Loquat Soup for Cough

What to do when you are gifted 2 boxes of fresh loquat? Make soup of course! #loquat, #loquatforcough, #healingsoup
Ingredients for 2 bowls of soup:
Pi Pa (loquat fruit) 枇杷 3-5
Lean pork meat 瘦肉 150g
Sugar dates 蜜枣 3
Xin Ren (Apricot seeds, prefer from the north) 北杏 20g
Fresh ginger 生姜 3 slices
Salt 盐 to taste
Olive oil or other cooking 油

Instructions:
1. soak apricot seeds for 30 minutes.
2. cut lean pork meat into small slices
3. add salt and cooking oil to marinate the pork meat for 20 minutes
4. take the pits out from the sugar date
5. take the seeds out from fresh loquat
6. bring 3 bowls of water to boil；
7. add ginger slices, pork meat, sugar date and the apricot seeds
8. return the soup to boiling and simmer for 10 minutes.
9. add the fresh loquat and simmer for another 10 minutes
10. serve when the soup still warm

More info about loquat:
The loquat is indigenous to southeastern China. It has become naturalized in Japan, India and many other areas. There are 800 varieties of Loquats, but only 8 varieties are grown in California. Of these 8 varieties, there are two main types: Chinese and Japanese. The Chinese loquats have thin leaves, pea shaped fruit, dark orange flesh, and small, numerous seeds. The Japanese loquats have broad leaves, long and oval fruit, pale yellow skin, and a few large seeds.

In Chinese medicine, both loquat leaf and fruit have medicinal use. Loquat fruit is sweet, sour, cool; enters spleen, liver and lung meridians. Loquat fruit moistens the lung, direct Qi downward, relieve thirst. Loquat fruits are used for cough and asthma due to lung-heat, polydipsia and vomiting. It can be eat directly or decoct in water, 30~60 g. Loquat fruits are contraindicated in case of spleen deficiency. So don't eat too much at a time.

Loquat leaves are gathered in late spring and early summer and dried in the sun. After drying, the soft external hairs, or down, of the leaves are brushed off, and the leaves are cut into small pieces.

In Chinese medicine, loquat leaf is considered bitter and cool, and is associated with the Lung and Stomach meridians. Its functions are to transform phlegm, clear lung heat, and harmonize the stomach. Among the conditions treated by loquat leaf are nausea, vomiting, belching, hiccups, and gastrointestinal distress. It also helps to stop bleeding. Loquat leaf can also be used as part of a poultice to treat skin conditions such as eczema and skin ulcers.

Loquats are rich in insoluble dietary fiber, pectin. Pectin holds back moisture inside the colon, and thus functions as bulk laxative. This way, it helps protect the colon mucosa by cutting exposure time of toxic substances as well as binding to cancer-causing chemicals in the colon. Pectin has also been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels by lowering its reabsorption in the colon through binding bile acids, resulting in its excretion from the body.

Loquat fruit is an excellent source of vitamin-A (provides about 1528 IU or 51% of daily recommended levels of this vitamin per 100g), and phenolic flavonoid antioxidants such as chlorogenic acid, neo-chlorogenic acid, hydroxybenzoic acid, feruloyl quinic acid, protocatechuic acid, epicatechin, coumaric acids and ferulic acid. Ripe fruits have more chlorogenic acid concentrations. Vitamin-A helps maintain the integrity of mucosa and skin.

Fresh fruit is good in potassium and some B-complex vitamins such as folates, vitamin B-6 and niacin and contain small amounts of vitamin-C. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps to regulate heart rate and blood pressure.

Furthermore, the fruit is also an excellent source of iron, copper, calcium, manganese, and other minerals. The body uses manganese as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Copper is essential in the production of red blood cells. Iron is required for as a cofactor in cellular oxidation as well in red blood cell formation.
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https://www.nutrition-and-you.com/loquat-fruit.html
https://foodforward.org/2017/03/the-lowdown-on-loquats/
https://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/loquat.html
https://tcmwiki.com/wiki/loquat-fruit
https://www.acupuncturetoday.com/herbcentral/loquat_leaf.php

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