Chinese cabbage has incredibly tender and juicy leaves that perfectly complement many dishes. Those who see the vegetable for the first time will most likely notice that it is somewhat reminiscent of a green salad. However, it may look different.
There are two types of this vegetable: the now familiar Chinese cabbage and pak choy or bok choy.. This cabbage does not look like an oblong head of cabbage with loosely pressed leaves, but like green leaves on a white, fleshy stem. Both varieties are often used in salads; they have a delicate taste and add juiciness.
Nutritional value and calorie content of Chinese cabbage per 100 grams
Chinese cabbage contains a lot of vitamin C, which has a supporting effect on the immune system: 100 g of product can contain up to 100 mg of the vitamin.
But besides this, Chinese cabbage also contains a lot of B vitamins:
- thiamine (B2);
- riboflavin (B2);
- pantothenic acid (B5);
- pyridoxine (B6);
- folic acid (B9);
- as well as choline (B4), which should rather be classified as a vitamin-like substance.
- In addition, the vegetable contains vitamins A, K, PP, E.
As for useful elements, this type of cabbage serves as a complete source of potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, as well as iron, zinc, and selenium.
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- proteins – 1.2 g;
- fat – 0.2 g;
- carbohydrates – 2.03 g;
- dietary fiber – 1.2 g.
Calorie content of Chinese cabbage - only 16 calories per 100 g
Therefore, it is used as part of dietary nutrition and helps very well to lose excess weight. And not only due to the small amount of fats and carbohydrates, but also due to the fact that it provides a feeling of fullness.
Important to remember! When determining the calorie content of Chinese cabbage dishes, do not forget that not all recipes are dietary.
For example, dishes with meat ingredients, by definition, cannot be low-calorie and dietary, except perhaps salads with chicken breast.
Vegetable salads are fully dietary, but even here you need to take into account what the dressing is made from. The best option is mustard, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar. A salad richly flavored with mayonnaise cannot be dietary, even if it is made from cabbage alone.
Chinese cabbage: benefits and harm
Regardless of what type of vegetable is chosen for cooking, you can be sure that the body will receive a large amount of essential minerals and vitamins. But it is also a means for the prevention and treatment of diseases.
Health Benefits of Chinese Cabbage
Lysine is an essential amino acid that can only come from food. It is necessary for the production of enzymes, collagen, hormones, improves calcium metabolism, and is involved in the prevention of strokes and heart attacks.
Lactucine is an alkaloid that has a calming effect on nerve endings, which affects the speed of falling asleep.
Who should eat Chinese cabbage?
As for the treatment of certain diseases, the vegetable will soften the course of the following:
- diabetes mellitus, because Chinese cabbage itself does not increase sugar levels in any way, it also interferes with the absorption of sugar that enters the body with other foods, and all due to the presence of dietary fiber;
- cardiovascular diseases. Potassium is the substance due to which a significant positive effect is observed. The heart needs it, since its contractility depends on it. In addition, the vegetable has a beneficial effect on vascular atherosclerosis and weakened blood vessels;
- digestive, accompanied by a decrease in the motor function of the stomach, destabilization of the intestinal microflora, with gastritis and colitis. For treatment in the remission stage, boiled Chinese cabbage or its juice is used. Moreover, the juice cannot be consumed in its pure form; it is necessary to dilute it with carrot juice to half to eliminate the subsequent effect of gas formation.
In addition, Chinese cabbage is used for:
- insomnia;
- headaches, including migraines;
- metabolic disorders;
- predisposition to cancer.
Chinese cabbage: contraindications and harm
Despite all the beneficial properties listed above, you should not delude yourself; the vegetable also has contraindications:
- Like other types of cabbage, bok choy causes bloating.
This effect is observed due to the cleansing effect of cabbage on the body, which is accompanied by increased gas formation. This means that cabbage is completely excluded from the menu of nursing mothers, so that the infant does not develop colic. But other people should not overuse Chinese cabbage: servings of up to 300 g per day are beneficial. Otherwise, nausea, signs of indigestion, and flatulence will appear.
- Chinese cabbage does not go well with rich sour cream, homemade cottage cheese, or homemade milk. Guaranteed stomach upset.
