A Winter's Wait, Finally Welcomed Spring – The Season of Tender Wild Vegetables

I especially love spring, not only for the flourishing of spring's plants and the vibrant life it brings, but also for those wild vegetables that are impossible to catch up with. Dandelions, young goji berries, leafy greens, bamboo shoots, locust blossoms, and licorice root – all are gifts from nature, growing year after year without needing to be weeded or cultivated, without seeds or fertilizer, and not even needing a decent piece of land. How wonderful!

After last spring, my son wanted to eat green tarts, and I was stubbornly opposed, believing that green tarts had to be made with tender licorice root to be truly authentic. So, from summer to winter, and then from winter to spring, I waited patiently until the licorice root broke through the soil and sprouted lush green shoots. Our whole family went back to our old farmhouse in the countryside, just to witness the idyllic country life and to gather licorice root to make green tarts at home.

Constantly thinking about the green tarts, when I finally tasted them, I realized I was eating more than just green tarts – I was eating spring, the flavor of spring. The green tarts I made used vegetable fillings, not red bean paste, and it felt more like a bun, although the flavor was different from a bun. Let's take a look at the recipe, while spring is still here, and the wild vegetables are still tender green, let's make green tarts with the taste of spring!

Step 1: Preparing the filling: corn kernels, diced carrots, peas, diced ham (you can also use sausages, bacon, or fresh meat – the filling can be whatever flavor you like, I prefer to experiment!), an appropriate amount.

Step 2: Put a little oil in the pot, add a few ice sugar grains to melt, pour in the diced ham to stir-fry, then scoop the diced ham onto a plate (when stir-frying various ingredients, add salt), add corn kernels, diced carrots, and peas, add an appropriate amount of salt, after the salt has melted, pour it into the ham and stir-fry evenly, then take it out of the pot to set aside.

Step 3: Wash the licorice root shoots clean, blanch them in water, add a little salt when blanching, this can help maintain the color of the licorice root.

Step 4: After blanching the licorice root, rinse it in cold water, then add a little water, put it in a juicer to make juice.

Step 5: Prepare glutinous rice flour and corn starch, 150 grams of each (about half of the two types of flour is fine). The ratio of glutinous rice flour can be slightly more, but add cornstarch to make the green tarts easier to form and less sticky.

Step 6: Pour the licorice juice into the flour, mix the two types of flour into a smooth dough, and let it rest for ten minutes.

Step 7: Take out a small lump of dough and shape it into a dough ball.

Step 8: Flatten the dough ball with your hands and press it into a large sheet, add an appropriate amount of filling, pinch the edges to form a round shape, and evenly arrange it in the steamer. Bring it to a boil over high heat for twenty minutes.

Step 9: Fifteen minutes later, the green tarts are cooked, put them into plates. Huh, the green tarts just taken out of the pot and the green tarts in the plate look different, I don't know when they changed color, and they look delicious anyway, they will definitely be eaten one by one!

Step 10: When eating green tarts, don't be too hasty, be careful not to burn your mouth, take a bite, you'll smell licorice, you'll feel the softness of glutinous rice, you'll taste the sweetness of peas, carrots, and corn, and the fragrance of ham – it's really delicious! It feels like I'm not eating green tarts, I'm eating spring!

Small tips: Green tarts are delicious, but don't be greedy. Glutinous rice products are not easily digested, so eat no more than two at a time, a fist-sized one is enough. Of course, if you have a large appetite and good digestion, eat as many as you like!

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