Winter Recipe - Astragalus Dangshen Mutton Soup
By NourishU
Seasonal Eating in Chinese Medicine - Winter Recipes
Winter with the drop of temperature is the time to slow down on physical activities because our body's metabolic rate will be slower. It is also the time to eat nourishing food to help the body to preserve energy. Animals follow the law of nature and hibernate throughout winter. Human should also preserve energy and build up strength, preparing the body for regeneration and new growth in spring.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, tonic-taking in winter has a great bearing upon the balancing of Yin and Yang elements, the unblocking of meridians, and the harmonizing of Qi and blood. In the five elements theory of TCM, winter is when the kidneys are highly active and they have astringent and active storage functions that help in preserving energy. People should eat food with less salty taste in order to reduce the burden on the kidneys. Uncooked and frozen foods can damage the spleen and stomach and should be taken in moderation.
Photo by Mike Kotsch on Unsplash
In winter when body's resistance is low, elderly people are especially advised to take food tonics which can improve their body constitution and promote better resistance to illness. Food tonics can have much better healthful effects than supplementation and drugs.
The tonics include superior warming herbs, fatty and meaty foods. Our body is designed to absorb the rich and nutritional foods better at this time of the year. For people who have cold constitution with cold hands and feet, weak kidney health with frequent urination, cold and stiff body and constant pain in their backs and ankles, winter is the best time for them to correct these health problems when the body is most responsive to nutritional treatment.
The warming winter foods include chive, chicken, mutton, shrimp, ginger, garlic, walnut, mushroom, chestnut, mustard, vinegar, wine, gingko, red pepper and spring onion. For people who are cold in nature, they should also use the warming herbs such as dangshen, ginseng, astragalus, reishi mushroom, longan fruit and deer horn, etc. to promote yang energy.
Astragalus Dangshen Mutton Soup
Therapeutic Effects
Nourishes qi and blood, clears toxicity and promotes regeneration of skin.
Ingredients
- Mutton – 360gm (cut into pieces)
- Dried shiitake mushroom – 10
- Astragalus (huang qi) 黃耆 – 30gm
- Dangshen (dang shen) 黨參 – 30 gm
- Wash mutton and put in boiling water to cook for a few minutes, remove and rinse.
- Soak mushroom for about 30 minutes, remove stem and cut into halves.
- Rinse herbs and put all ingredients in a soup pot with about 10 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to medium heat and simmer for 3 hours.
- Add seasoning to serve. Drink soup and eat some meat.
Usage
Recommended for no more than twice per month in winter months for health promotion.
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If you would like a downloadable information sheet that will tell you all about how to live in harmony with the Winter Season in Chinese Medicine, you can find it here - The Winter Season in Chinese Medicine.
Featured image photo by Matthew Hamilton on Unsplash
Calming & Balancing Congee for Better Sleep
By NourishU
Insomnia in Chinese Medicine
There are many factors contributing to insomnia such as an unhealthy lifestyle, irregular sleeping habits, eating the wrong foods or eating too much, external disturbances, stress, psychological issues, illnesses or drug-related problems, etc. Western medicine uses vitamins, amino acids, and minerals such as magnesium and calcium for prevention. Sleeping pills, hormones and tranquilizers are commonly used to fight insomnia but they can be habit forming and are not addressing the root of the problem. They should only be used very briefly when absolutely necessary because prolonged usage can make the matter worse and create more health problems. The lack of genuine sleep can deprive the body of the critical body functions being performed at night and can lead to lower immunity, internal imbalances and organs malfunction.
Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash
To treat insomnia, it is necessary to treat the root of the problem. Eating too full at dinner or eating too late or eating the wrong foods such as coffee, tea, alcohol, spicy food and hard to digest food can all affect sleep and can be easily avoided. If it is due to external disturbances such as light, noise or electrical smog, etc.; follow the rules to make your bedroom a sleeping sanctuary so that you have the perfect conditions to induce sleep. Don’t under estimate the power of ear-plugs which can numb your senses and lower your guard effectively. They do work for easing anxiety too. If it is due to other illness such as digestive problems; treat the illness and sleep will return. If it is due to psychological reasons; try to peace your mind by meditation, relaxation exercise, journaling, music, hypnotherapy, etc. Exercising outdoor, such as jogging, can force you to breathe more deeply and with more oxygen intake, it can help to relax your mind and body. Sweating helps the body to expel toxin and therefore helps to release tension. Also, you will get tired after exercising which makes falling asleep easier.
