This dish is often served during Chinese New Year festivities because the name
sounds similar to the last two words of the greeting “keong hee huat chai” meaning
"wishing you prosperity".
Black
moss or huat chai (髮菜) in
hokkien is a type of photosynthetic bacteria
that is used as a vegetable in Chinese cuisine. It grows on the ground in
the Gobi Desert and the Qinghai Plateau but over-harvesting had
caused serious erosion in those areas. To control this problem the Chinese
government limited its harvesting causing scarcity and price increase. This may
be one reason why some commercially available huat chai are apparently
adulterated with strands of non-cellular starchy material, other additives and
dyes. Real huat chai is dark green in color, while the fake huat chai appears
black. Dried huat chai looks like fine black hair which is why its name in
Chinese means "hair vegetable." It contains protein, carbohydrates,
some phosphorus, iron and potassium. In TCM it is considered cold in nature and
is used to reduce body heat and is recommended for hypertensions and chronic
bronchitis. Because of the high iron content it is good for women with mild
anemia after giving birth to use black moss in cooking or make soup with it.
The Chinese believes that black moss darkens hair therefore adolescent young
women should eat more huat chai for denser and shinier hair.
Ingredients
Pak choi
Huat chai (black moss)
Fried bean curd pieces
Trim off the ends of the pak
choi
Soak in rice water for 5 minutes
Soak the fried bean in hot water for a couple
of minutes.
This
is to reduce the oiliness and make it easier to cut.
Cut the bean curd into
smaller pieces.
Heat some oil in the wok and
fry some chopped garlic with salt until fragrant.
Put
in the pak choi and mix thoroughly.
Put in the bean curd and stir well.
Add the huat chai and a dash of pepper.
Mix
well and serve.
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