Cactus has the functions of clearing away heat and toxic materials, promoting qi and blood circulation, relaxing muscles and activating collaterals, lowering blood sugar and blood fat, and treating cardiovascular diseases, gastric ulcer, arteriosclerosis and other diseases, and has good effects on anti-inflammation, anti-cancer, beauty, weight loss, anti-aging and immunity enhancement. Cactus can also be used as drink, wine and medicine. Cactus is extremely nutritious, and there are cacti on the menus of five-star hotels and presidential state banquets in the United States.
Edible method
It is eaten in a variety of ways, with tender stems as the dish, which can be eaten fresh or soaked. There are many ways to eat fresh food: smoked cold salad, stir-fried, stuffing, stew, cooked food, and the most common is fried cactus cake.
Usually, the method of making cactus dishes is to cut off the edge of the palm and the front and back epidermis with a knife, cut them into the required shapes, and blanch them with warm water to make dishes of various styles. Cold dishes can go with all kinds of food. According to the different tastes of north and south, different seasonings are added, including salty, sweet and sour and spicy. Cooked food, cut into slices, slices, strips, diced and other shapes, can be fried, fried and boiled, such as cactus scrambled eggs, diced chicken, shredded pork, fried belly slices, stewed ribs, stewed fish soup, stewed chicken soup and other more than 40 kinds of dishes; Can also be wrapped in jiaozi, made into wonton, when the fruit is fresh, smooth and tender, delicious, unique flavor. It can also be processed into canned food, sauce and dry food, which is delicious on the table.
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Cactus fashion menu
Fried shrimp with cactus
Ingredients: cactus
Accessories: shrimp, red bell pepper, eggs.
Seasoning: starch, chicken essence, cooking wine, sugar, salt and Jiang Mo.
Exercise:
1, cactus washed and diced, persimmon pepper washed and diced;
2. Wash the shrimps, take out the sand thread and size them with water starch, egg white and cooking wine;
3. ignite in the pot. When the oil is 40% to 50% hot, add the shrimps and break them up;
4. Leave the oil in the pan, stir-fry Jiang Mo and diced persimmon pepper, pour in cactus, shrimp and chicken essence and stir well.
Features: light taste, clear taste and bright color.
Crispy fried cactus
Ingredients: cactus, egg white, etc.
Production method: remove the prickles from the cactus, clean it, cut it into 4-5 cm long strips, add cheese and salt, sprinkle with white sugar and monosodium glutamate, mix well, coat it with egg white, fry it in boiling oil, and put it on a plate.
Features: crispy outside and tender inside, fresh and delicious.
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Cactus iron plate beef tenderloin
Ingredients: beef tenderloin 200g, cactus 50g, onion 50g, vegetable oil150g, refined salt 4g, soy sauce10g, cooking wine 5g, monosodium glutamate 3g, ginger juice 3g and starch 20g.
Production method:
1. Dice beef, add salt, soy sauce, cooking wine, monosodium glutamate and water starch, and mix well.
2. The cactus is pricked, cut into pieces with a groove knife, and the onion is sliced for later use; Ginger juice, cooking wine, salt and monosodium glutamate are paired into fermented juice for later use.
3. Heat the wok, add 100g vegetable oil, heat it to 80%, slide in the marinated beef slices, and stir-fry until it changes color and becomes tender.
4. Heat the iron plate on the fire, add a small amount of vegetable oil, add onion and cactus, stir fry, add beef, boil the juice, cover it and simmer on low heat.
5. Sprinkle some cactus slices and drizzle with sesame oil before serving.
Production key: the oil temperature of beef tenderloin should be tender, ginger juice should be mixed well, and iron plate should be heated.
Features: beautiful appearance, refreshing taste and full of spicy taste.
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Sauté ed jujube with cactus and lily
Ingredients: cactus 200g, lily 50g, jujube 50g, carrot15g, wet starch15g.