When insomnia persists for a long period of time, it is important to focus on repairing the damages done to the body especially to the liver, kidney and heart. If the damages remain in-repaired over time, they can become both the causes and effects of insomnia and treatment will be more difficult.
L-tryptophan
According to science, food rich in L-tryptophan such as red meat, dairy products, nuts, seeds, bananas, soybeans, soy products, tuna, shellfish, and turkey can promote sleep because L-tryptophan is the essential amino acid that helps the body to produce serotonin and melatonin, the hormones that regulate sleep. Serotonin can also impact our mood, psychological health and behaviour. Serotonin is found in greatest concentration in our gut so it makes perfect sense to nourish our gut flora for optimal serotonin level to promote better sleep.
Calcium and Magnesium
Deficiencies of calcium and magnesium may cause easy waking. Dietary sources of magnesium include dried beans, soybeans, pumpkins seeds, wheat germ, almonds and leafy green vegetables such as spinach and Swiss chard. Calcium can be found in many different foods, including dairy products, fish, broccoli, almonds, dried figs, kelp, prunes, rhubarb, seaweed, soybeans, sesame seeds, watercress, dandelion greens, amaranth and chickweed. Taking a combined calcium-magnesium tablet 30 minutes before going to bed is helpful. Kiwi fruit is extremely high in calcium, taking 2 everyday will find great improvement in sleep quality. The enzyme in kiwi can calm gut swelling, also helpful in promoting sleep.
Sleep on Time
If you are fighting insomnia, you must firstly observe the proper sleeping hours. It is vitally important to be in bed and in complete rest between 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. even if you cannot sleep. This will enable blood to return to the liver for the important detoxification and renewal process. Staying up at night will draw blood away from the liver. It is equally important to be up in the morning and during the day so that the other yang bodily functions can be performed properly. When necessary, napping for half an hour during noon time can support the heart and provide energy for the rest of the day. Sleeping any longer during the day can disrupt sleep at night.
Chinese medicine regards sleep as number one priority for health and insomnia is most detrimental. For people who are not sleeping between 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., the gall bladder system is highly compromised. It can lead to gall bladder stones, weaker immune system, slower metabolic functions and general weakness. For people who are not sleeping between 1 a.m. to 3 a.m., the important liver functions of detoxifying and replenishing blood are disrupted. Blood deficiency can lead to many illnesses such as premature aging, osteoporosis, blood related diseases and women diseases, etc. When the liver is weakened, it cannot support the other vital organs properly and can lead to stomach and spleen deficiencies, kidney deficiencies, heart deficiencies and lung deficiencies. There is also higher chance of getting liver related diseases such as hepatitis, high cholesterol and eyes diseases.
Chinese medicine treatments are to reinforce qi, replenish blood, nourish yin, clear liver fire, remove stagnant energy, harmonize stomach energy, and calm the nerve and mind. Chinese herbal remedies are necessary to control adverse symptoms and to rectify imbalances. Herbal medicines are non-hypnotic in nature and are not habit forming. Once adverse symptoms are under control, nutritional food therapy will be used to help the body to recover and regain its original functions.
Food Cures
Food cures such as dates, wheat, longan fruit, lily flower and egg yolk are commonly used for nourishing the heart, promoting yin and calming the mind. Seafood such as oysters, clams, fish, shrimp and eel, are high in zinc and copper and are good for calming the nerve and easing anxiety. Oatmeal, sweet potato, banana and tomato are good for promoting sleep. Cherries are naturally high in melatonin. Eating eight ounces of cherries in the morning and eight ounces at night consecutively for two weeks can help to restore sleep. Lemon-scented mint tea is sleep-inducing because it improve digestion and decreased agitation.
Calming the Gut
Our gut is like our second brain which can be easily affected by our mind and emotion. Calming the gut can help to quiet the mind. If a restless mind is keeping you awake, eat a light carbohydrate snack right before sleep such as whole grain cereals with organic milk, bread, biscuits or an organic yogurt with good bacteria can be helpful. The key is to combine carbs with a protein containing tryptophan to help your body better utilize the sleep inducer. If you need this remedy in the middle of the night, make sure you are not turning on any light which can affect your melatonin level.
Calming & Balancing Congee Recipe
Symptoms
Restless sleep due to anxiety and over worrying, pale looking, lack of energy, loose bowel or occasional palpitation of the heart.
Therapeutic Effects
Calms nerves, enriches blood, removes dampness and fire, improves spleen and kidney health, and promotes yang energy of the heart.
