Phao pepper is a typical Vietnamese dish that is deeply ingrained in the minds of many people about a dish of water spinach broth with salted eggplant. However, if this delicious dish is not prepared properly, it can become toxic and can cause illness. That’s why the ancients said that one pepper is equivalent to three months of medicine.
If the pepper is thoroughly washed and cooked until fully ripe, it is not toxic. However, Vietnamese people often prepare them in the following three ways, all of which have a high risk of toxicity:
Salted eggplant: When the eggplant is soaked in sour salt, it will undergo changes, but when soaked in salt, the eggplant will still contain solanine, which is toxic to the body. This is a natural toxin found in eggplants that needs to be thoroughly soaked and cooked or soaked in sour salt. Eating soaked eggplant while it still has a spicy and pungent taste can also convert nitrate into nitrite due to the influence of microorganisms in the brine, which can affect health.
Eating too much and too often: Salted eggplant is usually salty, so eating it regularly and in large quantities can result in excessive salt intake, which is harmful and increases the risk of kidney and cardiovascular diseases. Eating salty food for a long time can also cause cancer.
Salted eggplant, raw eggplant with shrimp paste is a favorite dish of many people but it can be toxic.
Eating salted eggplant in painted barrels and recycled plastic:
The habit of frugality and reuse can sometimes be detrimental, especially when using recycled containers for food. Painted barrels and plastic containers used for storing industrial chemicals may appear clean after multiple washes, but they can still retain additives, colorants, solvents, and other substances from the paint. Moreover, these containers are not intended for food purposes, so the standards will not be suitable for consumption. Therefore, storing salted eggplant in non-food grade painted barrels and plastic containers can be very dangerous for health. They can lead to obesity, cancer, and other health hazards.
How to eat it beneficially?
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, eggplants have a sweet taste and a cold nature. They have the effects of promoting blood circulation, reducing inflammation, and promoting bowel movements. Modern analysis of eggplant composition shows that eggplants provide 1.5g of protein (with all necessary amino acids for the body), 12mg of calcium, 0.7mg of iron, 18mg of magnesium, 16mg of phosphorus, 22.1mg of potassium, and 0.3mg of zinc.
However, eggplants contain a natural toxin called solanine. This substance can cause poisoning at doses ranging from 2-5mg/kg of body weight, and if consumed in doses of 3-6mg/kg of body weight, it can be life-threatening. This substance is also present in sprouted potatoes.
It is advisable to eat cooked eggplants and sufficiently salted eggplants.
To ensure that you avoid eating toxic eggplants, you should:
– Soak and rinse the eggplants until the water turns black before salting them.
– Cook the eggplants thoroughly and boil them before cooking.
– When salting them, let the eggplants ferment long enough to become sour before eating them. Do not eat fermented eggplants, sour eggplants, and avoid eating salted eggplants for too long.
– Buy eggplants during the right season and avoid buying off-season ones.
– Absolutely do not eat raw eggplants and excessive amounts of salted eggplants.
– Do not eat eggplants with a white film.
– Do not store salted eggplants in recycled plastic containers or thin plastics that do not meet the required standards.
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