(serves 2 - 3 people)

This recipe is excellent for winter or people with anemia. #anemia, #HuangQi, #beef, #WinterSoup, #JujubeDates, #BlackBean

Ingredients: 
Beef shank (cubed) 500 g (replace with pork or chicken or shiitake mushrooms; if preferred)
Dried red dates 20 g ( sliced, halved, de-pitted)
Black beans 60g (soaked)
Huang Qi 30g (rinsed)
Ginger (optional) 3-4 thinly sliced pieces
Cold water 6 cups

Cooking Instructions:

1. Blanched the meat in boiling water for 2 minutes.
2. Put all the ingredients into a medium size pot.
3. Cook on high until boiled.
4. Then turn the temperature to medium low.
5. Cook for one and a half hours until only 2 or 3 cups of soup left.
6. Season to serve.

黑芝麻糊 Black Sesame Sweet Dessert 

Ingredients (for 3-4 servings):
黑芝麻 Black sesame, 500g
糯米粉 Glutinous rice flour, 200g
核桃仁 Walnuts, whole pieces, 60g
紅糖 Muscovado sugar, (substitute with 冰糖 naturally crystalized sugar or honey if preferred)
粗海鹽 Coarse sea salt, a pinch

Preparation:
1. Place the black sesame seeds under direct sunlights in a place with good airflow for 3 days before use. Move indoors after sunset.
2. Dry stir-fry the sesame seeds on medium-low heat until aromatic. Place in a wide container to cool.
3. Dry stir-fry glutinous rice flour on medium-low heat until turned slightly yellowish white, Place in a wide container to cool.
4. Bake the walnuts in the oven on 300 F for 10 mins, chop them finely when cooled.
5. Blend sesame seeds and rice flour in a food processor until turned into a fine powder mixture.
6. Place 2-4 tbsps of the powder mixture into boiling water (on low heat), keep churning to prevent caking at the bottom, until big bubbles start to form. Keep cooking & churning until the texture is thick and creamy.
7. Add crushed walnuts, sugar/honey, and salt after removed from heat.

Usage: Can be consumed daily. Great for treating general deficiency cold, dry skin, brittle nails & hair, pre-mature hair graying or hair loss, poor memory, cold extremities, constipation, emaciation. This recipe moisturizes Yin and tonifies Yang, benefits the Liver and nourishes the Blood.

Be caution about nut allergies. 

#blacksesame, #healingsoup,#hairhealth, #hairchine, #tonify, #TCM, #ChineseMedicine, #optimalhealth, #FoodIsMedicine

December 21, 2020 -- winter solstice or dong zhi (冬至).
Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is also a time for the family to get together. One activity that occurs during these get-togethers (especially in the southern parts of China and in Chinese communities overseas) is the making and eating of tang yuan (湯圓) or balls of glutinous rice, which symbolize reunion.
Tang yuan are made of glutinous rice flour and are sometimes brightly colored. Each family member receives at least one large tang yuan in addition to several small ones. The flour balls are occasionally pink or green. They are cooked in a sweet soup or savory broth with both the ball and the soup/broth served in one bowl. Cantonese families like to add ginger to the broth as well.

Ingredients:

• 80 g black sesame seeds or peanuts (be aware of allergies)
• 2.5 tbsp sugar, or to taste
• 40 g softened lard , or 30g butter
• 130 g glutinous rice flour
• 3 tbsp boiling water
• 4 tbsp room temperature water, or beetroot juice

Instructions:
Prepare the filling

• Toast black sesame seeds and peanuts separately in a frying pan over low heat.
• In a food processor, grind cooled black sesame seeds, peanuts and sugar until they turn into a fine powder.
• Add lard (or butter). Mix to combine then keep refrigerated until the mixture is firm enough to handle.
• Divide into 20 portions. Shape each piece into a ball. Put them back in the fridge while preparing the dough.

Make the dough

• In a mixing bowl, pour hot water into glutinous rice flour while stirring with a spatula.
• Add room temperature water (or beetroot juice) little by little.
• Knead with your hand until a smooth, soft dough forms
• Divide and roll into 20 balls.

Assemble Tang Yuan

• Flatten a piece of dough into a round wrapper with your fingers.
• Place a ball of filling in the middle. Gently push the wrapper upwards to seal completely.