Ingredients (2 to 3 servings)
- Job's Tears / Coix Lacryma-Jobi (yi yi ren) 薏米 – 30gm
- Little red bean 赤小豆 – 30gm
- Longan Fruit (long yan rou) 桂圆 /龍眼肉 – 30gm
- Chinese Jujube / red dates (da zao) 大枣 – 4 to 6
- Lotus Seeds (lien zi) 莲子 – 30gm
- Dried lily bulb / Bulbus Lilii (bai he) 百合 – 30gm
- Rice – half cup
- Sugar - to taste
Directions
- Soak all herbal ingredients for about 15 minutes and rinse.
- Rinse rice and put all ingredients in a pot with about 6 to 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium to cook for about 45 minutes to about 3 cups of congee.
- Add some sugar if prefer. Eat as meal.
Usage
No restrictions. Most suitable for teens and seniors.
Fall Lung Recipe - American Ginseng & Chicken Soup
By Vicky Chan of NourishU
Cooking in the Fall Season
Fall is the time when dryness and cooler temperatures predominate. This is also the time of year when your lungs are most vulnerable to attack. Symptoms related to dryness include coughing with sputum, dry nose and throat, dry skin and lips, chest pain and dry stools.
It is important to increase the intake of soothing fluids to balance the effect of external dryness. The cooling temperatures can increase your appetite, especially for meat, but it is important to change gradually from a diet high in vegetables and fruit over summer months to one that is a mix of meat and vegetables so that the digestive system can adjust more easily. In fall, eat less eggplant because they can turn the digestive system sluggish.
The following superfoods are highly recommended to be taken more in fall to counter the dry seasonal effects.
Fresh Lily Bulb
Excellent for moisturizing lungs and is regarded as vegetable ginseng because of its high protein, phosphate, potassium, calcium and rich multivitamin content.
Red Dates/Jujube
Promote energy, reduce stress on the liver, benefit the formation and maintenance of the bloodstream, body hormones, bones, muscles, skin, hair, body enzymes, and neurotransmitters.
Sweet Potatoes
High in fiber and nutritional content can help to prevent constipation and adding pounds.
Goji-berries
Goji-berries have many health benefits and can improve immune functions to prevent sickness.
Pears
Excellent in lowering heat and moisturizing lungs, prevent cough and clear phlegm.
Pumpkin
Moisturizing, strengthen stomach and spleen functions.
American Ginseng Chicken Soup
American Ginseng / Image from nootriment.com
Symptoms
Lack of energy, easily tired, dry mouth and throat, lack of appetite and profuse perspiration.
Therapeutic Effects
Clears, moisturizes and tonifies the lungs, strengthens the spleen and builds blood.
Ingredients (2 to 3 servings)
- Chicken - one whole
- Ginger - 40gm
- American ginseng 花旗參 - 20gm
- Pitted red dates 紅棗 - 4
Chinese Red Dates / Image from katjuju.com
Directions
- Wash chicken, cut into halves and remove skin and fat. Put chicken in boiling water to boil for 5 minutes, remove and rinse.
- Wash other ingredients and put all ingredients in a pot with adequate water (about 3 liters) and bring to a boil. Remove foam, reduce heat and simmer for 2 to 3 hours to about 3 cups of soup left.
- Add salt to serve and drink soup mainly.
Usage
Suitable for the whole family.
Fall Recipe - Honeydew Melon Soup
By Vicky Chan of NourishU
Eating in the Fall Season - Fall Recipes
Fall is the time when dryness and cooler temperatures predominate. Fall is also when your lungs are most vulnerable to attack. Symptoms related to dryness include coughing with sputum, dry nose and throat, dry skin and lips, chest pain and dry stools.
It is important to increase the intake of soothing fluids to balance the effects of external dryness. The cooling temperatures can increase your appetite, especially for meat, but it is important to change gradually from a diet high in vegetables and fruit over the summer months to one that is a mix of meat and vegetables so that the digestive system can adjust more easily. In fall, eat less eggplant because they can turn the digestive system sluggish.
The following super foods are highly recommended to be taken more in fall to counter the dry seasonal effects.
Fresh Lily Bulb
Excellent for moisturizing lungs and is regarded as vegetable ginseng because of its high protein, phosphate, potassium, calcium and rich multivitamin content.
Red Dates/Jujube
Promote energy, reduce stress of liver, benefit the formation and maintenance of the blood stream, body hormones, bones, muscles, skin, hair, body enzymes and neurotransmitters.