- Dishes containing Chinese cabbage are contraindicated for diseases accompanied by high stomach acidity.
- During pancreatitis or during periods when gastrointestinal diseases are exacerbated, the use of Chinese cabbage is strictly prohibited, especially if it is an ingredient along with foods prohibited for pancreatitis: fatty meat, smoked meats, pickles or canned food. And all because of the large amount of fiber.
Chinese cabbage accumulates insecticides well in its leaves
Fortunately, it is unpretentious to grow. However, this fact is worth keeping in mind.
Chinese cabbage "Swallow": features and use in cooking
Nowadays, recipes for preparing dishes from petiole Chinese cabbage of the Swallow variety or pak choi have begun to gain more and more popularity.
This vegetable is used in cooking by both professional chefs and housewives. Moreover First, the petioles are placed in the pan, and only then, when they are half cooked, the leaves are added.
This cabbage makes delicious dishes because it is completely devoid of unpleasant odor. Food processing can be done in different ways. Chinese cabbage Swallow is even suitable for drying.
What to cook from Chinese cabbage: dishes (recipes)
The vegetable can be fried, stewed, pickled, boiled. In all types, the taste will be excellent, and therefore salads are prepared from it (using both as the main ingredient and for decoration), first and second courses. Traditional recipes of folk cuisine are also known.
Beijing and pak choy can be used wherever regular cabbage is present in recipes.
The taste of the dish will only benefit from such a replacement - it will turn out more juicy and tender.
Salad Recipes
Absolutely all salads are tasty and uncomplicated. Most of them turn out easy.
Salad recipe with chicken breast and tomatoes
You will need one chicken breast (you can grill it, so the taste will be richer, or boiled if you are a fan of a healthy diet); Chinese cabbage – up to 300 g, 3–4 pcs. fresh tomatoes, a little mustard, apple cider vinegar (1 tbsp), grated cheese to sprinkle on top, olive oil for dressing, spices.
The breast and cabbage are cut into strips, the tomatoes into slices. Add the remaining ingredients, except cheese, mix, sprinkle with grated cheese.
Salad with shrimp and parmesan cheese
You will need Chinese cabbage and tomatoes, in the same quantity as in the previous recipe, in addition, you need boiled eggs - 3 pcs., shrimp (ready in a jar or boiled yourself) - 200-250 g, Parmesan - 200 g, any ready-made cream sauce, although Heinz Deli mayonnaise is best. The salad is laid out in layers: cabbage-tomatoes-Heinz-shrimp-eggs-mayonnaise-grated cheese.
Soup Recipes
It turns out very tasty cabbage soup with ginger made from “Swallow”.
The soup is prepared in chicken broth with pieces of boiled chicken breast. How many products to take depends on how much broth there will be. Look at the consistency. You will need cabbage and noodles. Shredded cabbage stalks are added to the broth, followed by noodles. When half-ready, add shredded cabbage leaves. Season with ginger and lemon juice to taste.
Main course recipes
There are a variety of recipes for main courses with Chinese cabbage. For example, leaves of regular cabbage can be replaced with more tender leaves of Chinese cabbage when preparing any cabbage rolls, including lazy cabbage pies. The casseroles are delicious. Here is one of the recipes as an example.
Chinese cabbage casserole with minced meat
The main ingredients are minced meat, Chinese cabbage, sour cream, rice, tomatoes or tomato paste, bell pepper, sour cream, and onions.
The process is:
- You should first boil the rice until half cooked (3/4 cup). While the rice is cooking, you need to prepare tomato sauce from tomatoes (4 large), sour cream (3 tbsp), garlic (3-4 cloves), add spices to taste (pepper, salt).
- Finely chop pepper (1 pc.), onion (1 pc.), greens and combine with rice and minced meat. Take a mold (it should be deep enough and suitable for the oven).
- Shredded Chinese cabbage is placed at the bottom, then a mixture of ingredients with minced meat, then the sauce, and so on, alternating, but be sure to leave the sauce for the top.
- The casserole is placed in the oven under foil and cooked for 40 minutes at 220 degrees.
Kimchi recipe
Well, of course, you can’t ignore the recipe for traditional Chinese kimchi made from this type of cabbage.