Cook Tang Yuan

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Gently slide in some Tang Yuan.
• Push them around with the back of a cooking spoon to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Tang yuan will swell into larger balls. So add a few balls at a time.
• When all the balls start to float on the surface, cook for a further minute.
• Dish out (along with some liquid) and serve warm.

Store Tang Yuan

• Freeze Tang Yuan right after they are assembled.
• Firstly you need to lay them on a tray lined with parchment paper to freeze. Then put them in an air-tight bag when totally frozen.
• Follow the same cooking procedure (do not defrost).

#WinterSolstice, #DongZhi, #HealingSoups, #TangYuan, #drtaotcm

This post is about 絲瓜 Luffa cylindrica, the sponge gourd, Egyptian cucumber, or Vietnamese luffa. It is an annual species of vine cultivated for its fruit, native to South and Southeast Asia.

This recipe is inspired by Master Tung’s family dietary recipes published in 1973. Master Tung's direct disciple  Dr. Wei-Chieh Young also included Master Tung’s recipes in his book called Yang Sheng Shi Liao Bao Dian 《養生食療寶典》.

​#mastertung, #mastertungdietaryrecipes, #leucorrhoea, #menorrhagia, #healingsoup, #healingsoups, #silkychicken, #silkiechicken, #spongegourd, #絲瓜，#烏雞， #烏骨雞

《本草綱目》甘， 涼， 入肝，胃經
From Ben Cao Gang Mu: Sponge gourd is sweet and cool, enter Liver and Stomach channels

Master Tung's recipe:
絲瓜半斤， 白糖一兩煎水服， 治女人月經過多及血崩.
For menorrhagia drink sponge gourd 250g with white sugar 37.8g decoction.
There is no information about how much water is added to the decoction or how long to cook it. In general, add enough water to cover the sponge gourd and cook it until it is soft. Since sponge gourd is cooling, this recipe is for heat in the blood type of menorrhagia.

Dr. Wei-Chieh Young’s recipe:
烏骨雞絲瓜湯： 烏骨雞一隻， 去骨取肉，絲瓜半條， 共煮熟， 分二至三次吃肉喝湯，烏骨雞能養陰血， 退虛熱，專治婦女崩漏帶下；絲瓜涼血清熱，亦治崩漏，可隔天食用，連續食用三至五隻雞。
Silky chicken and sponge gourd soup: one boneless silky chicken, half of a loofah, cooked together, eat the meat and drink the soup separate into two to three servings.
The silky chicken can nourish the yin and blood, relieve deficiency heat, and treat women’s menorrhagia or leukorrhea; sponge gourd cools the blood and clear heat, also treats menorrhagia.
Silky chicken and sponge gourd soup can be consumed every other day, continuous consumption of three to five chickens as a course.
​
For general daily consumption of silky chicken and sponge gourd soup, one can add scallion, garlic, ginger, salt, and cooking wine as seasonings.
Ingredients:

1. 200g of silky chicken meat
2. One whole sponge gourd cut into medium pieces
3. 4 pieces of ginger
4. Small bunch of scallion
5. 1-2 cloves of garlic
6. 5 ml of cooking wine

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a saucepan
2. Add scallion, ginger, and garlic
3. Add 1 L of water
4. After it’s boiled, add the silky chicken and cooking wine
5. Bring it to a boil, clear the white foam on top, simmer 4 to 5 minutes
6. Add the sponge gourd
7. Cook until sponge gourd is soft
8. Add salt to taste before serving

A classic soup for Autumn to enhance immunity, calm the mind for restful sleep, nourish yin and reduce deficient heat, moisten the Lung and prevent dry cough.