Sweet Potatoes
High in fiber and nutritional content can help to prevent constipation and adding pounds.
Goji-berries
Goji-berries have many health benefits and can improve immune functions to prevent sickness.
Pears
Excellent in lowering heat and moisturizing lungs, prevent cough and clear phlegm.
Pumpkin
Moisturizing, strengthen stomach and spleen functions.
Honeydew Melon Soup
Symptoms
n/a
Therapeutic Effects
Moisturize internal systems, promote blood and energy.
Ingredients
- Honey dew melon 青蜜瓜 – one whole
- Rehmannia Radix (sheng di) 大生地 – 30gm
- Lotus Seeds (lien zi) 蓮子 - 30gm
- Glehnia (bei sha shen) 沙參 - 30gm
- Solomon's Seal (yu ju) 玉竹 - 30gm
- Honey dates 蜜棗 - 8
- Sweet apricot kernel 南杏仁 – 60gm
- Bitter apricot kernel 北杏仁 – 12gm
- Lean pork/pork hock 豬展 – 180gm
Directions
1. Rinse pork, cut into large pieces and put in boiling water to cook for a few minutes, retrieve and rinse.
2. Soak apricot kernel for at least 2 hours and keep aside.
3. Remove skin and seeds of melon and dice into cubes.
4. Rinse other herbal ingredients and put together with pork in a soup pot with about 2 litres of water. Bring to boil, remove foam and reduce heat to medium to cook for 30 minutes. Add melon to cook for another 15 minutes.
5. Put apricot kernel in a grinder to grind into a fine paste and filter out any large pieces. Add the juice to the cooking and cook for another 15 minutes.
6. Add salt to serve. Eat some melon with soup.
Usage
No restrictions.
Steamed Eggplant - Cancer Fighting Recipe
By VIcky Chan of NourishU
Cancer
Cancer is a sickness that is highly preventable but only treatable at the early stage. When the damages are too widespread, there is no medicine in the world that can cure cancer. Surgical removal of malignant parts from the body is just like cutting off the tips of the iceberg. If the underlying condition remains unchanged, cancer will just find other weaker areas to pop up. The only possibility to eradicate cancer is to completely change the underlying condition to one that is so hostile that cancer cells can no longer exist.
Oxygen Deficiency
Oxygen deficiency is one known cause of cancer. When the human body is supplied with abundant amounts of oxygen, all cancer cells, viruses, harmful bacteria, toxins, pathogens and disease microorganisms are killed because they cannot survive in a high-oxygen environment. People who do not exercise are more likely to have oxygen deficiency. Extensive research done in the last decade have proven that our diet have a profound effect on whether we will have cancer or not. A high sugar and highly acidic diet from meat are known to breed cancer. A melancholy mind provokes an increase of stress hormone - cortisol, which has been directly associated with the worsening of cancer. Vitamin D deficiency is also found to breed cancer. A large-scale controlled study have found that vitamin D can cut overall cancer risk by as much as 60 percent
Prevention
Good habits of health such as avoiding smoking and drinking, avoiding fatty or deep fried food, over burnt meats, preserved foods, spicy and highly processed food, and eating smaller meals to avoid over eating are the basic prerequisites for good health. Eating a diet of at least 50% of vegetables, beans and seeds for rich nutrients, minerals, fiber and antioxidants is vital in preventing cancer. A healthy gut with good bacteria can help the immune system to fight and break down carcinogens and turn them into nutrients and harmless molecules.
Acidic Cancer Forming Foods
The acidic cancer forming foods are sugar, milk, meat and caffeine. Chicken in particular should be eliminated from the diet of cancer patients because it benefits cancer growth. For patients receiving chemotherapy and suffering from destructive side effects, eating fresh and rejuvenating plant-based diet is important to clear out toxic materials. Taking one to two glasses of fresh vegetable juice daily is best to get plenty of anti-oxidants. People taking one glass of fresh organic potato juice before meal for up to three months have shown promising result in fighting cancer. Reducing salt in food is necessary to lower the burden on the kidney, heart and liver so that the body has more energy to fight cancer.
Alkaline pH Balance
This helpful image from tes.com
Maintaining the body in alkaline pH balance is needed to prevent and stop cancer growth . Seaweed and kelp are high alkaline foods and should be taken regularly. Eat fresh mushrooms, organic brown rice, egg, fish, tofu, soy beans, yogurt and some lean pork for balanced nutrition to improve immune function and overall health. Don't forget to add plenty of lemon (highly alkaline) to your food to prevent cancer.
