One of the first signs of spring arrival to me is the emergence of the new green leaves of Chinese chives in the garden (picture of springtime Chinese chives). The first crop of the Chinese chives in the springtime has the best flavor of the year.

 

    Chinese chives are a commonplace vegetable in China, but they may not have been known much by many Americans since I have noticed. There are reasons why Chinese people like Chinese chives, mainly due to their health benefits as documented in traditional Chinese medicine.

 

    The documented health benefits of Chinese chives can be traced back for thousands of years. The medical slip unearthed from the Mawangdui Tomb of the Western Han Dynasty ( ~ 2200 years ago ) mentioned Chinese chives’ benefit of prolonging life. The Compendium of Materia Medica, the most well-known Chinese medicine book, also documented Chinese chives as “when raw, it is pungent and disperses blood, and when cooked, it is sweet and nourishing. It is a vegetable for the liver.” Chinese chives are one of those foods that have medicinal use.

 

    In Chinese Five Elements, spring is wood among the five elements, and the liver is also wood among the five internal organs of the human body. In the springtime, the liver qi is vigorous. It believes that springtime is the time when the liver is prosperous, the best time to nourish the liver. As the “vegetable for the liver” Chinese chives grow out in the springtime, the perfect time to eat them for the nourishment of the liver.

 

    Chinese chives are rich sources of many nutritional factors such as vitamin A, B, C, K, dietary fiber, protein, and potassium. They contain antioxidants that can trap free radicals and stop further cellular damage from occurring, which can contribute to their anti-aging or prolonging life benefits. They have also been known to have antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal effects. The fiber component can help relieve constipation. Some components in chives have also been found to be useful in the treatments of Alzheimer’s disease, coronary heart disease, and cancers.

 

    Chinese chives are easy-growing perennial plants that can be valuable to any garden. In summer, Chinese chives bear little white flowers making them very decorative to the landscape.

 

    The most important reason is the health benefits of Chinese chives that are worth the inclusion into a healthy diet. The easiest and quickest recipe that I use often is to stir fry Chinese chives with eggs. When you are short of vegetables for dishes, cut some Chinese chives and a vegetable dish with great nutrition benefits can be put on the table quickly. Now that spring is here, it is the time to eat the vegetable for the liver Chinese chives for nourishment.