For this dish you need Chinese cabbage - a large head of cabbage, hot red pepper, chili pepper, a small piece of ginger root or its powder, garlic - 4-5 cloves, fish sauce or shrimp paste - 1 tbsp. l., vegetable oil and salt to taste. For brine: unboiled filtered water – 1.5 l, 3 tbsp. l. salt.
The cabbage is cut into squares and placed very tightly in the pan. You can cook it in combination with carrots and onions, then the vegetables are mixed in the pan. Then everything is filled with brine. Next, everything that is in the pan is placed under a press and left for a day in this state.
Then the vegetables are washed from brine with water and the paste is prepared. Mix pepper, ginger, garlic, fish sauce in a blender, add a little sugar, and then mix with cabbage, protecting your hands with gloves. With all the contents, the pan must be placed in some warm place for three to four days.
Useful video on the topic
Chinese cabbage: everything you need to know. Details in the following video:
Chinese cabbage has beneficial properties for weight loss. Watch the informative video:
Chinese cabbage is a dietary vegetable that is beneficial for people with various diseases. Dishes made from it are delicious and have a wide palette of flavors. They will be a wonderful addition to your everyday and holiday table.
In recent years, the popularity of Chinese cabbage has been gaining momentum. This variety of vegetable plants is much more delicate in structure and does not have the slight “pepperiness” that white cabbage often has.
Therefore, preparing and eating a dietary salad with Chinese cabbage is a pleasure. The article will discuss how Chinese cabbage is beneficial for the body, what to cook with it and how to store it.
What does Chinese cabbage look like?
Chinese cabbage, which we often see on store shelves under the name “Peking”, is a vegetable crop with whole, sessile, wrinkled leaves that taste very juicy.
They are located in the form of a loose oblong head of cabbage up to 35 cm high. The edges of the leaves are wavy or jagged, their color ranges from yellowish to bright green.
There are different subspecies of such a plant as Chinese cabbage, and their varieties are often called “Chinese lettuce.”
BJU and calorie content of Chinese cabbage
The beneficial properties of Chinese cabbage are successfully combined with its excellent taste, so you can enjoy dishes made from it with benefits for the body.
The product contains almost 5 times more vitamin C than the usual green salad. The vegetable contains quite a lot of protein, citric acid, pectin, and amino acids. It also contains a real vitamin and mineral complex:
- Riboflavin;
- Folic acid;
- Thiamine;
- A nicotinic acid;
- Carotene;
- Pyridoxine;
- Magnesium;
- Phosphorus;
- Cobalt;
- Potassium;
- Iron;
- Vitamin E;
- Vitamin K;
- Selenium, etc.
How many calories are in Chinese cabbage?
Chinese cabbage for weight loss - an ideal product, because it contains only 16 kcal/100 g. Like other leafy vegetables, it is good for digestion, helps the production of enzymes, which will allow food to be absorbed faster.
Because the body will spend more energy on processing the product than it receives, . No matter how much you eat the product,
BJU of Chinese cabbage
100 g of crispy fresh vegetable contains:
- 1.1 g protein;
- 0.3 g fat;
- 1.2 g carbohydrates.
The rest is water and vitamins, minerals, and other elements needed by the body dissolved in it.
Beijing cabbage - benefits and harm
The product is one of the best vegetables that can be used against vitamin deficiency and anemia.
A huge amount of ascorbic acid will help strengthen the immune system and improve resistance to infections.
The vegetable will cleanse the body of cholesterol and prevent excess fats from being absorbed into the blood. It has been proven to optimize the body's metabolism.
Due to the presence of almost all B vitamins, Chinese salad is also suitable for normalizing the nervous system.
It will strengthen the heart and make blood vessels more elastic.
The product will ensure the coordinated functioning of the endocrine system, will contribute to the prevention of oncology, and will prolong youth and vigor.
Other beneficial properties of Chinese lettuce are:
- Reducing the manifestations of hypertension;
- Fighting headaches;
- Mitigation of diabetes;
- Cleansing the blood and intestines;
- Protecting the body from free radicals.