Anti-Cancer Conditions
Besides diet and lifestyles, it is important to control stress. Life is a series of choices and being free from stress is one of those choices that is under our control. Exercise can help to relax the body and mind, lower stress and promote good sleep. Sleeping is vital for the body to repair, recover and rejuvenate itself. Getting enough vitamin D from sun exposure is also vital in preventing and fighting cancer. When we take good care of our health, we can promote an internal condition that is not suitable for cancer cells to survive or grow.
TCM Treatments
Chinese medicine can only play the role of complementary treatment for advance cases in lessening the side effects of surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy, controlling pain and helping to strengthen the immune system. Chinese Medicine finds cancer as coagulation of toxic energy in our body which is causing obstruction to the normal flow of blood and qi, therefore causing tumor growth. There are four vital areas in our body where toxic energy can accumulate: the upper body around the lungs – the upper burner, the middle body around the abdomen – the middle burner, the lower body around the kidney – the lower burner and the back of our body behind the lungs – the outer burner. It is important to keep qi circulating freely in these areas to prevent sickness and cancer. Qi-kung and tai-chi use deep breathing exercise to move energy and blood around the body. Herbs such as dandelion, astragalus and pubescentis are commonly used to promote the circulation of qi.
Food Treatment
In Chinese food treatment, a well-balanced diet to promote the health of the vital organs and the normal production of body fluids are deemed as most important. Any deficiency or abnormality in body fluid level can trigger abnormal cell development and tumor growth. Blood and qi tonic, kidney tonic, antioxidant foods, foods to promote blood circulation, diuretic foods to expel dampness and blood clots are all commonly used to treat cancer.
Steamed Eggplant - Cancer Fighting Recipe
Chinese Eggplant
Symptoms
High Blood Pressure / High Cholesterol / Hardened Arteries / Gout Pain / Tumors
Therapeutic Effects
Lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, soften arteries, alleviates gout pain, anti-tumor growth.
Ingredients
- Chinese Eggplants – 2
- Minced ginger – 1 spoonful
- Vinegar – 1 spoonful
- Sesame oil – 1 spoonful
- Soy sauce – half spoonful
Directions
1. Rinse and cut eggplant into finger-like pieces and put in cold water with one spoonful of salt to soak for 10 minutes. Remove and drain.
2. Put eggplant on a plate and steam for 15 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and mix in the above seasoning to serve.
Usage
No restrictions.
Strengthen Spleen and Remove Dampness Soup
By NourishU
Symptoms
Weak digestion, lack of appetite and loose bowels.
Therapeutic Effects
Promotes spleen and digestive health, relieves dampness in the digestive system (stomach & spleen).
Chinese Fuzzy Melon
Ingredients
(6 servings)
- Pork bones 豬骨 – 240gm
- Fuzzy melon 節瓜 – 480gm
- Chinese Yam (shan yao) 淮山 – 10 slices (5ogm)
- Job's Tears (yi yi ren) 生薏仁 – 90gm
- Dangshen (dang shen) 党參 – 90gm
- Pitted red dates 紅棗(去核) - 6
- Ginger 生薑 - 3 slices
- Citrus Peel (chen-pi) 陳皮 – one piece (pre-soaked and with white tissue removed)
Chinese Yam
Directions
- Rinse pork bones and put in boiling water to cook for a few minutes. Remove and rinse.
- Rinse herbs and put all in a soup pot with pork bones and about 3 litres of water. Bring to boil and lower heat to medium and cook for one hour.
- Peel melon and cut into large pieces and add to the cooking. Continue to cook for another hour and add more water if necessary.
- When done, add salt to serve. Eat melon with soup.
Chinese Red Dates
Usage
No restrictions.
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Chestnut for Kidney Health
By Vicky Chan of NourishU
According to TCM, winter is the season for promoting kidney health. Kidneys have astringent and active storage functions which help in preserving energy. In winter, our body is also designed to better absorb rich and nutritional foods to stay warm and healthy. For people who have a cold constitution with cold hands and feet, weak kidney health with frequent urination, cold and stiff body and constant pain in their lower back and ankles, winter is the best time to correct these health problems as it is when the body is most responsive to nutritional treatment. Winter food should be eaten with less salt to reduce work burden on the kidneys. Elderly people in particular should take winter/kidney tonics which can greatly improve their body constitution and promote better resistance to illness.
