Winter Solstice, an important solar term in the Chinese lunar calendar, is commonly known as "Counting Nine, Winter Festival". We all know that there is a custom of eating dumplings on Winter Solstice. If you don't eat dumplings on this day, your ears will freeze in the coming year. Besides dumplings, there are also some medicinal diets that are most suitable for Winter Solstice.
Medicinal Diet 1: Stewed Lamb with Radish
Ingredients: 500g white radish, 250g lamb, ginger, cooking wine, and salt as needed.
Instructions: Wash and cut the white radish and lamb into pieces. Boil the lamb in a pot of water for about five to six minutes, then remove the lamb and discard the water. Fill the pot with fresh water and add the lamb, ginger, cooking wine, and salt. Stew until the lamb is 60% cooked, then add the white radish and continue stewing until cooked.
Effect: Tonifies Qi, strengthens the body, and warms the organs. It is especially suitable for those with sore waist and knees, fatigue, kidney deficiency, impotence, and spleen and stomach weakness.
Medicinal Diet 2: Steamed Chicken with Gastrodia
Ingredients: 1 black chicken (about 750g), 25g Gastrodia, 10g Chuanxiong, 10g Poria, 5g ginger slices, 10g cooking wine, salt as needed, and a little cilantro.
Instructions: Put the black chicken in cold water, bring to a boil, and blanch to remove impurities. Rinse the Chinese herbs and stuff them into the chicken's belly, then sew it closed with a thread. Place the black chicken in a clay pot, add ginger slices, cooking wine, and enough water, and simmer for about 1 hour over low heat. Add salt and simmer for another 20 minutes until the ingredients are tender. Serve with cilantro.
Effect: Black chicken nourishes the meridians, promotes blood circulation, and regulates hormone levels, which is beneficial for elderly women. Gastrodia, Chuanxiong, and Poria can assist in the treatment of symptoms such as dizziness, headache, and insomnia caused by neurasthenia. They can calm the liver, dispel wind, relieve pain, and nourish and calm the mind. When combined with black chicken, they have a significant effect in tonifying deficiency.
Medicinal Diet 3: Beef Knee Tendon
Ingredients: 10g beef knee, 10% pig tendon, 50% chicken meat, 50g ham, 25g mushrooms, 5g pepper, 5g MSG, 30g Shaoxing wine, 10g ginger, 10g spring onion, 5g salt, and enough clear broth.
Instructions: Rinse the beef knee and soak it, then cut it into oblique slices. Place the pig tendon in a steaming pan, add enough water, and steam for about 4 hours. When the tendon is tender, remove it, soak it in cold water for 2 hours, peel off the outer layer of tendons, and rinse. After washing the ham, cut it into thin strips. After soaking the mushrooms, cut them into thin strips. After washing the ginger and spring onion, slice the ginger and cut the spring onion into segments. Cut the expanded tendon into sections, and chop the chicken meat into 2cm cubes. Place the tendon and chicken meat in a steaming bowl, arrange the beef knee slices on top of the chicken meat, mix the ham strips and mushroom strips, and sprinkle them around. Place the ginger slices and spring onion segments in the steaming bowl, then add pepper, MSG, Shaoxing wine, salt, and clear broth. Adjust the taste of the soup, pour it into the steaming bowl, and steam for about 3 hours. When the tendon is tender, remove it immediately, remove the ginger slices and spring onion segments, season to taste, and serve.
Effect: Dispels wind and dampness, strengthens the liver and kidneys, and strengthens the tendons and bones.
Medicinal Diet 4: Steamed Carp with Gastrodia
Ingredients: 30g Gastrodia, 10g Chuanxiong, 10g Poria, 1 fresh carp (1500g), clear broth and seasonings as needed.
Instructions: Remove the scales, gills, and internal organs of the fresh carp and wash it. Cut Chuanxiong and Poria into large pieces and soak them in the second rice washing water. Then soak the Gastrodia in the rice washing water with Chuanxiong and Poria for 4-6 hours. Remove the Gastrodia and steam it until cooked, then slice it and set it aside. Put the Gastrodia slices into the fish head and abdomen, place them in a dish, add spring onion and ginger, and add appropriate water. Steam for about 30 minutes, remove the spring onion and ginger, and set aside. Boil water with starch, clear broth, sugar, salt, MSG, pepper, and sesame oil. Thicken the soup, pour it over the Gastrodia fish, and serve.
Effect: Lowers blood pressure, removes dampness, dispels wind, and strengthens the kidneys. Suitable for patients with hypertension.
Medicinal Diet 5: Fish Fillet with Chinese Yam
Ingredients: 400-600g fish fillet, 20-30g Chinese yam, 200g green radish, shredded spring onion, shredded ginger, pepper, salt, MSG, and seasoning as needed.
Instructions: Peel and wash the Chinese yam, then press it into fine powder. Put the fish fillet in a bowl, add starch, salt, beat in 1-2 eggs, mix well, and marinate for about 20 minutes. Fry the marinated fish in hot oil until cooked. Leave a small amount of oil in the pan, add shredded spring onion and shredded ginger, stir-fry for a moment, add an appropriate amount of water, and bring to a boil. Add Chinese yam powder, cooked fish fillet, shredded green radish, salt, and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. Add pepper and MSG to taste.
Effect: Prevents and treats sexual dysfunction.
Medicinal Diet 6: Steamed Fish with Dendrobium
Ingredients: 500g sea fish, 10g Dendrobium, 2 oranges, shredded kelp, salt, soy sauce, MSG, water starch as needed.
Instructions: Wash the sea fish and make a few diagonal cuts. Rub with a little salt. Boil the Dendrobium with water for 30 minutes, filter the decoction with gauze, then boil with water for another 20 minutes, filter the decoction again. Pour both filtrates into a pot, add shredded kelp, salt, shredded orange peel, soy sauce, and a little water starch. Cook until the soup thickens. Put the marinated fish in a steaming bowl, add spring onion, concentrated soup, shredded ginger, and steam until cooked.
Effect: Enhances sexual function, prevents and treats premature aging.
Medicinal Diet 7: Pork Spinal Cord Soup with Lotus Root
Ingredients: 500g pork spinal cord, 250g lotus root, spring onion, ginger slices, cooking wine, and salt as needed.
Instructions: Wash the lotus root and cut into thick slices. Wash the pork spinal cord and blanch it in boiling water, then drain. Put the pork spinal cord and lotus root in a clay pot, add enough water, add spring onion, ginger slices, and cooking wine, and simmer over low heat for about 150 minutes until cooked. Remove the spring onion and ginger slices, add salt to taste, and serve.
Effect: Nourishes Yin and nourishes the spinal cord. Suitable as an auxiliary diet for the treatment of lumbar muscle strain, which causes symptoms such as lower back pain, aching waist and knees, and weak limbs.
Medicinal Diet 8: Beef with Dates Soup
Ingredients: 250g beef, 20g red dates, salt, cooking wine, ginger slices, and MSG as needed.
Instructions: Wash the beef and cut into small pieces. Wash the red dates. Put the beef and red dates in a pot, add enough water, add cooking wine, ginger slices, and simmer until the beef is tender. Add salt and MSG to taste.
Effect: Tonifies the middle and invigorates Qi.