The product is also important for Alzheimer's disease, gout, hepatitis, obesity, and nervous disorders. But the beneficial properties and contraindications of Chinese cabbage are combined, and the latter must also be taken into account.
Who should not eat Chinese salad?
Chinese cabbage can be harmful for pancreatitis in the acute phase. It is also better not to abuse such food if:
- Increased acidity in the gastrointestinal tract;
- Bleeding in the digestive system;
- Exacerbation of colitis, duodenitis, gastritis.
Product dosage: 150 g three times a week. If you overeat, you may experience nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Is it possible to have Chinese cabbage while breastfeeding?
The benefits of Chinese cabbage for women are enormous, but can a nursing mother eat it? As you know, most varieties of cabbage cause increased gas production, so they can cause colic and flatulence in a baby. Fortunately, it is the Chinese variety that brings much fewer problems associated with digestion.
A nursing mother can eat the product, but not in salads, but in stewed or steamed (boiled) form.. This will absolutely not harm the baby’s body, but the benefits will be invaluable. The vitamins and minerals of the vegetable will, for the most part, be preserved even after cooking.
An increase in quantity and quality after consuming the product in moderation is guaranteed! From 6-9 months, you can begin to gradually include it in the mother’s diet in fresh form.
How to store Chinese cabbage at home
There are many ways to store Chinese cabbage. It should be stored in the refrigerator after wrapping it in cling film in the vegetable compartment. You can also put the vegetable in a container and close it tightly with a lid. You can also freeze Chinese salad in bags in the freezer after chopping.
There is a more original storage method - drying. How to properly cut Chinese cabbage for drying? It should be chopped as finely as possible, into strips, and then dried in the oven (80 degrees) with convection or in an electric dryer
Salad for the winter by fermentation
The recipe for pickled vegetables is as follows:
- Take 5 kg of cabbage, chop finely;
- Pour 300 ml of water, 50 ml of water into a container, add salt, sugar - a teaspoon at a time;
- Combine cabbage with 2 cloves of chopped garlic;
- Pour over the marinade, put under pressure for a day;
- Next, stir the vegetables and leave for another day;
- Refrigerate the product for 2 weeks;
- After the specified period, you can eat the dish.
Or do this:
Chinese cabbage recipes
The product is perfect for salads. The leaves of Chinese lettuce are thin and tender. Stuffed cabbage rolls are very tasty with it, as well as other main courses and soups. You can marinate it and prepare original snacks.
For example, how to salt Chinese cabbage is very simple. To do this, you just need to cut it (arbitrarily), add a small amount of salt, compact it into jars and fill it with water so that it is completely covered. Place the food in the cold for 2 weeks and you are ready to eat.
Korean chimcha from Chinese cabbage (recipe)
Products:
- Cabbage - head of cabbage;
- – 6 cloves;
- Onion – head;
- Soy sauce - a tablespoon;
- Fresh green onions - a bunch;
- – piece 5 cm;
- Red pepper - a tablespoon;
- Sugar – teaspoon;
- Salt – 3 tablespoons;
- Water – 1.5 liters.
Place garlic, ginger, sauce, pepper, sugar in a blender and grind everything. Stir the paste into the salted vegetables. Pack everything into a jar, close the lid, put it in the refrigerator for 3 days, then eat.
The most delicious Chinese cabbage salad
What can you cook from Chinese cabbage without the dish being banal? Here is a delicious salad made from it - hearty, for gourmets:
- Cut 150 g of ham into thin strips;
- Also chop 200 g of boiled chicken breast;
- Cut 3 boiled eggs into cubes;
- Crush a handful of walnuts;
- Mix the ingredients, add 200 g of Korean carrots;
- Add a small shredded head of Chinese cabbage;
- Season the salad with mayonnaise (sour cream) and salt.
Here's another snack recipe:
Chinese cabbage, popularly called Chinese cabbage or salad cabbage, was imported from China. Compared to white cabbage, the vegetable has a more delicate texture and pleasant taste. The culture is universal in culinary use, and is also endowed with a lot of beneficial properties for the body. Contains a unique set of vitamins and other vital substances. In addition, this is an environmentally friendly product, since when growing it there is no need to treat insects with pesticides.
