Secret Ingredient No. 5
Under the microscope for Secret Ingredient No. 5 is the wolfberry which features in the red rice porridge breakfast as an attractive nutritious garnish. The nutritional value of wolfberries closely resembles that of carrots, making them a good substitute for savoury dishes. For sweet dishes, wolfberries can be replaced by raisins or craisins (sweetened cranberres).
According to Wikipedia:"Wolfberry is also another name for the western snowberry, Symphoricarpos ocidentalis. Chinese Wolfberry is the common name for the fruit of Lycium barbarum (Chinese: 宁夏枸杞; Pinyin: Níngxià gouqi) or L. chinense (Chinese: 枸杞; Pinyin: gouqi), two species of boxthorn in the family Solanaceae. It is also known pharmacologically as Lycii Fructus (lycium fruit)."
....Wolfberries and lycium bark play important roles in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), where they are believed to enhance immune system function, help eyesight, protect the liver, boost sperm production, and improve circulation, among other effects. In TCM terms, wolfberries are sweet in taste and neutral in nature; they act on the liver, lung, and kidney channels and enrich yin. They can be eaten raw, brewed into a tea, or prepared as a tincture.
As a food, dried wolfberries are also eaten raw or cooked. Their taste is similar to that of raisins.
Wolfberries contain beta-carotene, Vitamins C, B1, B2 and other vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and amino acids.
Young shoots and leaves are also grown commercially as a leaf vegetable."
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