Description of the stachis plant. What is its calorie content and chemical composition. List of useful properties and list of contraindications. Application of the product in culinary: how to eat a Chinese artichoke, what kind of dish it can be an ingredient in. It is important to note that stachis fruits are most beneficial when eaten raw. There is a little less benefit in dried tubers, but it is important that during the drying process the temperature does not exceed 60 degrees.
Contraindications and harm of Chinese artichoke
Although stachis is a very useful product, there are some rules for its use in food, and they must be taken into account in order not to turn benefits into harm.
It must be said right away that the Chinese artichoke has no strict contraindications, however, allergy sufferers, expectant mothers and women during lactation should observe caution when introducing it into the diet. The fact is that for our body, the product originally from China is unusual, and therefore its individual intolerance is a common practice.
Also, care should be taken when giving Chinese artichoke to young children.
Stachis can also cause harm with its unreasonable use, in this case, as in a situation with any other product, you need to observe the measure in order to avoid unpleasant symptoms from the gastrointestinal tract.
In addition, we would recommend the following: if you have any health problems, before trying the product, seek the advice of your physician.
How is Chinese artichoke eaten?
As we said at the beginning of the article, stachis can be eaten as an independent product, or it can be used as an ingredient for certain dishes. Let's first deal with the question of how the Chinese artichoke is eaten as an independent product.
First, it should be said that you can eat it raw. This is how you can get the most out of it. You need to store raw stachis in the refrigerator in a separate sealed bag, and then it will not lose its taste and aroma for a long time. It is noteworthy that this vegetable crop can be stored throughout the entire autumn-winter period without loss of taste - for this, the "shells" need to be covered with sand and buried in the ground to a shallow depth.
Secondly, of course, stachis can be eaten boiled, stewed and fried. It is prepared quite quickly, for example, a Chinese artichoke will be cooked in just 7 minutes, it is better to stew and fry it a little longer.
Finally, it should be said that stachis can also be pickled and salted, like the cucumbers we are used to. One of the salting recipes is as follows: put spices (dill, garlic, pepper, etc.) in the jars on the bottom, then fill them halfway with artichokes, then again a layer of spices and artichokes to the top, finally, on top you need to put spices again. It remains only to pour the vegetables with brine prepared in proportion - for each liter of water 70 grams of salt. Banks must be closed with rubber lids, kept at room temperature for 5 days, and then rearranged into the refrigerator. After a week, salted stachis can be tasted.
Stachis recipes
The Chinese artichoke is respected in the cuisines of many countries, and various exotic dishes are prepared from it in the best restaurants in the world. However, as far as restaurants are concerned, one can only guess whether the chefs liked him for his taste or the "fault" of the original type of tubers.
One way or another, stachis is a delicious fruit, recall that it somehow resembles asparagus, cauliflower and corn at the same time. This means that when fresh, it will perfectly complement salads, and when thermally processed, it will become an excellent ingredient for soup or vegetable stew.
Let's take a look at some interesting options for recipes with stachis:
- A simple side dish of Chinese artichoke … Peel the stachis (600 grams), wrap it in a clean towel or cotton cloth along with salt and rub the fruits together. Boil the artichokes for 7 minutes. Heat vegetable oil (2 tablespoons) in a deep frying pan, fry chopped garlic in it. Add butter (30 grams) and cooked artichokes to the garlic. Season the dish with your favorite spices, turn off the heat after a couple of minutes, put the garnish on a plate, garnish with herbs and sprinkle with lemon.
- Fresh salad with feta … On two plates, make a pillow of lettuce leaves (150 grams). Top with tuna in their own juice (100 grams), then cherry tomatoes (5 pieces), cut into halves, and fresh artichokes (50 grams). Cut feta cheese (40 grams) into cubes, transfer to salad, season with olive oil (1 tablespoon) and balsamic vinegar (1 tablespoon). Add salt and black pepper to taste. Stir and eat.
- Vegan Spicy Soup … Fry Chinese artichokes (500 grams) in a pan until golden brown. In a saucepan, simmer chopped onion (1) and chopped garlic (2 cloves) until the onion is soft. Add curry paste (1 tablespoon), diced potatoes (1) and season with salt. After a couple of minutes, pour in vegetable broth or water (1 liter), bring it to a boil, then reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes. Add roasted artichokes, coconut milk (0.4 liters), lemon juice (2 tablespoons), let it simmer and remove the soup from the stove. When it cools a little, purée it with a blender. Serve with pumpkin seeds, fresh herbs and croutons.
- Vegetable stew … In a saucepan, heat the vegetable oil (2 tablespoons), finely chop the onion (1 piece) and start frying. After a couple of minutes, combine it with carrots grated on a coarse grater (1 piece). After five minutes, add the diced bell peppers (2) and the courgette (1 small). After another five minutes, add the artichokes (500 grams) and simmer all together for 10 minutes. Finally, add tomatoes (3 pieces), garlic (3 cloves), salt and pepper the stew to taste, simmer until the tomatoes are tender. Serve the stew with fresh herbs.
As you can see, it is very easy to find a use for stachis in the kitchen. But always remember the main rule: the healthiest fruit is fresh or dried. If you want to get the most out of it, but do not want to eat it raw, dry the stachis at a temperature no higher than 60 degrees, grind it into flour in a coffee grinder and add wherever you want, for example, to ready-made cream soup.
Interesting facts about Chinese artichoke
Today it is difficult to find stachis in our country for sale, but at the beginning of the 20th century it was sold everywhere in Russia. Growing stachis in our climate is quite simple, since the culture is not picky. It can be planted before winter (in September) or in spring (in May). Agricultural technology is in many ways similar to the cultivation of our favorite potatoes. Regular weeding and watering is perhaps all that he needs. However, it is worth noting that the culture does not like acidic soil, as well as an abundance of water and light. So it is better to plant stachis in the shade and not be zealous with watering. If you have acidic soil, it is advisable to fertilize it.
The culture is considered productive, even on poor soils from 10 m2 you can get about 20-25 kilograms of artichoke. Despite the fact that the plant came to us from distant China, in some regions of our country it is found in the wild.
Culture has not only food, but also decorative value. Although, if the main purpose of growing a plant is to decorate a personal plot, you should not grow stakhis, but a special cultivar of the culture "chummelo", which blooms with beautiful lilac flowers.
Stachis tubers are very small - the largest of them weigh no more than 7 grams.
Stachis flour can not only be eaten by adding it to dishes, but also useful infusions can be prepared from it. To get an excellent natural medicine for diabetics, you need to brew a tablespoon of Chinese artichoke flour with a glass of boiling water and leave for 8 hours.
Watch a video about stachis:
The Chinese artichoke is a very unusual fruit, it has a very original appearance and an interesting multifaceted taste. But the most important thing is that it is surprisingly useful, its healing effect on the body can hardly be overestimated. Unfortunately, in our country it is not easy to find this product on supermarket shelves, but, fortunately, the culture is unpretentious and it can be easily grown in our climate on a personal plot. We highly recommend growing stachis and trying it, just do not forget about the precautions - for the first time an unusual product for the body should be eaten in small quantities to check the absence of allergies and to avoid unpleasant symptoms from the gastrointestinal tract.