Winter/kidney tonics include superior warming herbs, fatty and meaty foods. Warming herbs such as dang shen, ginseng, astragalus, reishi mushroom, longan fruit and deer horn are most popular for promoting yang energy. Warming foods include chive, chicken, mutton, shrimp, ginger, garlic, walnut, mushroom, chestnut, mustard, vinegar, wine, gingko, red pepper and spring onion.
Chestnut is plentiful in winter and is best for making hearty soups and stews. Chestnut is warm in nature, sweet in taste and acts on the spleen, stomach and kidney. The following is my favourite winter recipe with chestnut which is very delicious but needs some work for preparing the chestnuts. It is well worth the effort!
Pork Ribs, Shiitake Mushroom
and Chestnut Stew
Therapeutic Effects
- Strengthens spleen
- tonifies kidney
- strengthens tendons
- promotes blood circulation and stops bleeding
- cures asthma, cough, back pain and diarrhea
- promotes weight loss
- protects the heart
- lowers blood pressure and cholesterol
- combats cancer
Ingredients
(3 to 4 servings)
- Chestnuts – about 20
- Pork ribs or chicken pieces – about 400gm
- Dried shiitake mushrooms – 6 to 8
- Carrot – one
- Minced ginger – 2 spoonfuls
- Minced garlic – 2 spoonfuls
- Spring Onion – 3 pieces
- Dark soy sauce – 3 spoonfuls
- Light soy sauce – 3 spoonfuls
- Sugar – 2 spoonfuls
- Sesame oil – one spoonful
- Cooking oil – about 3 spoonfuls
- Cooking wine – 2 spoonfuls
- Potato starch – one spoonful
Directions
- Prepare chestnuts ahead of time by cutting a few crosses on the outer shell by using scissors. Then put chestnuts in a toaster oven (a few at a time) to bake on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Use a small knife to remove the shell and membrane together while still hot (please wear gloves!). The alternative method is to remove the hard shell first with a small knife, then put chestnuts with membrane in boiling water to cook for about 8 minutes. Strain and remove membrane while warm.
- Soak mushrooms for 30 minutes or until soft, rinse and slice into halves. Peel carrot and cut into pieces.
- Wash ribs/chicken pieces. Put them in boiling water to cook for a few minutes to remove foam and fat. Retrieve, rinse and strain.
- Warm one spoonful of oil in a skillet. Put chestnuts in, stir to brown for a few minutes (so chestnuts will not be so easily disintegrated when cooked), remove and put aside.
- Add one spoonful of oil to the skillet, put in half of the ginger and garlic to stir briefly and put in the mushrooms. Stir, add one spoonful of sugar to mix well and follow by one spoonful of cooking wine and half a cup of water. Cook for a couple of minutes and put aside.
- Add one spoonful of oil to the skillet, put in remaining ginger and garlic and ribs/chicken to stir for a couple of minutes. Add in remaining sugar, cooking wine and stir for a couple of minutes more and then add mushrooms, carrot and enough water just to cover everything. Add soy sauce, bring to a slow boil, cover with lid and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add chestnuts and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes to just a little sauce is left. Add water if necessary.
- When the meat and chestnuts are cooked to the desired softness, add salt to taste if necessary. Wash and cut spring onion into sections and add to the cooking. Mix potato starch with 2 spoonfuls of water and sesame oil, add to the cooking and cook for another minute and serve.
USAGE
Serve with rice. No restrictions.
Chestnut for kidney health
* Featured image from paleohacks.com
Chinese Water Chestnut
By Vicky Chan of NourishU
When I was growing up, Chinese water chestnut was one of the most popular street foods sold by food vendors. They are white in colour after the skin is peeled and sold strung together on a long stick. Most people and children like water chestnut during the hot summer because they are juicy, crunchy and very refreshing to eat and they have a delicate flavour and are mildly sweet in taste. It is best to eat them after being peeled and chilled in water (to prevent turning brown) in the fridge. It is definitely a much healthier alternative than other snacks such as lollypops or ice cream cones.
Chinese water chestnut is widely used in oriental cuisines. They can be sliced thinly to add to salads, stir-frys, vegetarian/meat stews or desserts. They can also be finely chopped and added to meat balls or stuffing to give it a softer texture and some crunchiness. Water chestnuts are ground into powder to make pudding, a popular dessert for dim sum lunch. The powder can also be used as thickener to add to soups, desserts, and sauces and glazes to give them a transparent look.
