Portulaca oleracea is Panicum miliaceum of Portulaceae. Thick and juicy, hairless, 10-30cm high. Born in sunny places such as roadside fields and garden ruins. It is distributed all over China. This species is a medicinal and edible plant. The whole herb is used as medicine, which has the functions of clearing heat, promoting diuresis, detoxicating, reducing swelling, diminishing inflammation, quenching thirst and diuresis. The seeds are bright. Modern research shows that purslane is also rich in SL3 fatty acids and vitamin A-like substances: SL3 fatty acids are essential substances for forming cell membranes, especially those of brain cells and eyes; Vitamin A-like substances can maintain the normal functions of epithelial tissues such as skin, cornea and membrane, participate in the synthesis of rhodopsin, enhance the photosensitivity of retina, and also participate in many oxidation processes in the body. In addition, purslane can also be used as veterinary medicine and pesticide; Young stems and leaves can be used as vegetables.

Edible method of dried purslane

Harvest Portulaca oleracea in summer and autumn, remove the old stems and fibrous roots, wash them, steam them in boiling water or cages, and then dry them in the sun for later use. The nutritional value of dried purslane is much less than that of fresh purslane, but its taste is similar to that of dried plums, and it tastes particularly good. Here are some ways to cook with purslane.

1. Soak dried purslane overnight. The next day, the soaked purslane was washed and cut into 2 cm long segments. Cut fresh meat into small pieces or thin slices. Then, put a little clear oil in the pot, stir-fry the fresh meat in the pot, add seasonings such as salt, chicken essence and soy sauce, stir well, then add purslane, stir-fry and take it out. Autoclave steaming 10 minutes or so.

2. When making braised pork, dried purslane will be used instead of dried plums, which has a unique flavor and is known as a fine variety of braised pork.

3. Lao Zhou loved to eat horsetooth vegetables since he was a child. In particular, dried purslane is used as the main raw material to make steamed buns, which can be served with meat, fat sausage, oil residue and vermicelli residue, so that steamed buns are particularly delicious. It can also be used to add meat to make jiaozi roe, which is also delicious. Over the years, every summer and autumn, Lao Zhou and his wife rode tricycles, went to the suburbs to pick a lot of purslane and took it home to cook dried vegetables.

It is reported that purslane can also be made into purslane powder. Adding purslane powder to bread, dried noodles and other products in a certain proportion can not only increase the nutritional and health components of the products, but also improve the processing characteristics of flour. The results showed that the gluten strength increased with the increase of adding a certain amount of purslane powder to flour.