There is a saying in the folk that "eating three jujubes during a solar eclipse will make you live a hundred years without aging". As a nutritious food, jujube is known as the "king of fruits". Jujube contains abundant vitamins and has the effects of nourishing the middle and benefiting qi, nourishing blood and calming the mind. It is a natural beauty food. The most common way to consume jujube in our daily life is in the form of medicinal cuisine. Regardless of its medicinal or culinary uses, jujube is highly popular among the general public.
Medicinal Cuisine 1: Jujube and Peanut Soup
Ingredients: 30g jujube, 100g peanuts.
Preparation: Remove the pits from the jujube and put them into a pot with peanuts. Add an appropriate amount of water and cook until the peanuts are tender. Drink the soup and eat the jujube and peanuts. Take one dose daily. The effects will be more pronounced with long-term adherence.
Effects: This soup can nourish blood and stop bleeding, nourish the heart and calm the mind. It is suitable for women after childbirth, those with blood deficiency, and those with nutritional anemia, palpitations, and fatigue.
Medicinal Cuisine 2: Jujube and Poria Mushroom Congee
Ingredients: 15 jujubes, 15g poria mushroom, 100g corn.
Preparation: Remove the pits from the jujubes and put them into a pot with poria mushroom. Cook them in water for about an hour, then strain the medicinal juice. Add the cleaned corn and cook until the rice is soft and the congee is thick. Drink it while it's hot, once daily, divided into two servings.
Effects: This congee not only nourishes qi and blood, but also invigorates the spleen and nourishes the heart, thus having a calming effect. It is suitable for people with insomnia, restlessness, and menopausal women. It also helps improve night crying in infants.
Medicinal Cuisine 3: Jujube, Codonopsis, and Stewed Black Chicken
Ingredients: 10 jujubes, 30g codonopsis, 1 black chicken, appropriate amount of scallions, ginger slices, cooking wine, and salt.
Preparation: Wash the jujubes and codonopsis. Cut the codonopsis into long segments. Cut the cleaned black chicken into pieces. Put the jujubes, codonopsis, and black chicken into a pot, add scallions, ginger slices, and cooking wine, and cook until the chicken is tender. Add salt when it is almost ready. Consume once every 2-3 days.
Effects: Both jujubes, codonopsis, and black chicken in this recipe have the effects of tonifying qi and nourishing blood. It can assist in the treatment of menstrual disorders, dysmenorrhea, and lower abdominal pain during menstruation. It can also to some extent calm the mind, moisten the mouth, and improve symptoms such as irritability, insomnia, thirst, dry throat, and neurasthenia.
Medicinal Cuisine 4: Codonopsis and Jujube Rice
Ingredients: 10-20g codonopsis, 20 jujubes, 250g glutinous rice, 50g white sugar.
Preparation: Cook the codonopsis and jujubes in water for half an hour, remove the codonopsis residue. Steam the glutinous rice, and place the jujubes on top of the rice. Boil the codonopsis and jujube juice with white sugar to make a thick sauce, and pour it over the rice before consuming.
Effects: This dish can tonify qi and nourish the stomach. It is suitable for those with weak constitution, fatigue, palpitations, insomnia, loss of appetite, edema, and loose stools.
Medicinal Cuisine 5: Polygonum and Jujube Porridge
Ingredients: 25g Polygonum powder, 50g jujubes, 15g rock sugar, 50g glutinous rice.
Preparation: Put the glutinous rice and jujubes into a pot and cook them into porridge. When the porridge is half cooked, add the Polygonum powder and stir it while cooking until the porridge becomes sticky. Add rock sugar for seasoning.
Effects: This porridge can tonify the liver and kidneys, nourish essence and blood, promote bowel movements, and detoxify. It is suitable for dizziness, blurred vision, insomnia, forgetfulness, nocturnal emission, and premature ejaculation caused by liver and kidney deficiency. Long-term consumption is beneficial for elderly people with hypertension and arteriosclerosis.
Medicinal Cuisine 6: Jujube and Goji Berry Tea
Ingredients: 6 jujubes, 10g goji berries.
Preparation: Put goji berries and jujubes together in a pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, and simmer for 5 minutes over low heat. Alternatively, you can directly brew it with boiling water.
Effects: Goji berries can tonify the liver and kidneys, improve vision, enhance immune function, and nourish the body. This recipe is simple and suitable for long-term consumption by those who are physically weak, have gastrointestinal discomfort, dry mouth, and those with liver function metabolism disorders. If there is severe dryness of the mouth and tongue or excessive internal heat, you can add 1-2 chrysanthemum flowers and brew them together.
Jujube has remarkable effects in tonifying qi and nourishing blood, but in order to maximize its effectiveness, it is closely related to the selection and storage. When selecting, choose jujubes that are dry, large, red, thick-fleshed, oily, fragrant, and sweet. When storing, simply keep them in a dry place to avoid insect damage.
