This almost 100 foot tall deciduous tree is a native to Asia, producing pinnate leaves and panicles of flowers in summer followed by winged seeds.
The Beef & Onion Plant (aka. Chinese Mahogany; Toona sinensis) has brown bark that starts smooth in juvenile trees, maturing to a more shaggy and ornamental appearance. For this reason, they are often grown as ornamentals.
In Asia, the Beef & Onion Plant is used commonly as a vegetable by harvesting the young leaves (the reddish new growth thought the best flavor). They can be stir-fried and are featured in several traditional dishes, giving an onion-umami flavor.
The leaves are also used to make a paste that is used in culinary dishes called “Toona paste”.
Examples of dishes include a Chinese Mahogany fried rice, as well as eggs stir-fried with the leaves (resembling red spinach when cooked).
The wood of the Beef & Onion Plant is also sought after, as it is considered hard and good quality mahogany wood—often used for making guitar bodies and other decorative furniture. It is also used as an animal fodder.
The Beef & Onion Plant has a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and has been valued for its anti-inflammatory, detoxifying and hemostatic effects.
It is also a plant that exemplifies a central theme of TCM that is “food as medicine”, and it has long been valued as being a nutritive and health-giving food.
The Beef & Onion Plant indeed has a number of healthful plant compounds, including sulfurous compounds (giving its onion-like flavor), carotenoids and vitamins B & C.
Though there is a lack of clinical studies for this plant, there has been a long history and continued traditional use and several crude extracts that have exhibited interesting pharmacological activity.
Through scientific investigation, the Beef & Onion Plant has been shown to have antioxidant, antidiabetic, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antitumor, anti-gout, hepatoprotective, and antiviral effects.
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**This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of such advice or treatment from a personal physician.
Beef & Onions…from a PLANT?!
