Winter is a cold and dry season, but it is also the best time for nourishment throughout the year. Usually, we use medicinal food for nourishment. So, what are some medicinal foods for nourishment in winter? Below, I will introduce several nourishing medicinal foods for winter.
Winter Nourishing Medicinal Foods
Medicinal Food One: Radish and Parsley Codfish Soup
Folk wisdom says, "Eat radishes in winter and ginger in summer, and you won't need to see a doctor." Radishes in early winter have the therapeutic effects of promoting digestion, relieving cough, moistening the lungs, and nourishing the stomach. After the winter solstice, you can eat more radishes to prevent respiratory diseases and digestive system disorders in the autumn and winter seasons. This delicious soup is made with fresh radishes, codfish, fragrant parsley, stomach-warming pepper, ginger, Shaoxing wine, and other seasonings. The soup is fragrant, sweet, and nourishing.
Ingredients: 600g radish, 350g codfish, parsley and green onions (2 pieces each), 3 slices of ginger, a pinch of pepper and Shaoxing wine.
Instructions: Clean and peel the radishes, then cut them into thin slices. Thaw and wash the codfish, and cut into slices. Wash the parsley and green onions, and cut into sections. Heat oil in a wok with ginger slices, then add the radishes and stir-fry for about 3 minutes until fragrant. Add about 1500ml (about 6 bowls) of water and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the codfish and cook until it is cooked. Then add a proper amount of salt, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and pepper. Finally, add the green onion and parsley. The soup can be served. This recipe serves 3-4 people.
Medicinal Food Two: Double Collagen Stewed Black Chicken Soup
In traditional Chinese medicine, fish maw is sweet and neutral, and it has the therapeutic effects of tonifying deficiency, nourishing blood, stopping bleeding, and tonifying the kidneys. Donkey-hide gelatin has been a top-notch tonic in China since ancient times. It has a sweet and neutral taste and has the properties of tonifying without causing dryness. It has good effects in nourishing blood, moistening dryness, and is particularly suitable for autumn and winter nourishment. Black chicken is a high-protein, low-fat food among poultry. It is believed in traditional Chinese medicine that it nourishes the liver and kidneys without causing dryness.
Double Collagen Stewed Black Chicken Soup is a nourishing soup for winter and is especially suitable for people with deficiency of qi and blood or weak constitution.
Ingredients: 50g fish maw, 33g donkey-hide gelatin, about 600g black chicken, 5 red dates, 10g dried longan, 2 slices of ginger.
Instructions: Soak the fish maw in cold water until it becomes soft. Blanch it in boiling water with a little ginger and green onions, then wash it and cut it into small pieces. Clean and chop the black chicken, removing the head, intestines, and anus. Blanch the chicken in boiling water and set aside. Remove the pits from the red dates. Put all the ingredients into a stewing pot and add about 1500ml (about 6 bowls) of water. Cover the pot and stew over low heat for 3 hours. Add salt to taste before serving. This recipe serves 3-4 people.
Medicinal Food Three: Spinach and Fig Stewed Partridge Soup
Spinach and dried cabbage are combined to form spinach and fig. Frost-bitten late autumn cabbage is especially "sweet", "soft", and "sweet", which can help produce saliva, quench thirst, and clear lung and stomach heat. Dried cabbage has the effects of promoting digestion, widening the chest and diaphragm, and clearing heat and relieving dryness. The combination of the two can clear heat, relieve annoyance, promote digestion, nourish the stomach, promote fluid production, and promote bowel movements.
Figs have the functions of invigorating the spleen, nourishing the intestines, lubricating the throat, preventing cancer, and nourishing yin. Partridge meat is warm in nature and tastes sweet. It has obvious tonifying effects in autumn and winter. Spinach and fig stewed partridge soup is a nourishing and harmonizing soup that can clear lung heat, moisturize dryness, nourish the stomach, and effectively relieve various "dry symptoms" that occur after winter starts. It can be consumed by people of all ages.
Ingredients: 500g fresh cabbage, 100g dried cabbage, 5 dried figs, 1 partridge, 150g lean pork, 50g dried scallops, 1 red date, 3 slices of ginger.
Instructions: Rinse the fresh cabbage. Soak the dried cabbage until soft and then rinse it. Cut both into sections. Clean and chop the partridge into large pieces. Wash the lean pork and cut it into large pieces. Soak the dried scallops and dried figs, then wash them. Except for the fresh cabbage, put all the ingredients into a clay pot. Add about 2500ml (about 10 bowls) of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 1.5 hours. Add the fresh cabbage and simmer for another half an hour. Add salt before serving. This recipe serves 3-4 people.
Winter Nourishing Foods
1. Honey
Honey is made by bees from the nectar of flowering plants. In addition to glucose and fructose, honey also contains various vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. The glucose and fructose in honey are easily absorbed by the body. It also contains a variety of inorganic salts, organic acids, and trace elements similar to the concentration in human serum, which have the effects of nourishing, moisturizing, and detoxifying.
2. Chinese Yam
Chinese yam is a perennial herbaceous plant. It contains a large amount of starch and protein, as well as vitamins, fats, choline, and essential inorganic salts and trace elements such as iodine, calcium, iron, and phosphorus. It contains a mixture of polysaccharides and proteins called "sticky protein," which has special health benefits and can nourish the spleen, nourish the stomach, nourish the lungs, and tonify the kidneys.
3. Snow Pear
Snow pear is a common fruit, named for its tender and white flesh. It contains malic acid, citric acid, vitamins B1, B2, C, carotene, and other trace elements. White foods are beneficial to the lungs, so white foods are good for lung maintenance. Snow pears have high water content and a slightly cold nature, which can produce fluid, moisturize dryness, and clear heat and phlegm.
4. Lily Bulb
Lily bulb is a perennial herbaceous bulbous plant. In addition to containing starch, protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and vitamins B1, B2, C, and other nutrients, it also contains several alkaloids such as galanthamine. These alkaloids not only have good nutritional and tonic effects but also have the functions of calming the mind, nourishing the heart, moistening the lungs, and stopping coughs. They are very beneficial for people who are weak after illness.
5. Tremella
Tremella, also known as "the king of fungi," is a fungus in the Tremella family. It is neutral in nature, with a sweet, light taste, and is non-toxic. It is not only a precious nutritious and nourishing food but also a powerful tonic. Like snow pears, it is white in color, but tremella is more gentle and moistening. It is more suitable for people with a cold constitution or poor gastrointestinal function. At the same time, it also has the functions of invigorating qi and clearing the intestines.
