Green onion, also known as Chinese onion or scallion. The spring onion is more the young version of the round mature onions we see later in the season. These ones look like bulbous scallions.
This little gem is one of the first out of the gates in spring and are a staple year round in the Chinese Medicine Food world. The green and the white parts of the plant are both tasty but offer slightly different flavours - the green has the slightly more oniony bite to them and the whites are more mild and sweet. The sweetness makes them cook well on high heat but can also make them prone to burning easily so be careful if you're BBQing them.
In TCM, these little beauties have been used for centuries and they are widely available in supermarkets and are generally available year round.
In TCM these are priceless when it comes to fighting the common cold and parasitic infections. The entire plant, root to tip has medicinal properties and is considered warm and pungent energetically with a slightly bitter flavour.
It is great for what we call and exterior condition such as a common cold or flu specifically a wind-cold type condition (think chills, runny nose with copious amounts of clear fluids dripping out). It is great if taken at the first signs of a cold and can be paired with ginger for this cold type of pattern. I love adding it into a bone broth and sipping throughout the day when I'm feeling under the weather.
This onion opens up sweat pores and regulates the natural function of your immune system.
It's also great for people who have stomach aches or upset that feels better with warmth.
Green onion also helps relieve damp and watery conditions such as edema and can be a helpful remedy for diarrhea and abdominal pain or arthritis when these originate from a cold type pattern (chills, pale not red complexion, aversion to cold or when things feel better with heat)
Great for detoxifying, this spicy nugget has similar antimicirobial and antifungal properties to garlic but to a slightly lesser degree. The juice from the green onion can even remove the irritants from mosquito bites
You can eat these fresh, dried, raw or cooked. You'll often find raw sprinkled over cooked foods or soups to give it that fresh bite.
The dried version can be kept on hand year round to be boiled up for early signs of a cold or flu when someone has chills and headache. you boil 6-9g for less than 5 minutes and drink 3 or more cups per day
Caution: Anyone suffering from a hot type pattern (yellow tongue coat, fever, aversion to heat, things that feel hot to the touch or better with cold, strong thirst or overly red complexion).
If you grind the fresh onion and use the juice externally for things such as itchy mosquito bites