The healthful effects of water chestnut known to Chinese medicine are that they are cold in nature, sweet in taste and act on lungs and stomach. Water chestnuts can clear heat, relieve indigestion, promote urination, relieve hypertension, cure sore throat and hemorrhoids, stop coughing and clear phlegm. They are also effective in helping children to relieve skin rashes when having measles. Nowadays, water chestnut is found to be good for people wishing to lose weight because it has almost zero fat, releases water retention and is high in potassium. It is also used as a beauty food to promote better skin.
The following recipe is a common spring/summer drink for households with children. Modern children are eating too many highly processed foods such as chips, French fries, biscuits and baked goods which are causing their internal body systems to have too much heat. The symptoms of overheating are indigestion, lack of appetite, constipation or difficulties in passing stools, skin rashes or acne eruptions. Together with the immense summer heat, foods with cooling properties are necessary to balance out the system and not become sick. This recipe can help to soothe and rebalance the internal condition and can be taken regularly without restrictions. For parents who want their children to maintain good health throughout the summer, keeping the drink handy in the fridge instead of soft drinks is the best approach. And children will love it too because it is sweet in taste and very refreshing, and they will feel good after drinking it.
You can easily find sugar cane already cut into short sections and conveniently packaged with the fresh Imperatae root available for sale in the vegetable section of most Chinese super markets. If the fresh root is not available, you can just do without it. The root is for getting extra cooling and detoxifying effects.
Please search our website www.nourishu.com for other delicious recipes using water chestnut.
Sugar Cane & Water Chestnut Drink
SYMPTOMS:
Skin rashes or measles.
THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS
This recipe is for reducing internal heat and can help to alleviate pain during a measles outbreak. It can also be used regularly to detoxify the spleen, prevent rashes and for clearing internal heat during the spring and summer seasons.
INGREDIENTS
- Fresh/Dried Rhizoma Imperatae 鮮茅根 – 60 gram (optional)
- Carrot – 450 gram
- Water chestnut – 300 gram
- Sugar cane – 500 gram
1. Chop sugar cane into smaller pieces. Cut carrots into thin slices. Wash water chestnuts. You can either keep or remove the skin as you wish and crush them open with the back of a knife. Rinse the fresh root.
2. Put all ingredients in a big soup pot half full of water (about 3 liters) and cook over medium heat for one and a half hours until about 6 cups of water are left.
3. Strain and drink tea. The water chestnut can also be eaten if desired.
USAGE
Can be drunk regularly for the whole family.
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Chinese Yam – Nourishing to Spleen, Lungs & Kidneys
By Vicky Chan of NourishU
Chinese Yam (Dioscorea opposita) is called Shan Yao (山藥/山药) in Chinese. It is a spindle-shaped, thick, hard root or tuber up to 1 meter in length and is white on the inside. It is used as both a nutritious food and medicine because of its large amounts of mucilage, which is a thick and slimy substance that has a soothing effect on mucous membranes, linings of respiratory passages and stomach.
Chinese medicine classifies Chinese yam as neutral and sweet. It serves to tonify and strengthen the spleen and stomach, strengthens lung yin and tonifies lung qi and stabilizes, tonifies, and binds the kidneys. It is used to treat weak digestion with fatigue and diarrhea, general weakness, frequent urination, decreased appetite, leukorrhagia (excessive vaginal discharge), premature ejaculation, the symptoms associated with diabetes, chronic wheezing (whistling sound caused by breathing difficulty) and coughing.
Traditional Chinese medicine uses Chinese yam to mix with other herbs to treat specific types of symptoms. There are no side effects associated with the use of Chinese yam, no indications of any interactions between Chinese yam and any drug or other herbal medicines so it is very safe to use. Fresh Chinese yam is commonly used in Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisines - mostly in soups. However, in Chinese therapeutic cooking, it is also used to make tea, wine, congee, stir-fry's, cake and dumplings. It can go with almost any cooking with meat or vegetables or can even be eaten raw. Fresh Chinese yam is inexpensive and is widely available in Asian grocery stores and health food stores. If fresh ones are not available, use dried ones instead but make sure you soak them for at least 30 minutes and then rub and rinse them a few times to make sure any preservatives are washed away.
With winter just around the corner, nothing is better for you than making a fresh Chinese yam and mutton soup. It warms the body, soothes the lungs and stomach, and prepares your body to combat the cold harsh weather ahead. There are many recipes on our website www.nourishu.com for cooking with Chinese yam for health.
Fresh Chinese Yam and Mutton Soup
SYMPTOMS
Yang deficiency manifested as always feeling cold with cold hands and feet, lack of appetite and being underweight.
THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS
Promotes yang (fire energy) and nourishes the spleen to improve appetite, digestion and strengthens the body in general.
INGREDIENTS
Recipe makes about 6 servings
- Mutton with bone (shoulder or thigh)- 640gm (cut up into pieces)
- Fresh Chinese yam (shan yao) 淮山 - 200gm
- Dried longan fruit – a handful
- Ginger - 10 slices
- Green Onion – 3 (finely cut)
- Cooking wine – 2 spoonfuls
INSTRUCTIONS
- Wash mutton and place in boiling water to cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove, rinse and drain.
- Peel Chinese yam, rinse and cut into slices.
- Warm 2 spoonfuls of oil in a pan and stir-fry mutton and ginger for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle in 2 spoonfuls of cooking wine followed by a cup of water.
- Bring about 2.5 to 3 litres of water in a soup pot to a quick boil. Transfer everything in the pan to the soup pot.
- Add Chinese yam and longan fruit to the cooking and let it boil for another 10 minutes. In the meant time, remove foam until the water is clear. Then, reduce heat to medium and let it cook for another 2 hours or more until mutton is tender.
- Add salt to taste and sprinkle with green onion and serve.
USAGE
Can be eaten often to strengthen the immune system, tonify lungs, kidneys, build the digestive system and prepare the body for winter.
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Snow-Ear Mushroom - The Natural Internal Moisturizer for our Bodies
By Vicky Chan of NourishU
The best part of Chinese food culture is to eat according to the seasons. With fall in the air and the weather getting dryer, it is important to eat foods that can combat dryness and promote vital fluids to lubricate our lungs, joints and skin.
The best food that can do just that is snow-ear mushroom. The botanical name is Tremella fuciformis. It is a species of fungus producing white, frond-like, gelatinous fruit bodies. They grow wild in the tropics on recently fallen branches of broadleaf trees. Nowadays, they are commercially cultivated and are one of the most popular fungi in Chinese cuisine. The snow-ear mushroom is commonly known as silver ear fungus or white jelly mushroom and is referred to as the poor-man’s bird’s nest because of its low price but with comparable health benefits.
Chinese medicine defines snow-ear mushrooms as neutral in nature, sweet in taste and are known to lubricate lungs and joints, promote vital fluids, promote cell regeneration and blood circulation, moisturize and whiten skin and promote energy.
The mushrooms are sun-dried and are very light in weight but they can expand to 2 or 3 times their size after soaking in water for 5 to 10 minutes. The best ones are slightly yellowish in colour (the very white ones are probably bleached), but will become whiter after soaking, rinsing and cooking. They are softer after being cooked but still retain some crunchiness. Snow-ear mushroom is mostly used in soups, desserts and vegetarian stews.
My favourite recipe for snow-ear mushroom is to make soup with apples or pears (or both) and with pork. The ingredients can vary according to your taste and liking. The soup is very refreshing with fruity, sweet and sour taste and yet is also meaty and rich. It is very easy to make. With apples and pears being so abundant at this time of the year, it is the best soup for the whole family, both for taste and health benefits. Please also search the NourishU website for other snow-ear mushroom recipes.
Snow-Ear Mushroom, Apple and Pork Soup
THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS
Promotes yin, improves vital fluids, benefits lungs, clears phlegm, moisturizes skin and the large intestine, promotes digestion, and improves skin complexion.
INGREDIENTS (6 to 8 servings)
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Snow-ear mushroom 雪耳 – 2
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Apples - 4
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Northern / Southern apricot kernel 北南杏 - a handful
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Lean pork / pork with bone- 240gm
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Citrus peel (chen-pi) 陳皮- one piece (soak and scrape out white membrane)
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Ginger – 2 slices
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Dried figs – 3 to 4 (rinse and cut into halves)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Wash pork, cut into large pieces and put them in boiling water to cook for a few minutes. Remove and rinse.
2. Soak snow-ear mushroom for about 10 minutes or until fully rehydrated. Cut out the brown stem and separate them into smaller pieces, and rinse.
3. Put pork with about 2 to 3 litres of water in a soup pot and bring to a boil. Remove foam if necessary. Add all other ingredients except apples and let it cook over medium heat for about one hour.
4. Remove skin and core of apples and cut each into large slices and add to the cooking. Add more boiling water to the cooking if necessary and let it cook for another 30 minutes.
4. Add salt to taste and serve.
USAGE
No restrictions.