especially for those who suffer from a hangover in the morning, kimchi will be just right, i.e. on the table. Kimchi is the most beloved delicacy of Koreans, which is almost the main thing in their diet, and almost no meal is complete without it. And as Koreans believe, kimchi is a dish that must certainly be on the table. Korean scientists, for example, have found that the content of vitamins B1, B2, B12, PP in kimchi even increases compared to fresh cabbage, in addition, the juice released during fermentation contains many different biologically active components. So, it is probably not for nothing that old people in Korea, China and Japan are so cheerful and hardy. Even the ancient Romans attributed hygienic properties to cabbage, and the ancient Roman writer Cato the Elder wrote: “Thanks to cabbage, Rome was cured of diseases for 600 years without turning to doctors.”
These words can be fully applied toChinese cabbage, which has not only dietary and culinary properties, but also medicinal ones. Chinese cabbage is especially useful for cardiovascular diseases and stomach ulcers. It is considered a source of active longevity. This is facilitated by the presence of a significant amount of lysine - an amino acid that is essential for the human body, has the ability to dissolve foreign proteins and serves as the main blood purifier, increases the body's immunity. Longer life expectancy in Japan and China is associated with the consumption of Chinese cabbage. In terms of its content of vitamins and mineral salts, Chinese cabbage is not inferior to white cabbage and its twin brother - cabbage lettuce, and in some respects it even surpasses them. For example, white cabbage and cabbage lettuce contain 2 times less vitamin C than "Chinese cabbage", and the protein content in its leaves is 2 times higher than its content in white cabbage. The leaves of "Peking cabbage" contain most of the existing set of vitamins: A, C, B1, B2, B6, PP, E, P, K, U; mineral salts, amino acids (16 in total, including essential ones), proteins, sugars, alkaloid lactucine, organic acids. But one of the main advantages of Chinese cabbage is the ability to preserve vitamins throughout the winter, unlike lettuce, which very quickly loses its properties during storage, and white cabbage, which, of course, cannot replace lettuce, and also requires specific storage conditions. Therefore, Chinese cabbage is especially irreplaceable in the autumn-winter period, since at this time it is one of the sources of fresh greens, a storehouse of ascorbic acid, essential vitamins and minerals.
