Tong Hao or Shungiku, Asian green veggie, a flavorful addition to salads, vegetables, pickles, and sushi. Small orange and yellow chrysanthemum flowers appear later on unharvested plants.
Tong Hao or Shungiku are used in many Asian cuisines. They appear in Cantonese dishes and Hong Kong cuisine in stews, casseroles, and hotpots. The leaves are also an important ingredient in Taiwanese oyster omelettes and, when young, are used along with stems to flavor soup and stir-fry. In Japan, it is used in nabemono. Korean cookery uses the greens in soups, stews, and alone as a side dish (banchan). In a hotpot, it is added at the last moment to the pot to avoid overcooking.
It is rich in chlorogenic acid (a type of hydroxycinnamic acid), carotene, flavonoids, vitamins and potassium, and can offer a multitude of health benefits.
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Tong Hao / Shungiku
A Plant With Many Names and with many health Benefits
Garland chrysanthemum has many names. Botanically, it is known as Chrysanthemum coronarium or Leucanthemum coronarium. In Western countries, people simply refer to it as chrysanthemum greens, crown daisy, choy suey greens or edible chrysanthemum. The Chinese know it by the name Tong Hao, while in Japan, this versatile vegetable is known as Shungiki or Kikuna. In Korea, it is known as sukgat. The natives of the Crete island in Greece call it mantilida.
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Weight Loss Benefits From Chlorogenic Acid
Tong-Hao contains chlorogenic acid, a type of hydroxycinnamic acid that is also abundant in coffee beans. Chlorogenic acid has been shown to possess properties that slow the release of glucose into the bloodstream after a meal, which makes it an excellent weight loss nutrient. In Northern Europe, chlorogenic acid made from green coffee beans is marketed under the tradename Svetol and is used in chewing gums and mints to promote weight loss. Indeed, Svetol has been shown to reduce body mass index (BMI) and to increase the lean mass to fat mass ratio. In addition, garland chrysanthemum leaves are very low in calories, with a 100 gram serving providing only about 22 calories. They are also rich in fiber and extremely low in fat, which also contributes to the weight loss benefits of these healthy greens.
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Antioxidant Benefits
In addition to its potential weight loss benefits, chlorogenic acid in Tong Hao offers antioxidant protection. Chrysanthemum greens are also rich in other anti-oxidant compounds such as flavonoids, vitamins and carotenoids. Antioxidants have beneficial effects on human health as they gobble up free radicals, destructive molecules that are implicated in heart disease, premature aging and wrinkling of the skin, cancer and other ailments. To preserve the antioxidant effects of Tong Hao leaves, cook them only slightly.
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Potassium for Better Health
A 100 gram serving of boiled garland chrysanthemum provides a whopping 270 milligrams of potassium. If you consume your chrysanthemum greens raw, you will get even more potassium: 460 milligrams for every 100 grams! This is almost 30% more potassium than a similar serving of bananas would provide — an interesting fact considering that bananas have long been touted as the gold standard for potassium. Potassium is an important mineral without which nerve impulses would not be able to travel and muscles would not be able to contract. A diet rich in potassium provides protection against high blood pressure (hypertension), strokes, kidney stones, bloating, cellulite, and bone loss.
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