Ginseng Hai Zhu Mai Dong Tang 花旗參海竹麥冬湯
This soup is for 4 servings:
Ingredients:

1. American Ginseng 25g
2. Hai Zhu (海竹, Polygonatum Sibiricum）25g
3. Mai Dong (麥門冬, Radix Ophiopogonis) 50g
4. White lotus seeds (白蓮子) 25g
5. Bai He （百合, Lily Bulbs）25g
6. Apple 2
7. Figs 2
8. Lean pork meat 250g (or Shiitake mushrooms)

Instructions:

1. wash and clean the American ginseng, then cut into slices
2. soak white lotus seeds in hot water for 5 minutes, then set aside
3. Rinse the Hai Zhu slices,
4. wash the figs and cut in halves
5. Rinse and soak the Bai He and Mai Dong
6. Rinse the apples, cut in big pieces, and remove the core
7. Cut the lean pork meat into big pieces and blanch it
8. Add 2.5 L of water in a pot with all ingredients then boil and simmer for 2 hours
9. Add salt to taste before serving

#healingsoup, #restfulsleep, #preventcough, #moistenthelung, #calmthemind, #nourishyin
​

oThinning hair? Grey hair? Try this herbal soup.

Ingredients:
Shu Di 30g, Black beans 25g, Goji berries 15g, lean pork meat 500g

Instructions:
1. Rinse black beans, soak for an hour
2. To 8 bowls of water in a coocking pot, add the black beans, and cook for 30 minutes
3. Add the Shu Di, Goji berries and pork meat to the pot
4. Bring to a boil then simmer for an hour until 2 bowls of water left
5. Season the soup (optional) and serve warm

Drink 2 times per week.

Caution: depends on body constitution, herbs should be modified accordingly. Ask an herbalist or an acupuncturist.
Shu Di, black beans and goji berries all tonify the Kidney.

​#tonify, #shudiforgreyhair, #blackbeanforgreyhair, #shudiandblackbean, #shudiforthinninghair, #thinninghairherbalsoup, #herbalsoupforhair,
​

More mushroom soups: #healingsoup, #medicinalfungi, #immuneboosting, #cordyceps, #tonic
This one features three different fungi.

1. Agaricus blazei Murill mushroom (姫茸菇)

Agaricus Blazei Murill mushrooms originated in the Piedate mountain region outside of Sao Paolo, Brazil. The main health benefit of medicinal mushrooms is attributed to a group of their active constituents called polysaccharides. These complex carbohydrates stimulate immune system responses. Some researchers believe this might be because these specific polysaccharides resemble components of the cell walls of organisms that challenge health.

2) Cordyceps fruiting body (蟲草花).
For those people who suffer seasonal allergies with cough symptoms, add Cordyceps fruiting body to soup as a tonic. It helps to moisten the throat, and is beneficial for emphysema and bronchitis. Other benefits: improve cardiovascular disease, anti-aging, and helps reduce fatigue.

3)Wood ear or black fungus (木耳)
It is an edible fungus that commonly used in Chinese cuisine. The fresh wood ear is in dark brown or black, soft and crunchy in texture, with a very subtle grassy flavor. It uses in cooking mainly to add texture. Wood ear should never be eaten raw, since it might contains bacteria.

For four servings:
Agaricus blazei Murill mushroom (姫茸菇) 15
Cordyceps fruiting body (蟲草花) 1g
foxnut (茨實) 1 g
Wood ear (木耳) 3 large pieces
Dried Longan fruit (圓肉) 15
Candied Chinese date (蜜棗) 2
ginger (薑) 2 large pieces
Chicken (雞) 1/2 -- can be blanched first
water (水) 2000 ml
Directions:

1. Agaricus blazei Murill mushroom (姫茸菇) soak in water for 30 minutes, rinsed and get rid of excess water
2. Wood ear (木耳) soak in water for 20 minutes, rinsed, get rid of the hard stem underneath the fungi
3. Cordyceps fruiting body (蟲草花) soak in water for 10 minutes
4. Dried Longan fruit (圓肉) and Candied Chinese date (蜜棗) rinse a few times
5. Chicken cut into several big pieces
6. add water and all ingredients into a pot, bring to a boil then simmer for 2 hours.
7. add salt to season and serve

Yi Mu Cao Chicken soup for female menstrual pain #menstrualpain, #lochia, #postpartumlochia, #yimucao

This soup is for females who having cold dislodged in the uterus causing pain during the #menstrual bleed. Young ladies who like to eat or drink cold food and beverage causing #pain during the end of a menstrual bleed. The menstrual bleed may be scanty, and light in color. This soup is excellent for increasing chances for fertility. This soup also relief postpartum #lochia.
Yi Mu Cao (#Motherwort, 益母草): invigorates the Blood, dispels stasis, regulates menstruation, and reduces masses. It promotes urination, reduces swelling, and edema, such as acute edema hematuria. It also clears heat and resolves toxicity internally or topically for sores or abscesses.

