The three treasures of Taitung grains: millet, tree beans, and Taiwan quinoa

Northeast China has the "Three Treasures", and Taitung in Taiwan also has the "Three Treasures", namely millet, tree bean, and Taiwan quinoa. These three kinds of grains can be said to be new choices for healthy diets, especially since these three kinds of grains are all natural ingredients and can be consumed without burden. The following is a demonstration by the Taitung District Agricultural Improvement Station on the delicious cooking methods of these three treasures. Come and experience the new "food" trend together!

Taitung has a beautiful environment and rich aboriginal culture. In order to recommend traditional tribal ingredients to the general public and promote the development of organic agriculture in the region, the Taitung Agricultural Improvement Station of the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, has developed a variety of products including millet, tree beans and Taiwan quinoa, as well as delicious ways of eating that are unique to the tribe.

Millet has the highest nutritional value among cereals.

Millet is the oldest edible crop of Taiwan's indigenous peoples. It has a long history of cultivation and is also regarded as a sacred crop. It has the meaning of ritual and historical inheritance. It is also one of the cereals with extremely high nutritional value. In addition to being rich in protein, calcium, iron, and zinc, millet contains a higher level of B vitamins than ordinary grains. It also contains a small amount of selenium and a variety of hydrolyzed amino acids. It has a unique grain color and taste, and is often cooked into millet rice, millet porridge, or made into millet mochi, millet blessing, millet biscuits, and millet wine.

The tree bean is called warrior soup and has a nourishing and strengthening effect.

As for tree bean seeds, they are rich in nutrients and are an important legume crop in developing countries such as Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Its dry bean production ranks sixth in the world. It is rich in protein, fat, fiber, minerals calcium, iron, phosphorus, and also contains vitamin A1, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and niacin (Vitamin B3). It can be eaten in different forms as dried seeds or fresh pods. It can be used as a substitute for edamame and can be made into a refreshing and delicious tree bean salad after cooking. In addition, the indigenous people stewed tree beans and pork ribs into tree bean and pork ribs soup, which was called "warrior soup" and was widely believed in the tribe to have nourishing and strengthening effects.

Taiwan quinoa is rich in dietary fiber and can be added to rice when cooked

In addition, Taiwan quinoa, also known as red quinoa, is an early traditional crop of indigenous peoples. As a yeast for making wine, it is rich in nutrients. Its protein content is equivalent to that of wheat and twice that of rice. Its dietary fiber content is three times that of oats and six times that of sweet potatoes. In terms of minerals, it is particularly rich in calcium, which is 50 times that of rice and 23 times that of oats. The iron and zinc content is also very high, which is 11 times and 8 times that of sweet potatoes. It also contains important selenium and germanium elements, and has a high amount of essential amino acids that the human body cannot synthesize on its own, such as lysine, valine and histidine. It can be added to rice and cooked into Taiwanese quinoa rice or Taiwanese quinoa sweet soup.