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Chemical composition and nutritional value
Chinese cabbage has long been revered not only for its taste, but also as a means of improving health and prolonging life. This is explained by the large amount of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in the chemical composition, which is 5 times more than in regular lettuce or white cabbage. In addition, there are:
- beta-carotene;
- pyridoxine;
- thiamine;
- carotene;
- riboflavin;
- folic and nicotinic acid;
- choline;
- vitamins B, K and E;
- magnesium;
- iron;
- selenium;
- potassium;
The leaves are endowed with the greatest value, which is due to the presence of carotene, glucose, proteins, fiber, minerals, organic substances and amino acids in them.
Nutritional value is determined by the ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates (BJU) per 100 grams:
- proteins - 1.2 g;
- fats - 0.4 g;
- carbohydrates - 1.3 g;
- water - 95–98 g;
- fiber - 1.7–1.9 g.
It should be noted the low calorie content of the vegetable - about 15 kcal per 100 grams of product. This allows you to include it in your diet and for weight loss.
Beneficial features
The juice and fresh leaves of the Chinese vegetable have a wide range of beneficial properties. Marked p A positive effect on the gastrointestinal tract; eating Chinese cabbage promotes accelerated digestion of food. Vitamin C acts as a natural antioxidant and helps protect against viruses and infections. As a result, immunity improves. During the cold season, it is recommended to eat more of this product, this will serve as prevention. No less important are other vitamins that normalize the functioning of the nervous system, improve metabolic processes in the body, restore normal levels of healthy cholesterol and cleanse the blood.
With regular consumption of Chinese cabbage, a person’s general well-being significantly improves, depressive states disappear, and vitality increases.
Minerals help remove toxins and excess fluid from the body. Therefore, the benefits of Chinese cabbage are great for people suffering from increased swelling. When consuming the product, the liver is strengthened and its stable functions are restored, which makes this organ more resistant to harmful attacks. Separately, it should be noted the ability of the components in cabbage to fight cancer cells. For women, this vegetable will serve as a preventative against breast cancer, and for men - against prostate cancer.
The wide range of useful elements that Peking tea is rich in helps with many diseases:
- anemia;
- avitaminosis;
- atherosclerosis;
- diabetes;
- dysfunction of the cardiovascular system;
- pathologies of the stomach and intestinal tract;
- frequent headaches;
- nervous disorders;
- dysfunction of the liver and kidneys;
- stress and insomnia;
- pressure changes;
- constant fatigue.
Fresh leaves can improve the functioning of the thyroid gland, thereby eliminating endocrine disruptions. They are not contraindicated for diabetes - on the contrary, significant improvements are observed when consuming the vegetable. Cabbage dishes are equally beneficial for gout, Alzheimer's disease, hepatitis and obesity. For women, this product helps keep their skin beautiful and fresh.
For pregnant women, the vegetable is simply irreplaceable in the daily menu, as it saturates the body of not only the mother herself, but also the fetus with vitamins and minerals. It is able to increase immunity, which is especially important during this period. The mineral salts in the composition have a positive effect on the formation of the baby’s digestive system. It is preferable to consume Chinese cabbage boiled or stewed so as not to provoke gas formation. But even raw it does not cause allergies.
Nutritionists recommend that women who are losing weight diversify their daily diet with this product, due to the low amount of calories and good satiety. Whatever your diet, you can eat Chinese cabbage as much as you like. There will be no harm, and extra pounds will not appear. This leafy vegetable can speed up metabolism.
Medicinal use
Chinese cabbage not only provides health benefits, but can also have a healing effect on a number of ailments. Most common uses:
- 1. For sleep disturbances, a decoction of the leaves helps: 160 g of raw cabbage is poured into 400 ml of water, boiled for 30–35 minutes, infused and filtered. A similar remedy is drunk at night.
- 2. Seeds will help smooth out attacks of bronchial asthma. 25 grams of seeds are brewed with 250–300 ml of boiling water and continue to cook for about 20 minutes. Divide into two parts and drink the decoction throughout the day.
- 3. Chinese cabbage salad with olive oil helps prevent scabies and mastopathy.
