Sweet potato leaves contain a variety of nutrients, such as carotene, lutein, vitamins A and C, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, and cellulose. The Compendium of Materia Medica notes that sweet potato leaves have a sweet taste and can replenish qi with mild medicinal properties, and have functions such as moisturizing, nourishing, nourishing blood, and stopping bleeding. Sweet potato leaves have the following benefits:
- Help to prevent cancer: They contain carotene, lutein, and vitamins A and C, which can resist oxidation and fight against free radicals that cause cancer.
- Maintaining cardiovascular health: They can remove excess triglycerides in the blood, lower cholesterol, and prevent hypertension.
- Preventing constipation: They are rich in cellulose, and thereby eating more sweet potato leaves and drinking more water can prevent constipation.
- Improving the symptoms of menopause: If women eat sweet potato leaves with soy products, protein, or other foods rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, their menopause symptoms will improve.
- Maintaining vision: Eating them regularly can strengthen your vision and avoid myopia.
The ‘Compendium of Materia Medica’ notes that sweet potato leaves have a sweet taste and can replenish qi. (Image: via Wikimedia Commons)
Sweet potato or yam leaves are the plant leaves of the genus Ipomoea in the family of Convolvulaceae, which can be eaten as a vegetable. In early times, farmers who planted sweet potatoes made the best use of them, and so most of them were cut and cooked.
How to choose sweet potato leaves
Sweet potato leaves have so many benefits, but how do you choose them? First, the color must be dark green, bright, and smooth. Wider leaves and long stems will taste sweeter and crisper. Do not select those that look black, dehydrated, wrinkled, damaged, or yellowed, and pay more attention to whether there are pesticide residues. Following these guidelines, the leaves you picked should be beautiful, healthy, and safe.
How to cook sweet potato leaves is also important. If you do not cook them well, nobody will want to eat them, and it will be a pity to waste such a good vegetable.
The color of sweet potato leaves must be dark green, bright, and smooth. (Image: via eatstayfarm.com)
Due to the high iron content of sweet potato leaves, many people stir-fry them until they are soft, overcooked, and turn black because of the iron. As a result, the leaves look bad and lose their fresh and tender taste, and nobody likes to eat such a dark mass! So here is another simple method to cook the leaves.
Prepare 200 g sweet potato leaves, 5 garlic cloves, 10 g ginger, and seasoning: a little salt, a little white pepper, 1 tsp of sesame oil, and 1 tsp of rice wine. Take a pot, pour salad oil and sesame oil into it, add ginger and garlic, and fry until slightly golden.
To fry crispy sweet potato leaves, the pot must be hot enough. Add the leaves, add a little bit of hot water and rice wine, cover the pot, and then simmer for 30 seconds to 1 minute until completely cooked Open the lid, add salt and white pepper powder, stir quickly, and then serve on a platter. If fried this way, sweet potato leaves must be eaten quickly.
Translated by Joseph Wu and edited by Helen
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