Pteridium Yitong

Yitong bracken is a specialty of Yitong County, Siping City, Jilin Province. In the dense forest of Yitong mountain area, there are precious natural forests such as Korean pine and Bo Huang radish, and artificial forests such as larch. There are more than 100 kinds of wild vegetables growing on the barren slopes and wild fields of the forest, and bracken is one of the best. Pteridium aquilinum is a kind of herb, which is called "cat's paw" by Yitong locals. The tender seedlings of bracken are edible parts. It is young and sharp, curled and bent inward, shaped like a cat's paw, turquoise, and stretched out when it matures. Petiole yellow-brown, up to one to two feet long; Rhizomes grow horizontally underground, with a layer of dark brown fuzz on the outside, which contains a lot of high-quality starch and can be used to extract fern powder. Pteridium aquilinum is rich in nutrition. Besides starch, fat and protein, it also contains vitamins A and C, phosphorus and calcium, etc. Every 100 grams contains 1.68 mg of carotene and 35 mg of vitamin C. Its tender leaves and stems are excellent wild vegetables with unique flavor, which are fried, boiled, mixed and salted, light and delicious. It can be eaten fresh after being slightly scalded with hot water, or dried into dried vegetables or preserved with salt for a long time. In Japan, Pteridium aquilinum is regarded as the king of dishes, a "snow country delicacy", enjoying a high reputation, and is listed as a clear-mouthed dish for high-class banquets. Pteridium aquilinum was an important export product of Yitong to Japan from 1970 to 1984, with an annual export volume of about 200 tons.
Reprinted with attribution： https://cnlocality.com/(Chinese Specialty Products)