Tender Sprout Winter Vegetable Buds

Tender Sprout Winter Vegetable Buds

　　“A fragrance wafts for miles but no flowers in sight—’tis the tender sprout of winter vegetable bright. Whether stir-fried, steamed, boiled or braised, its taste is truly delightful.” This is a widely circulated folk ballad from northern Sichuan praising tender sprout winter vegetables. As one of the four major pickled vegetables in Sichuan Province, tender sprout winter vegetables are dark brown in color, crisp and tender in texture, glossy and oily, with a well-balanced saltiness and rich, delicious flavor. The longer they are stored, the better their taste becomes, available in aged varieties such as two-year, three-year, and five-year grades. Not only do they boast appealing color and exquisite taste with an overwhelming aroma, but they are also highly nutritious, helping to stimulate appetite and strengthen the spleen. Their main nutritional components include: 26 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat, 10 grams of sugar, and 1.16 grams of minerals per 500 grams, along with amino acids, lactic acid, and various vitamins, providing 5.5 kilocalories of energy. Tender sprout winter vegetables are made from the tender sprouts (about an inch long) of arrowstem mustard, a leafy mustard variety from the Brassica genus, Yuntai group. This vegetable grows in the cold season and matures in the depth of winter. After harvesting, the heart of the vegetable is removed, and the sprouts are hung to dry, undergoing sun exposure, air withering, dew moisturizing, and frost curing. They are named “tender sprout” because the inch-long tender tips from the vegetable heart are harvested for pickling, and “winter vegetable” because both their production and processing take place in winter. (Yilong County)