Stir-fried Preserved Pork with Malan

Stir-fried Preserved Pork with Malan

　　Malan, also known as Malan, Malai, Malantou, Red-stemmed Vegetable, Chicken-herb, Roadside Chrysanthemum, or Field-side Chrysanthemum, is commonly called Chicken-intestine Herb in southern folk usage and Mudfish String in Sichuan. It is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family. The stem is erect, sometimes slightly reddish, with leaf veins typically trifurcating from the base, a rough surface, and short hairs on both sides. In spring, its tender stems and leaves are harvested as a vegetable called Malan. Analysis shows that the tender stems and leaves of Malan contain moisture, calcium, phosphorus, iron, carotene, potassium, vitamin B, and niacin. Traditional Chinese medicine considers Malan to have a pungent, cool, and slightly cold nature, with effects such as clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling blood and stopping bleeding, promoting diuresis and reducing swelling. It is used to treat sore throat, boils and abscesses, jaundice, edema, dysentery, and turbid urine.