Chive Blossoms

Chive Blossoms

　　Chive blossoms, also known as chive flowers, are white flower clusters that grow on the white stems of chives in autumn. They are usually harvested just before blooming, ground up, and preserved as a paste for consumption. Farmers often simply call them “chive flowers.” Chive blossoms are a common condiment used across both urban and rural areas in northern and southern China.

How to Make Chive Blossoms:

Take a handful of chives, chop them as finely as possible, add an appropriate amount of ginger (you can skip it if you don’t like ginger), and chop it even finer. Place the chopped chives and ginger in a bowl, add a generous amount of salt, and mash them using a garlic pestle. Transfer the mixture to a lidded jar, seal it, and let it sit for a few days. Authentic chive blossoms are made from tightly closed chive flower stalks—wonder if friends in the Bay Area have the chance to try that? But then again, not many people can actually tell the difference between the two. Anyone who can definitely ought to go into cooking—don’t waste such a refined palate. Fangfang’s hot pot uses satay sauce. May I ask, “Are you Teochew, or are there any Teochews among those ‘drifters’?” Using satay sauce in hot pot is a classic Teochew style.

Nutritional Analysis of Chive Blossoms:

Chive blossoms are rich in moisture, protein, fat, carbohydrates, ash, minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, and iron, as well as vitamins such as vitamin A precursor, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin C, and dietary fiber. They are suitable for people with night blindness and dry eye syndrome, as the high content of vitamin A precursor in chive blossoms helps maintain normal visual purple function. They are also good for those with rough skin and constipation.