Ingredient:
1. Yi mu cao 60 g
2. Chicken 600 g (normal chicken or silken chicken)
3. Sesame oil
4. Ginger 1 inch and cut into slices
5. Gou qi berries (optional)
6. salt

Instructions:

1. Wash and clean the fresh Yi Mu Cao.
2. Put enough water to submerge all the Yi Mu Cao in a clay pot.
3. Bring to a boil then simmer for 90 minutes with medium fire.
4. Remove all the Yi Mu Cao.
5. While Yi Mu Cao is cooking, prepare the chicken and cut into smaller chunks.
6. Shallow stir fry the chicken meat with sesame oil and ginger slices until the surface of chicken meat slightly cooked.
7. Add the shallow fried chicken to the Yi Mu Cao herbal juice.
8. Cook for further 60 – 90 minutes.
9. Add gou qi berries in the last 10 minutes.
10. Add salt to taste.

btw, If you ever hike the mountains in California, you would easily spot this herb. ​

sang ju cha 桑菊茶 Mulberry Chrysanthemum tea for cooling during summer

Ingredients
2 and 1/2 litre of water
25 g dried chrysanthemum flowers
20 mulberry leaves 
6 dates (jujube dates)
10 g wolfberries (Goji)

Method
Boil the water with the Mulberry leaves and dates for about 90 minutes on medium flame.
Smash the dates to bring out the flavour.
Rinse and add in the dried chrysanthemum flowers.
Bring to a light boil for about 10 mins.
Turn off heat.
Toss in some wolfberries (goji berries) before serving.

Be careful when purchasing chrysanthemum flowers. Some of them are treated with sulfur as a preservative. When brewing these sulfur treated chrysanthemum flowers, the water turns greenish yellow. It is not good quality. Make sure to purchase organic, no sulfur treated chrysanthemum flowers. 

​

Kumquat ginger tea -- cures a cough and soothes the throat #cough, #sorethroat, #kumquat, #ginger

2 cups purified water
5 ginger slices
10 thinly sliced kumquat
1-2 Tsp honey

Steps:
Bring water to boil on the stove
Add ginger, let simmer for 20 min
Add kumquat, let simmer for another 5 min
Add honey to taste, approximately 2 Tsp
Enjoy!
​

I made a video for the first time! I hope this inspires you to make some soup for yourself. 

This soup is excellent for calming the Spirit and help with sleep. At the same time, it is excellent for the skin. #healingsoup, #beautysleep, #acupuncture, #Chineseherbs

Jujube dates: tonify the Spleen, reinforce the Qi, nourishes the Blood and quiets the Spirit

Long Gan fruit: tonify the Heart, the Spleen, the Blood, and calms the Spirit. Great combination with lily bulb

Lily Bulb: moistens the Lungs, clear heat, suppresses cough, Clears the Heart and quiets the Spirit

Lotus Seeds: tonify the Spleen, stops diarrhea, tonify the Kidney and astringes essence, nourish the Heart and quiets the Spirit.

Snow ear fungus (white fungus): heal dry coughs, clear heat in the lungs, lots of collagen for skin.

Follow me at:
Instagram @drtaotcm 
Tweeter @TaoAcupuncture

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.
​
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

Do you cook with burdock root and konjac? Here, Masa cooks a miso soup with pork, burdock root and konjac.

Konjac is derived from the root of a starchy tuber plant, known as the amorphophallus konjac plant, which belongs to the Araceae genus family grown in China and Japan, where it has been harvested and consumed for centuries. In traditional Chinese medicine, it's thought that konjac has properties of detoxification, tumour-suppression, blood stasis alleviation and phlegm liquefaction.

