Health & Life

The Surprising High Calcium Content of Chili Peppers Makes Them the Top Vegetable for Soup or Stir-Frying

Peppers are often overlooked because no one realizes just how nutritious they are.

10 March, 2024

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In the countryside, when it comes to planting chili peppers in winter, there are fewer vegetables, so farmers can pick chili leaves for eating. Many people who have tasted chili leaf soup will appreciate the special taste of this vegetable. If you put them in meat soup or mix them with other vegetables to make crab soup, it will enhance the delicious taste of the dish. Chili leaves can also be stir-fried with tender meat to create a more flavorful stir-fried meat dish.

Chili leaves have a sweet and mild taste, not spicy, and have a distinctive aroma. Chili leaves are easy to cook and eat because they become soft when cooked. Chili leaves have a cool nature, with a slightly bitter taste that is not overpowering. In particular, chili leaves are rich in calcium. Research shows that 100 grams of chili leaves contain more calcium than 100 grams of milk. In addition, chili leaves are also rich in beta carotene and various vitamins, which have the effects of relieving cold symptoms, warming the stomach, nourishing the liver, improving vision, promoting weight loss, and enhancing beauty.

The amazing benefits of chili leaves

Chili leaves can help with weight loss: Chili leaves have a weight loss effect because they can increase fat burning in the body. Moreover, chili leaves can stimulate the body to produce enzymes that effectively prevent excessive fat accumulation.

Chili leaves help detoxify the body: Eating chili leaves regularly is not only good for the eyes and cardiovascular system, but also helps nourish and warm the stomach, promote digestion, boost appetite, and detoxify the body, which can contribute to skin beauty. Chili leaves also have antioxidant properties that promote skin beauty.

Chili leaves can supplement natural calcium: 100 grams of chili leaves contain 233 mg of calcium, which is much higher than the calcium content in milk (about 118 mg of calcium per 100 grams of milk). Therefore, chili leaves are also a natural source of calcium supplementation.

Traditional remedies using chili leaves

– Treating eczema: You can use 30 grams of fresh chili leaves, 20 grams of tamarind, crush them and apply on the affected area for 5-10 days.

– Treating acne, soft tissue injuries: Use a mixture of chili leaves, banana leaves, guava leaves, porcelain vine leaves, pennywort leaves, and apple leaves (20 grams of each), crushed and mixed with sea salt, then apply on the affected area.

– Treating malaria fever: Wash 30 grams of chili leaves, crush them, put them in a bowl of boiling water to let it cool down, stir well, let it settle, then strain the water and drink it 2 hours before the fever occurs, once a day, for 5-7 days.

– Treating headaches: Crush chili leaves, mix them with cactus with thorns and moringa leaves, then apply on the forehead.

– Relieving back pain: Wash chili leaves, crush them, heat them up, add white wine, and continue heating. Then mix with white wine and wrap it in a thin cloth or fabric bag, apply it to the painful back and massage it several times. Do it once a day continuously for about 2 weeks, and the back pain will be relieved. If the chili leaves have cooled down, they can be reused 1-2 times by heating them up.

How to cook chili leaves as food

Chili leaves in minced meat soup: Stir-fry minced meat with onions until fragrant, add water and bring to a boil, then add the cleaned chili leaves and simmer for a while until the leaves are cooked and tender, season to taste.

Stir-fried chili leaves with beef or tender meat: Marinate the meat with a little seasoning and oil. Stir-fry the onions and garlic with oil until fragrant, then add the meat and stir-fry quickly, and add the chili leaves. Stir-fry until the meat and chili leaves are cooked, do not stir-fry for too long, otherwise, the meat will become tough.

Chili leaves in crab soup: When cooking crab soup, you can mix chili leaves, sweet potato leaves, and various vegetables to make a mixed vegetable soup that is delicious to eat. Take the crab meat extract, put it on the stove, let it boil, then add the vegetables to make a crab soup. The chili leaves add a fragrant aroma to the soup.

In addition, you can use chili leaves in many other dishes such as shrimp soup, chili leaves in salad…

Frequently asked questions

Chili leaves aid weight loss by increasing fat burning and preventing excessive fat accumulation. They also help detoxify the body, promote eye health, support the cardiovascular system, and contribute to skin beauty due to their antioxidant properties. Additionally, chili leaves are a natural source of calcium, providing more calcium per gram than milk.

Chili leaves have been used to treat various ailments. For eczema, apply a paste of fresh chili leaves and tamarind to the affected area. A mixture of chili leaves and other plant leaves, crushed with sea salt, can help with acne and soft tissue injuries. To treat malaria fever, drink an infusion made by boiling crushed chili leaves. For headaches, apply a paste of crushed chili leaves, cactus with thorns, and moringa leaves to the forehead.

Chili leaves are versatile in the kitchen. You can add them to minced meat soup, stir-fry them with beef or tender meat, or include them in crab soup or shrimp soup. They also work well in salads, adding a unique flavor and aroma to your dishes.