Green pepper: a nutritious and versatile ingredient in many dishes

What is pepper?

Pepper is the fruit of the pepper plant. This plant has a vine-like stem that grows in segments. Roots grow at each segment so that the plant can cling and climb up poles and trellises. Pepper leaves are similar to betel leaves but are smaller, harder and thicker.

Pepper fruits grow continuously on the stem, with a length of about 7 – 10cm, even 25cm. Each fruit is a small sphere, with a radius of about 2 – 3mm. Pepper harvest time falls in December and lasts until March of the following year.

What is green pepper?

Green pepper is fresh pepper clusters, usually selected from green pepper, young, slightly soft. Green pepper has a mild spicy taste, light, pleasant aroma, does not overpower the flavor of other foods. Green pepper is often used in stews, used to remove the unpleasant smell of the ingredients, while enhancing the flavor of the dish.

1. 5 health benefits of green pepper?

Increase the ability to absorb nutrients

Green pepper contains many healthy ingredients such as vitamin C, A, beta-carotene, selenium, etc. These substances play a role in stimulating amino acids in the intestines. At the same time, they limit enzymes and create conditions for better metabolism of nutrients.

In addition, these ingredients also help limit intestinal activity and prevent substances in cells from moving. Therefore, eating green pepper will greatly support the body’s absorption of nutrients.

Antibacterial

Green pepper’s ability to inhibit the growth of pathogenic microorganisms is very good, helping to prevent respiratory infections and problems related to teeth and gums such as tooth decay or gingivitis,… Therefore, adding this food to your meals will help the body fight bacteria effectively.

Limit gas accumulation in the stomach

Green pepper is a very good choice for those who are suffering from indigestion or bloating thanks to its ability to eliminate gas in the stomach. Just eat dishes containing this spice for 1-2 meals, and the condition of indigestion and bloating will be significantly improved.

Good for the stomach

The stomach cannot secrete the necessary amount of hydrochloric acid, which is often the cause of digestive diseases. Green pepper can solve this problem by stimulating the stomach to produce acid, helping the digestive system work more smoothly, preventing bloating, constipation or stomach pain,…

Support treatment of arthritis

Green pepper contains piperine which helps fight inflammation and supports the treatment of arthritis. In addition, using foods made from green pepper such as braised pepper or grilled pepper also helps the blood circulation process to take place more smoothly. Thereby, limiting the condition of joint pain due to poor blood circulation.

2. How to preserve green pepper

Depending on the time of use, green pepper will have different ways of preservation as follows:

• Short-term preservation: If the amount of green pepper you own can be used up within 1 week, you just need to preserve it in the refrigerator. When using, you just need to take out a sufficient amount, avoid taking it all out at once and then putting it back in because it will cause the green pepper to turn dark and spoil quickly.
• Preservation for more than 1 month: If you have so much green pepper that you can use it within 1 month, you should divide this spice into many small bags. At the same time, store it in the freezer, whichever bag you use, just defrost that bag to avoid spoiling the pepper.
• Preservation for more than 3 months: Vacuuming will help preserve food for a very long time. Therefore, when your amount of pepper can be used for a whole year, you should divide this spice into small bags, vacuum seal it and store it in the freezer.

What to make with green pepper?

Green pepper is not only a familiar spice in every family but also an ingredient to prepare many delicious dishes with green pepper. Dishes cooked with green pepper always have an attractive, delicious flavor, enriching family meals.

1. Braised pork with green pepper

Ingredients:

– 500g pork belly

– 100g green pepper

– Onions, garlic and other spices.

Steps:

– Choose fresh pork belly, wash it and cut it into bite-sized pieces.

– Crush green pepper

– Marinate the spices with the pork belly, pay attention to add ½ of the crushed green pepper to marinate with the meat. Leave for about 30 minutes to absorb.

– Caramelize sugar: To make the dish have a beautiful color and characteristic smell, caramelizing sugar is also very important. Put 2 small spoons of sugar in the pan, add 2 spoons of cooking oil, heat until the sugar turns yellow, then add the meat and stir well.

– When adding the meat to the pan, add 1 small bowl of water and cook until the meat is soft and golden brown.

– Season the dish to taste, then add the remaining pepper to the pot, cook for a while and turn off the stove. This dish is delicious eaten hot with rice.

2. Beef stewed with green pepper

Ingredients:

– 500g beef

– 1 potato

– 2 green peppercorns

– Tomatoes, flour or cornstarch

– Salt, sugar, fish sauce, dried onions.

Implementation:

– Wash and crush green peppercorns.

– Cut beef into bite-sized pieces, season with salt, green pepper, 1 teaspoon of cooking oil. Leave the meat for about 30 minutes to absorb the spices.

– Cut potatoes into pieces, fry until golden brown.

– Add cooking oil to saute onions, add thinly sliced ​​tomatoes, then add beef and stir-fry until cooked. To make the dish more delicious, add fresh coconut water to the beef stew until the meat is tender.

– Put flour in a bowl and mix with water to dissolve the flour and prevent lumps.

– After the beef stew is soft, season to taste and add potatoes.

– The final step is to pour the flour mixture into the pot to thicken the pot, cook until the sauce thickens, then turn off the heat and enjoy. This dish is very suitable to eat with bread or white rice.

3. Green pepper soaked in fish sauce

Ingredients:

– 200g green pepper

– 100g garlic

– 500ml good fish sauce

– Plastic or glass jar with lid

How to make:

– First, wash the green pepper. Then, boil a pot of boiling water, quickly blanch the pepper clusters in boiling water to retain the color of the green pepper, remove them to a basket to drain and cool the pepper. Note that because I do not separate the seeds, when washing, wash thoroughly in the crevices of the clusters, there is a lot of dirt and sand, remember to wash gently to avoid the pepper from falling off!

– Peel the garlic, wash it and slice it into thin slices.

– Next, arrange a layer of green pepper at the bottom of the box, arrange a layer of garlic on top and continue to arrange a layer of pepper, a layer of garlic like that until the ingredients are almost full of the jar. Pour good fish sauce to cover the green pepper, you can use a spoon to lightly mix the pepper to make it tight.

– Close the lid tightly, store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. After about 2 weeks, it can be used.

4. Grilled chicken thighs with green pepper sauce

Ingredients:

– 2 chicken thighs

– 2 green peppercorns

– 1 shallot

– 3 cloves of garlic

– Honey

– Tapstarch

– Ginger, lemon, lemongrass

– Chili sauce, tomato sauce

– Seasoning powder, chili powder, oyster sauce, cooking oil, salt, sugar.

How to make:

– Wash and drain the chicken thighs, use a knife to make a few cuts on the chicken thighs to help the spices absorb easily.

– Crush the green peppercorns, garlic, peeled shallots, and mince.

– Mix 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch with 1.5 tablespoons of water.

– Marinate the chicken thighs with salt, pepper, chili sauce, cooking oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, honey for 30 minutes.

– Preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius, then put the chicken thighs in and bake for 60 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius, turn the chicken thighs after 30 minutes and bake for another 30 minutes.

– Make pepper sauce: saute garlic and shallots, add water, green pepper, Korean chili sauce, sugar, oyster sauce, soy sauce, add diluted tapioca starch to thicken the sauce, stir gently for 30 seconds then turn off the stove.

– The chicken thighs have an eye-catching golden color combined with green pepper sauce, very stimulating to the taste buds.