Burdock contains high amounts of inulin and mucilage, which may ease certain gastrointestinal conditions. It also contains many bitter-tasting compounds thought to aid in digestion, and substances called polyacetylenes that have antimicrobial properties. In addition, burdock root may have the ability to lower blood sugar. Ancient texts classified burdock as an "alterative" or blood purifier. In Japan and elsewhere, it is eaten as a vegetable. In traditional Chinese medicine, burdock root is often used in combination with other herbs to treat sore throats, tonsillitis, colds, and even measles. Today, it is used to treat a variety of skin problems, including psoriasis, eczema, contact dermatitis and gout.
​
豬肉味噌湯定食/お野菜たっぷり豚汁定食
[ 2人份 ]
五花肉片 Sliced pork—120g
洋蔥 Onion－1/4個
紅蘿蔔 Carrot－20g
牛蒡 Burdock root－30g
白蘿蔔 Daikon—50g
蒟蒻片 Konjac—1/2片
蔥 Green onion—1支
日式高湯 Dashi—600cc
味噌 Miso—50～55g
胡麻油 Sesame oil—少許
七味粉 Nanami powder—適量
日式高湯做法：https://youtu.be/_p39MaLEpz0

🥳 Happy New Year to you all!

Let’s start with a fabulous soup recipe.

枸杞羊肉汤 GouJi and lamb soup

Ingredients:

枸杞 Gou Ji berries 15g
栗子 chestnuts 18g
羊肉 lamb meat 60g
姜 ginger 2 inch, sliced or crushed
醋 vinegar 15 ml
水 water 800 ml
Salt and pepper

Instructions: 
1. Clean lamb meat and cut into small cubes
2. Blanching (parboil) the lamb meat with 1/2 of the ginger and vinegar
3. Steam all ingredients in a ceramic container for 90 minutes
4. Add salt and pepper to taste

This soup is great for people who suffer from dizziness, low back pain, general fatigue, copious of night urination, edema. In general, these people would have pale tongue, thin white tongue coating with deep and thin pulses.

Image below is an example for how to steam soup in a rice cooker.

This is the traditional method for making brown sugar in China. At the end of the video, she makes dessert soup with a poached egg with the brown sugar. This soup can help relieve menstrual pain due to cold stagnated in the uterus before monthly period.

Ingredients for 1 bowl:
1. One big piece of old ginger 
2. Brown sugar 3 table spoons
3. one egg
4. two bowls of water
5. Sesame oil (optional)
6. Rice wine (optional)
​
Instructions: 
1. Slice the ginger
2. Add the ginger into 2 bowls of water and bring it to boiling
3. Add a raw egg to make poached egg when the water is reduced to about a bowl
4. Add the brown sugar in
5. Drink when it is warm
optional steps if it's cold stasis in the uterus. It's more warming and moving because the stir fried ginger and rice wine.
1. sesame oil stir fry the ginger slices to golden before boiling with water
2. add rice wine to the soup after the poached egg is done
​

We could definitely go for a Ginger Lemonade right about now! Yummm!!!
Ingredients:
1 piece of 10 cm. ginger, peeled and chopped
1 cup lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons)
1/3 cup maple syrup
6 cups water
2 lemons cut into slices for garnish
Instructions:
Place the ginger in a food processor or blender. Add lemon juice and process until smooth. Add water and maple syrup and mix well. Strain out ginger pulp. Serve in glasses filled with ice and enjoy!
Recipe Credit: The Buddhist Chef

酸梅湯, Suan Mei Tang, sour plum drink

烏梅是一種中草藥，具有味酸、性溫等特點，有潤肺、開胃、生津、清熱、調中下氣等功能.

Wu Mei (Mume Fructus) is the key ingredient of this sour plum drink. Wu Mei stablize and blind, enter Liver, Spleen, Lung and Large Intestine channels. It is sour and astringent and warm in nature. It generates fluids and alleviates thirst, binds up intestines and stops diarrhea, inhibits the leakage of Lung Qi and stops cough, expels roundworms and alleviates pain, stops bleeding (TCM clinic aid). In general, Wu Mei can moist Lung, increase appetite, generate fluids, clear heat, harmonize the middle.

