Radish, ginger, and jujube soup – relieves phlegm and stops cough
Ingredients: 1 white radish, several jujubes. Seasonings: ginger and honey to taste.
Instructions: Wash and dry the white radish and ginger, then slice them thinly. Place the white radish, ginger, and jujubes in a pot, add 1 bowl of water, and boil for 20 minutes. Strain out the solids and keep the broth. Finally, add honey and bring to a boil again. Drink while hot.
Benefits: White radish is a common vegetable that can be eaten raw or cooked. It has a slightly spicy taste and is believed to help prevent colds. This soup has the effects of relieving exterior symptoms, stopping coughs, and resolving phlegm. It can be used as an adjunct treatment for colds caused by wind and cold, coughs, and runny noses.
Bitter melon and pork soup – dispels dampness and relieves exterior symptoms
Ingredients: 200g bitter melon, 50g lean pork. Seasoning: salt to taste.
Instructions: Wash the lean pork and slice it. Slice the bitter melon and cook them together into a soup.
Benefits: Bitter melon is high in Vitamin C. Cooking bitter melon with lean pork can dispel dampness and relieve exterior symptoms, making it suitable for summer-heat colds. A significant reason why people catch colds is "wind evil," which enters the body through the Fengmen point on the back, accumulates at the Fengchi point on the neck, and concentrates at the Fengfu point on the back of the head, worsening the condition. Therefore, preventing and treating colds is crucial.
Stewed fish head with chuanxiong and angelica root - dispels wind and cold
Ingredients: 1 silver carp head (black carp, bighead carp). Medicinal herbs: 6 grams each of Sichuan lovage rhizome and angelica root. Seasonings: 10 grams of scallion, 3 grams of white pepper powder, 5 grams of ginger, and appropriate amount of chicken bouillon.
Instructions: Remove the gills from the bighead carp head and wash it thoroughly. Place the washed bighead carp head, along with Sichuan lovage rhizome, angelica root, scallions, pepper powder, and ginger, into a casserole dish. Add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, add an appropriate amount of cooking wine, chicken bouillon, and salt, then simmer over low heat for half an hour. Add chicken bouillon to taste before serving.
Efficacy: Dispels wind and cold, invigorates blood and relieves pain. Suitable for external wind-cold, headache, migraine, swollen and painful gums, etc. Note: Chuanxiong and Baizhi are pungent, warm, and potent herbs that can easily damage Yin and generate heat. Their strong aroma makes them difficult to consume; therefore, dosage must be controlled.
Ginger, scallion, fermented black bean, and tofu soup – dispels cold and clears phlegm
Ingredients: 15g fermented black soybeans, 1 block of tofu. Medicinal herbs: 5 qian (approximately 15g) Astragalus membranaceus, 15g Atractylodes macrocephala, 12g American ginseng. Seasonings: Scallions and ginger as needed.
Instructions: Remove the roots of the scallions and cut them into sections. Wash the fermented black beans and ginger and set aside. Cut the tofu into cubes; wash the astragalus and atractylodes macrocephala and wrap them in a cloth bag and set aside; wash the American ginseng and set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pot, add the tofu and fry until the surface is slightly golden, then transfer it to a soup pot. Add the fermented black beans, ginger slices, and 1500 ml of water, then add the herb bag. Simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes, then add the white parts of the scallions. Once the soup boils, remove the herb bag, add salt to taste, and drink while hot.
Efficacy: Both fermented black soybeans and scallions have the effect of relieving exterior symptoms and inducing sweating; ginger is also effective in relieving exterior symptoms, dispelling cold, stopping vomiting, clearing phlegm, and relieving nasal congestion; tofu has the effects of clearing heat, promoting body fluid production, detoxifying, and relieving hangovers. At the onset of a cold, this soup can help relieve discomfort such as itchy throat, sneezing, and runny nose, and can treat mild colds caused by wind and cold.