- 4. Swelling of the eyelids is eliminated by a mask of pre-boiled and then crushed leaves mixed with vegetable oil. Apply the mixture to problem areas for 20–25 minutes.
Despite the great benefits for the human body, Chinese cabbage has some contraindications. First of all, they are associated with the presence of citric acid. People with high stomach acidity, ulcers, gastritis and pancreatitis, colitis should completely avoid this ingredient.
It is dangerous to combine Chinese cabbage with fermented milk products such as cottage cheese, milk or cheese. There is a high probability of digestive system disorders. It is not recommended to consume it in large quantities while taking blood thinning medications. This is explained by the presence of vitamin K in the chemical composition, combination with which will bring negative consequences.
Cooking recipes
You can prepare many delicious and varied dishes from Chinese cabbage. Even after thermal exposure, the culture does not lose its beneficial qualities. It goes perfectly with many foods: fruits, nuts, any meat, vegetables, legumes. It is recommended to use vegetable oils and soy sauce for dressing.
The most successful recipes from the point of view of a combination of healthy products are presented in the table.
| Name | Preparation | Visual photo |
| Salad preparation | 5–6 kg of cabbage is finely chopped and combined with chopped garlic cloves (2–3 pieces). Prepare the marinade separately: dissolve a dessert spoon of granulated sugar and salt in 330–350 ml of water, pour in 50 ml of table vinegar. Cabbage shavings are immersed in it and a weight is placed on top. Leave for a day, then stir and keep for the same amount of time. After two days in a warm place, put it in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. After the expiration date, the dish is ready to eat |  |
| Fermented snack | The heads of cabbage are cut into large pieces and placed in a deep enamel bowl. Pour in the brine, which is prepared as follows: dilute a tablespoon of salt in a liter of water. Place oppression on top and put it in a dark place for 4 days. Then take out the cabbage and coat between the leaves with a mixture of ground red pepper and garlic (ratio of 2 teaspoons per 3 chopped heads). The coated parts are placed in storage containers, filled with brine again and placed in a cool place. After 3-4 hours, the savory snack is ready |  |
| Chimcha in Korean | You will need: a head of Chinese cabbage, 6 garlic cloves, onions and green onions, a small piece of ginger, 5-6 tbsp. l. soy sauce, tablespoon red pepper, 1 tsp. sugar and 3 tablespoons of salt, 1.5–2 liters of water. Cabbage is cut into cubes and onion into strips. Mix everything and put it in brine (water + salt). For a quick version, 3-4 hours of exposure is enough, for winter preparation - at least 10 hours. After this, the liquid is drained and the vegetables are washed with clean water. The remaining ingredients are ground in a blender and combined with pickled cabbage pieces. Place them tightly in jars and cover with lids. Put it in the refrigerator. After three days you can take a sample |  |
| Salad | Required food set: 150–200 g of ham, the same amount of boiled chicken breast, 3 eggs, a handful of chopped walnuts, 200 grams of Korean carrots, a small head of Chinese cabbage. All ingredients are chopped, mixed and seasoned with mayonnaise. |  |
Beijing salad effectively copes with chronic fatigue, lethargy and nervousness. If there is no allergic reaction, then only 300 grams per week is enough to feel a surge of strength and energy. Pediatricians advise including a similar product in children's diets starting from the age of one.
When purchasing heads of cabbage, you should choose dense and fresh ones, with rich green leaves. Before use, the vegetable must be washed and doused with boiling water.
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Cabbage is an annual plant belonging to the turnip subspecies. Its benefits and excellent taste have been known for a long time. Chinese cabbage (or Chinese cabbage) combines, as it were, two vegetables - it is both cabbage and green salad. Juicy, tender leaves have a wonderful taste and differ in composition from their relatives.
Benefit
Let's start with the biggest advantages of Chinese cabbage. These are excellent taste qualities that make dishes prepared with its addition so popular. Its juicy and tasty leaves are eaten raw in salads, stewed, fermented, and added to soups and side dishes. And for good reason. It contains a substance such as lysine. Its benefit is that it helps cleanse the blood, break down foreign proteins and improve immunity.
Also, raw cabbage leaves contain an element such as lactucin, which accelerates metabolic processes in the human body. It has a calming effect and helps normalize blood pressure, and as a result, sleep.