To make Suan Mei Tang you would need:
Water 5 Liter,
Wu Mei 烏梅 Mume fructus 70 g
San Cha 山楂 Crataegi Fructus 50 g
Luo Shen Hua 洛神花 Roselle Hibiscus Sabdariffa 20 g
Sweet aged tangerine peels 甜陳皮 25 g
Gan Cao 甘草 Licorice root 15 g
Gui Hua 桂花 Osmanthus fragrans 2 g or rose bud
Black dates 黑棗 black dried dates 50 g
Chinese Bing tang 冰片糖 (Chinese brown sugar pieces) 60 g

​Instructions
1. Wash and rinse all ingredients except for the Chinese brown sugar pieces
2. Soak Wu Mei, San Cha, Luo Shen Hua, sweet aged Tangerine peels, Gan Cao in water for 30 minutes
3. Add the soaked ingredients to a clay pot or stainless steel pot
4. Add 5 liters of water
5. Bring to a boil with lid open then simmer for 30 - 60 minutes
6. Add the Gui Hua (or rose bud) and the Chinese brown sugar pieces
7. Stir well and let it sit for 20 minutes
8. Filter before consuming it hot or cold

​3 minsHawthorn berry is known for its various cardio-protective abilities such as angina, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, irregular heart beat, and even congestive heart failure. Hawthorn berries has numerous flavonoids that are antioxidants known to effectively decrease inflammation while boosting immune function. Hawthorn berries' antioxidant flavonoids improve blood flow, guard against blood vessel damage and even help dilate blood vessels.
Jujube date is rich in Vitamin C. It's known for its anticancer abilities. It's also a great blood pressure stabilizer and a good chronic constipation reliever. In China, it's called natural antidepressant because it has the uplifting and calming affect.
This tea with hawthorn berries and jujube dates is great for removal of aging spots, sun spots.
Hawthorn berries 50 g, fresh ginger 15 g, Jujube dates 15 pieces (no pit). 
Bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes. 
Add honey to taste is optional.

It's LaBa 臘八 festival (the eighth day of December in Chinese lunar calendar). It's time to have our eight treasures porridge.

There are several legends about the origin of porridge eating on Laba: some claim it is of Buddhist origin; some say the porridge, made of red beans, has the power to exorcize evil from little kids; my grandmother told me the porridge is in memory of a poor couple.

The custom of porridge eating has been well-known throughout history, from the royal court to common people. The most “authentic” porridge is made in Northern China, especially Beiping (北平). Laba porridge is mostly made of rice and sticky rice, but can also include sugar, red dates, lotus seeds, walnuts, chestnuts, almonds, longans, hazelnuts, raisins, red beans, peanuts, water caltrops, roseleaf and other “treasures” (hence its other name, “eight treasure porridge”).

Almost every region in China has its own local recipe for Laba porridge. Eating hot porridge is great in cold winter, and the grain and nuts are considered healthy winter fare.

Here is a wonderful video on how to make it: 

A soup to regulate menstrual period, ease menstrual pain, and tonify Qi and Blood.

​Ingredients: 
10 Jujube dates 大棗with no pits, cut into small pieces
Small bunch of dried Longan fruit (long yan rou, 龍眼肉)
10 g of Yi Mu Cao 益母草
3 slices of ginger生姜
10 g of raw cane sugar (or black or red sugar)
Instructions: 
1. Wash jujube dates, Longan fruits, Yi mu cao. Then leave in cold water for 30 minutes
2. Add all ingredients in a clay pot with water and black sugar. 
3. Bring to boil and the simmer for 30 minutes. 
4. Enjoy it while it’s warm.
黑糖，紅糖： raw sugar before refined white sugar. Usually Mainland China called it red sugar紅糖, Taiwanese called it black sugar 黑糖. Brown sugar unrefined or partially refined soft sugar with the 4.5%-6.5% presence of molasses. 
Special kind of black sugar from Okinawa is called Kurozato. It contains molasses, potassium, iron, calcium, and other minerals. Similar to sea salt or rock salt, black sugar is relatively alkaline ingredient. Since Taiwan was at one point colony of Japan, the name black sugar 黑糖 is preferred.
Yi mu cao 益母草: acrid, bitter, slightly cold, enters HT, LV, UB, (KD, PC, CHONG, YIN WEI, REN). It invigorates the blood, dispels stasis, regulates menstruation, and reduces masses. It also promotes urination, and reduces swelling and edema. Lastly it clears heat and resolves toxicity internally and topically like in sores, abscesses.
Jujube dates: tonify Spleen and Stomach, augments Qi, nourishes Blood, and calms the spirit.
Longan fruit: tonify and augments the Heart and Spleen, nourishes the Blood and calms the spirit.