Winter Melon Healing Properties and Recipe
Winter Melon for Summer Heat
By Vicky Chan of NourishU
Winter Melon/Wax Gourd/Tong Qwa
Winter melon is one of the most common, easy and fast growing fruit-vegetables in summer. Each plant can produce numerous large fruits on vines like watermelons up until late fall, and each melon can weigh up to 50 pounds. The reason why it is called winter melon is because it can be stored in a cool place without refrigeration and can last for months - even throughout the winter. But the best time to consume them is at harvest time. It is not just because of freshness, it is because this is when nature intended us to eat it; winter melon is for helping our body to counter summer heat and humidity. Also, people generally tend to consume a lot more cold fluid in summer and usually they are drinking much too fast for the body to process the water properly. Therefore water retention is common with people at the end of summer, especially those with slow metabolic function or people with weak kidney or digestive functions.
In Chinese medicine, winter melon is neutral and slightly cool in nature, sweet in taste and acts on our lungs, bladder, large intestine and small intestine. It helps to detoxify, clears out mucus and phlegm and promotes digestion. It is most suitable for people with kidney problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, over weight and with coronary heart disease. For people with weak and cold stomach/spleen constitution, weak with lack of yang energy or with loose stools, they should eat winter melon in moderation.
Chinese cuisine uses winter melon in soup, stew, congee and stir-fry. Making winter melon tea in the summer and especially during the hottest days is the most common home remedy people make to combat heat waves and to prevent sun stroke. The tea is highly recommended for children and outdoor workers who often stay outdoors. Making winter melon tea is very simple. Just cut melon into large cubes (with or without skin), cook with a large pot of water for about 30 minutes and add cane sugar to taste at the end. It can be served warm or cold with melon and good for keep in the fridge for up to a week. It is a very healthy summer beverage for the whole family.
Winter melon soups are most soothing and delicious. They are easy to make and can go with almost any combination of ingredients. You do not need to follow any specific recipe if it is not for specific treatment purposes. Winter melon goes well with most meat such as chicken, pork, duck or seafood such as crab meat or shrimps and vegetarian ingredients such as most beans, nuts, mushrooms and common food herbs such as lotus seeds, dried lily bulb and fox nuts, etc. You just need to cook up a soup base first and then add the melon to the cooking at the last 30 minutes. Here is one example recipe for your reference. You can also search our website for other therapeutic recipes using winter melon.
Winter Melon, Job’s Tears and Dried Mussel Soup
THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS
Cools internal heat, diuretic, lowers blood pressure, promotes yin and helps to lose weight.
INGREDIENTS (4 to 6 servings)
• Winter Melon 冬瓜 – 300gm
• Chicken breast – one piece
• Lean pork – one piece (optional)
• Job’s tears (yi yi ren) 薏以仁 – 30gm
• Dried scallop乾瑤柱 – 4
• Dried mussel 淡菜 – two spoonfuls
• Dried Shitake Mushroom 冬菇 - 6
• Dried longan fruit (long yan rou) 龍眼肉 – 8 to 10
• Ginger – 2 slices
DIRECTIONS
- Wash chicken breast and pork, cut into a few pieces and put in boiling water to boil for a few minutes, remove and rinse.
- Soak dried mushroom until soft (about 30 minutes) and rinse. Soak other dried ingredients for a few minutes and rinse.
- Remove melon skin and seeds in the middle if any, wash melon and cut into large pieces and put aside.
- Put all ingredients (except melon) in a soup pot with about half pot of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer for 1.5 hours.
- Add winter melon, bring heat up to medium and let it cook for another 30 minutes. Add more water if necessary.
- Add a little salt to serve. Eat melon with soup.
USAGE
No restrictions.
Bitter Melon - The Number One Melon for Diabetes
By Vicky Chan of NourishU
Li Shizhen (1518 -1593), one of the greatest Chinese doctors, scientists, herbalists and acupuncturists in history ranked bitter melon as the number one melon on earth in his renowned medical textbook, the Compendium of Medical Herbs (1596).
He described bitter melon as cool in nature, bitter in taste and with proven healing properties of expelling evil heat, sharpening vision, improving liver function, promoting heart health and expelling toxic effects in the body.
In recent years, western medical science has confirmed the effectiveness of bitter melon in controlling viral diseases, regulating metabolism and transporting glucose from the blood into the cells, therefore reducing the body’s blood sugar levels. That is why bitter melon is most beneficial to people with diabetes.
Bitter melon is also known to cure a large number of ailments including stomach complaints, skin problems, type 1 herpes simplex virus, measles and chickenpox.
With the many health benefits of bitter melon, it has long been in use by many cultures around the world as home remedies. It is important for people today to know about it and eat more for good health. However, because of its distinctive bitter taste, not too many people really like to eat them. To make them less bitter, it is important to clean out the seeds and white membrane in the middle completely. Cutting them thinly or blanching them in hot water for a couple of minutes before cooking can definitely help. The best approach is to combine bitter melon with meat or seafood to make them delicious. We have many recipes in our website using them for treating various ailments.
Here is a quick and easy recipe to make a delicious dish. It is most palatable and even welcome by children. It is best for preventing and treating diabetes.
Bitter Melon Omelette with Goji-berries and Enoki Mushroom
THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS
Detoxifies, clears internal heat and regulates blood sugar.