Eating Chinese cabbage raw will help get rid of chronic stress and fatigue syndrome. Eat Chinese cabbage salad regularly - this dish will relieve headaches and even migraines.
Tasty and juicy cabbage leaves are a preventative against cardiovascular diseases and cancer. It is recommended to eat it in large quantities for patients with diabetes.
In the old days, it was believed that juice from Chinese cabbage could cure stomach and duodenal ulcers.
Another advantage of Chinese cabbage is that it does not have such a pronounced, not always pleasant, cabbage smell that appears during heat treatment - for example, when cooking borscht or stewing cabbage rolls. And the taste of these dishes improves significantly if Peking is used in their preparation.
Chinese cabbage leaves have a denser, slightly rougher, triangular-shaped white vein in the center of the leaf. It is this that is the juiciest part and its benefits are very noticeable. From these “petioles” you can make juice, which has an analgesic effect for gastritis with low and neutral acidity. So don’t throw it away, leaving only tender leaves. The nutritional value is concentrated in the petioles.
Unlike white cabbage, Chinese cabbage retains all its beneficial substances throughout the winter and is not afraid of long-term storage if the appropriate temperature conditions are observed. This is especially important during the period when spring vitamin starvation of the body begins.
Note to those who are going on a diet or doing fasting days - the calorie content of Chinese cabbage is so low that it can be eaten even while following the most stringent weight loss diet.
Harm
As with every product, Chinese cabbage has both benefits and harm. Despite the fact that it has a beneficial effect on digestive processes, it can cause significant harm when combined with dairy products - milk sauces, sour cream, milk and cottage cheese. Stomach upset when consuming these products at the same time is a guarantee.
The harm of such a “diet” will be especially noticeable in advanced gastritis with high acidity.
The harm is also undeniable with pancreatitis. After all, Beijing milk in combination with dairy products will produce lactic acid, which irritates the pancreas and causes pain and diarrhea.
You can also feel the harm of Chinese cabbage if you eat it during an exacerbation of colitis, in case of poisoning and diarrhea. You need to take these properties into account, since the symptoms of the disease will only worsen and you will feel much worse.
Calorie content
Chinese cabbage is a very low-calorie product that is suitable for dietary nutrition not only for medical reasons, but also for losing excess weight, cleansing the stomach and intestines.
But it should be borne in mind that when determining the calorie content of a dish that includes Chinese cabbage, you need to take into account the calorie content of all other ingredients. If you make a salad from cabbage alone, consider the calorie content of the dressing.
Contraindications
Despite the fact that the beneficial properties of Chinese cabbage are undeniable, there are still some contraindications to its use. People who suffer from peptic ulcers of the gastrointestinal tract with high acidity, pancreatitis and during periods of exacerbation of any gastrointestinal diseases should not eat dishes with this cabbage.
Also, do not forget that moderation is important in everything. Excessive and frequent consumption of Chinese cabbage dishes can cause nausea and stomach upset.
People who suffer from low blood pressure should eat these greens with caution as they can lower blood pressure. And this is fraught with dizziness.
It is not recommended for nursing mothers to eat Chinese cabbage in any form, especially in the first two months of a baby’s life (as well as any other cabbage). It can cause (especially in its raw form) excessive gas formation in both mother and child. Over time, you can gradually introduce it into the diet, but carefully monitor the baby’s condition. If it is harmful to his health, it is better to abandon this vegetable.
Application
Although Chinese or Chinese cabbage, as you like, is not a medicinal plant and has some contraindications, it should be noted that it has medicinal and preventive properties that can be successfully used.
Chinese cabbage contains a large amount of phytoncides, which are destructive to Koch's bacillus, Staphylococcus aureus and a number of others. Freshly squeezed juice helps with burns, suppuration, and ulcers. If you mix it in a 1:1 ratio with clean water, you can cure inflammatory processes in the oral cavity.
Cabbage juice cleanses the intestines well, freeing it from rotting products. It is the beginning of the sedum process that causes increased gas formation when eating vegetables. To reduce this process, you need to drink Chinese cabbage juice with half-diluted carrot juice.
