Kalimeris Indica & Tofu Salad

Kalimeris Indica & Tofu Salad (in Chinese: 涼伴香乾馬蘭頭) is one of my favourite Chinese cold dish. This cold salad dish originated in Shanghai. It is also a popular appetizer in restaurants.

Ingredients:
Kalimeris Indica (馬蘭頭) - 250g
Dried Tofu (豆腐干) - 2 pieces
Salt - 1 teaspoon
Sugar - 1/2 teaspoon
Sesame Oil - sprinkle


Method:

1. Wash Kalimeris Indica, boil it for 2 minutes. Drain the water, let dry & cool.
2. Chop the Kalimeris Indica after it is cold.
3. Cut Dried Tofu into tiny pieces
4. Mixed Salt, Sugar, Sesame Oil, Soya Sauce, Kalimeris Indica, Dried Tofu together.
5. Can put everything in the fridge after mixing, and serve when you want to eat it.
   

Cooking Tips:
Kalimeris Indica must be well drained & dried before chopping.


Kalimeris (Chinese: Ma-Lan-Tou) is a small genus with 8 species from the sunflower family. The genus occurs mainly in eastern Asia (China, Korea, Japan). The foliage is herbaceous. The blue-green leaves vary per species and are smooth tectured. The can be narrow and long, round and large teeth or lobed.

It usually grown on riverside or roadside, thus, people also called it "sidewalk chrysanthemum".

People eat Kalimeris Indica because it is highly nutrition. Besides protien, fat, carbohydrate, it also contains rich inorganic salt & vitamins. Its Vitamin A contents is higher than tomato, while Vitamin C content is higher than mandarin orange.

It is believed to be good for the liver, eyesight, and can control blood pressure.