INGREDIENTS
- Bitter Melon 涼瓜 – one
- Enoki Mushrooms 金針菇 – one package
- Goji Berries – one to two table spoons
- Chopped Scallions and Coriander– one spoonful each
- Eggs – two to three
- Sugar, Salt, Cooking Wine and Sesame Oil
DIRECTIONS
1. Wash bitter melon, cut in half lengthwise, and remove seeds and white membrane with a spoon. Cut each half lengthwise once again. Then slice melon thinly, season with one spoonful of salt for about 10 minutes and rinse.
2. Cut out stems of enoki mushrooms. Cut the rest into short sections and soak with plenty of water for 5 to 10 minutes. Rinse and strain.
3. Soak goji berries for 15 minutes, changing the water a couple of times and strain.
4. Beat eggs in a bowl with one spoonful of cooking wine and one spoonful of sesame oil.
5. Warm two spoonfuls of oil in a non-stick pan. Add bitter melon to stir fry for a couple of minutes. Then add one spoonful of salt and sugar and about half a cup of water and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes until melon is tender and there is a little water left.
6. Add enoki mushrooms, goji berries, scallions and coriander and stir to combine. Let cook for a few minutes.
7. Add half of the egg mixture to the cooking and let it brown slightly on one side. Then flip over, add the remaining egg mixture and brown the other side. Add more oil to the cooking if necessary. When it is evenly brown, it is ready to serve.
USAGE
No Restrictions. This recipe is best served with rice.
The Health Benefits of Kelp
By Vicky Chan of NourishU
Kelp is a kind of seaweed that has long, big and thick green leaves. It is high in vitamins, nutrients, and minerals and has many known health benefits:
1. Promotes Thyroid & Immune Functions
Kelp is high in natural iodine, which is essential to the proper function of the thyroid. A healthy thyroid is necessary in controlling growth, energy and metabolism in our body and supporting our immune system to fight infections. Iodine is used for curing goiter, the swelling of the thyroid gland.
2. Lowers Blood Pressure and Cholesterol
Kelp is high in fiber and non-fatty acids and is known to lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
3. Prevents Tumor Growth and Cancer
Kelp is extremely alkaline which keeps our body's pH balanced to prevent cancer growth. Kelp is also high in lignans, phytochemicals found in sea vegetables, which can limit the amount of cancer cells released into the blood stream and limit tumor growth.
4. Anti-inflammatory
Kelp can reduce inflammation in joints and bones which helps to alleviate pain, especially for people suffering from arthritis.
5. Promotes Women’s Health
Kelp is high in iron, calcium and magnesium. It is a good source of vitamins and minerals for women to promote healthy bones and helps to promote better sleep through menopause.
6. Lowers Blood Sugar
Kelp is low in sugar and high in fiber. It helps to slow down the metabolism of sugar therefore reducing sugar spikes commonly found in diabetics after eating.
7. Reduces Water Retention
Kelp can also be used as a diuretic, which helps the body to shed water that it might retain.
Kelp is abundantly available in many coastal countries around the world but may not be commonly eaten especially in the western diet. A daily dose of kelp may just be the ticket to get your body in good health and to lose a few pounds.
Here are a couple of recipe suggestions for you to increase your regular intake of kelp. But it you are high in iron, or suffering from hyperthyroidism, or you are pregnant or are breast feeding, you should stay away from kelp because too much of a good thing can be harmful.
Kelp Salad
Ingredients (quantity as desired)
Kelp (dried or presoaked)
Balsamic vinegar or rice vinegar
Sesame oil
Soy sauce
Optional fresh ingredients: (quantity as desired)
Bell pepper of different colors
Celery
Sesame seeds
Directions
1. Soak kelp with plenty of water to rehydrate fully and rinse a few times.
2. Put kelp in boiling water to boil for about 10 minutes or to desired softness. Retrieve, rinse with cold water and strain.
3. Cut kelp into thin strips (matchstick or julienne cut) and then season with vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil to taste.
4. Cut optional ingredients into similar strips and mix with kelp to serve.
Tips
Make a larger batch of kelp at a time, season it and keep it in the fridge to serve up to a week. Only mix in other optional ingredients when it is time to serve for freshness.
Kelp and Wood-ear Mushroom Soup
Ingredients (quantity as desired)
Kelp
Wood-ear mushroom
Carrot
Pork / Chicken
Ginger – 2 to 3 slices
Scallion (finely cut) – one spoon
Coriander (finely cut) – one spoon
Therapeutic effects
Lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, prevents tumor growth, treats swollen thyroid gland, promotes blood and clears blood stagnation, promotes yin and prevents heart disease.
Directions
1. Soak kelp and wood-ear mushroom until fully rehydrated. Put in boiling water to cook for 5 minutes, retrieve and rinse.
2. Peel carrot and wash.
3. Wash meat and strain.
4. Cut all ingredients into thin strips using julienne or matchstick cut.
5. Season meat with adequate amount of sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cooking wine, potato starch and sesame oil and put aside.
6. Bring adequate amount of water (or broth) in a pot to boil, add all ingredients except meat to cook for about 20 minutes on medium boil. Remove foam if any.
7. Add meat to cook for a few minutes more.
8. Add scallion, coriander and seasoning to taste and serve.