Storage
Chinese cabbage can be frozen. At the same time, it does not lose its beneficial properties and taste. You need to wash and dry the leaves completely, chop them finely and place them in a plastic bag. Then seal it and place it in the freezer. The shelf life of such cabbage is 8-10 months.
Before eating, place the sealed bag in cold water and wait for the leaves to separate.
If you want to store Beijing in winter without resorting to the freezer, you need to know a few rules:
- For storage, you need to take fully ripe vegetables (but not overripe), which are removed from the garden in the first half of October.
- Make sure that cabbage for winter storage does not survive frost. Even 2º frost will have a detrimental effect on its keeping quality.
- Cabbage heads should not be wet, damaged by fungus or pests - this reduces the shelf life significantly.
- It is necessary to remove damaged upper leaves that do not fit tightly to the fork. The cut should be under the leaves or at the same level with them.
- Prepared heads of cabbage need to be wrapped more tightly in cling film, but do not overdo it. Place in boxes vertically, not close to each other.
Chinese cabbage should be stored in a basement or cellar at a temperature of 0º to 2º. With this mode, cabbage can be stored for 2-3 months without compromising its taste and vitamin composition. Useful properties are fully preserved.
The nutritional value
Chinese cabbage is a low-calorie product and is suitable for eating during diets and fasting days.
Energy value of the product:
Nutritional value of the product:
Water saturates the body's cells with structured fluid, which promotes their health and normal division process. And dietary fiber is an excellent “broom” for the intestines, helping to get rid of waste and toxins. But it is necessary to take into account contraindications.
Vitamins and minerals
| No. |
Vitamins |
Quantity mg./100 g. product |
| 1. | B9 (folic acid) | |
| 2. | TO | |
| 3. | WITH | |
| 4. | A (RE) | |
| 5. | Kholin | |
| 6. | RR | |
| 7. | AT 6 | |
| 8. | A (beta-carotene) | |
| 9. | E | |
| 10. | AT 5 | |
| 11. | IN 1 | |
| 12. | AT 2 |
| No. |
Minerals |
Quantity mg./100 g. product |
| 1. | Potassium | |
| 2. | Calcium | |
| 3. | Copper | |
| 4. | Phosphorus | |
| 5. | Magnesium | |
| 6. | Sodium | |
| 7. | Selenium | |
| 8. | Iron | |
| 9. | Zinc | |
| 10. | Manganese |
Chinese cabbage is both cabbage and lettuce rolled into one. Juicy leaves containing large quantities of vitamins and minerals are an excellent addition to complete nutrition. But moderation is important in everything. Therefore, you need to weigh all the beneficial properties and harmful properties before making a decision in favor of eating Chinese cabbage or refusing this product.
Despite its exotic name, Chinese cabbage has long become a familiar product on our tables. Many people willingly grow it in their garden plots along with its traditional cabbage relative.
People's love for this product can be explained simply: it is tasty and healthy, including for a beautiful figure. There are very few calories in Chinese cabbage; it ranks thirteenth on the list of the lowest-calorie vegetables. But it contains a lot of vitamins and microelements, for example, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, lysine, etc. The calorie content of Chinese cabbage mainly depends on the content of carbohydrate compounds in it. There are no fats in it, very little protein - 1% of the total mass, and also contains water and vegetable matter.
How many calories are in Chinese cabbage?
Peking has one more valuable property - it is universal, that is, it can be boiled, stewed, baked, fried, steamed and eaten raw. Proper heat treatment adds almost no calories to Chinese cabbage, but still, it is most beneficial in the form of a salad of fresh chopped leaves, seasoned with a small amount of olive oil. This dish will contain approximately 15 kcal per 100 grams. The vegetable goes well with cheese, nuts, boiled meat, tomatoes, herbs, etc.
The low calorie content of the product is largely due to the fact that carbohydrates (of which there are very few) in Chinese cabbage are healthy. They do not pass into fat cells, are completely absorbed and are fully consumed by the human body in the form of natural energy resources.
Nutritionists are quick to reassure those who are seriously concerned about exactly how much Chinese cabbage contains, because the amount of such compounds in Chinese cabbage does not exceed 2% of the total mass.
