Pickled Vegetables

Chicory

　　Chicory is a common wild vegetable, divided into sweet chicory and bitter chicory. The leaves are light green and come in two types: wrinkled and flat. The roots are milky white. Every spring, small red sprouts can be seen poking out of the fields, gradually unfurling into tender leaves in shades of red, green, and white. To prepare, dig up the chicory, pick through it, wash it, blanch it in boiling water, then mix it with vinegar, salt, MSG, and sesame oil before serving. It has a rather bitter taste, is fresh and tender, and has a slightly fragrant aroma. The arginine and histidine it contains have certain therapeutic effects on hepatitis.