Seasoning: 5g of iodized salt, 3g of monosodium glutamate, 3g of sugar, 5g of cooking wine, 3g of onion, 3g of ginger and 5g of sesame oil.
Exercise:
1. Cut cactus, lily and carrot into rhombic pieces, blanch them in boiling water, and drain.
2. Scoop up the base oil, heat it to 70% heat, stir-fry with onion and ginger, stir-fry with cactus, lily, carrot and jujube, add salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, clear soup and wet starch, and pour in sesame oil.
Chicken cactus
Raw materials: chicken 50g, cactus 150g, shallot 10g, ginger 5g, salad oil 8g, salt 4g, monosodium glutamate 2g, sugar 1g, appropriate amount of wet raw powder, and cooked chicken oil1g.
Exercise:
1. Shred chicken, shredded cactus and washed, sliced leek and peeled ginger;
2. Add a little salt and monosodium glutamate to the shredded chicken, marinate it with wet raw powder, add a little oil to the pot, fry it until it is 80% mature, and pour it out;
3. Put oil in another pan, add shredded ginger, shredded cactus and shredded leek, stir-fry over medium heat until nearly cooked, pour shredded chicken, add salt, monosodium glutamate and sugar to stir-fry until tasty, thicken with wet raw flour, and pour in cooked chicken oil.
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Cooking tip: think clearly, but don't be confused.
Cactus is not only an ornamental plant, but also a fashionable food for all ages in Xian Yi. Don't use too much oil when cooking. Among all kinds of edible oils, salad oil is the best, and high-quality vegetable oil or soybean oil is also acceptable. Generally, animal oil should not be eaten more. When cooking, we should use less pungent spices to keep the color and flavor of cactus dishes.
When buying vegetable cactus, you should choose tender slices that grow for 15-35 days, with light green color, little or no thorns, shiny skin, no wrinkles and appropriate palm size. Tender slices can be stored for 15 days at room temperature, and can be kept fresh for 40 days in the refrigerator. Cooking cactus should first remove the small thorns, which can be easily removed by choosing a sharp thin kitchen knife; If the cactus is old, you can peel it properly, which will taste better.
Special note: with good recipes and good cooking skills, you can't make delicious cactus dishes without pretreatment. Because there is more mucus in cactus, it will affect the shape and taste of the dish. After shredding and slicing, you can marinate it with salt first, 15 minutes later, rinse it with water, and then cook it. Another way is to scald it with a proper amount of baking soda and salt, which can also effectively reduce the mucus and sour taste secreted by the cut part of the palm, and the taste will be better.
It is worth noting that not all cacti can be eaten, and some wild cacti can't be eaten, so pay attention when purchasing.
common sense
The ins and outs of cactus
Cactus originated in Mexico on the American continent and was introduced to China by the Quality Agricultural Products Development Service Center of the Ministry of Agriculture on 1999. After cultivation and propagation, it was successfully planted in Sichuan Province for the first time. After successfully planting thousands of acres of Mexican edible cactus in this town, it not only served the needs of the local catering industry, but also sold the "mother seed" inside and outside the province.
Nowadays, planting and eating cactus has gradually become a fashion in all parts of the south of the Yangtze River and Guangdong Province.
Edible cactus is nutritious and can be eaten raw as fruit or cooked. Restaurant chefs have developed and created more than 100 delicious cactus dishes, each of which is unique, smooth, tender and delicious, and deeply loved by diners. Moreover, Mexican cactus is a natural green food, without any pollution, chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Cactus is not only a kind of green food, but also has therapeutic and cosmetic effects. According to animal experiments, cactus has a strong anti-inflammatory and bactericidal effect. Cutting cactus into small pieces and feeding it to chickens will drive away the chicken plague that modern drugs can't do. Cactus juice can be used externally to treat various skin inflammations and scabies. Mexican medical experts have also achieved good results in treating gastric ulcer with cactus.