Pickled Fist Vegetable with Pickled Mustard Juice

Pickled Fist Vegetable with Pickled Mustard Juice

　　Bracken [Pteridium aquilinum (L.)], also known as fist vegetable, is a perennial herbaceous plant. It grows in moist, fertile, deep-soiled sunny slopes or under forests at altitudes of 200–1200 meters, thriving especially on barren mountain slopes. It is distributed across the country. The Liupan Mountain area and its surrounding regions have a very wide distribution and abundant reserves, with an estimated annual production of about 100 tonnes, of which only around 15% is currently utilized. Analysis shows that every 100 grams of fresh tender bracken shoots contains 10.0g of carbohydrates, 1.6g of protein, 0.4g of fat, 35.00mg of vitamin C, 24.00mg of calcium, 29.00mg of phosphorus, 6.70mg of iron, and 1.68mg of carotene. Bracken can be used medicinally in its entirety, with effects such as dispelling wind, promoting urination, reducing fever, and treating rectal prolapse. It is a traditional mountain vegetable in China, Korea, and Japan, harvested from early May to mid-June each year. The edible part is the coiled young shoots; they are best consumed just before the shoots begin to unfurl — once the “palm” opens, they are no longer suitable for eating.