Dong Quai is a food and medicinal ingredient that can be used both for cooking and for medicinal purposes. It has the effects of nourishing qi and blood. It can be made into medicinal food with other nourishing ingredients or consumed by soaking in water. Below, we will introduce several common recipes using Dong Quai for food therapy.
1. Dong Quai and Lamb Soup
Ingredients: 500g lamb slices, 25g Dong Quai, 25g Codonopsis pilosula, 30g Astragalus membranaceus, 1000ml water, 4 tablespoons (60ml) rice wine lees, 1 piece of ginger, 1 tablespoon (15ml) soy sauce, 1 teaspoon (5g) salt, 5g rock sugar.
Instructions: Peel and shred the ginger. Boil water in a pot over high heat. Rinse all the ingredients with water and put them into the pot. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Add the lamb slices to the pot and skim off the foam when the water boils. Add rice wine lees, ginger shreds, soy sauce, salt, and rock sugar.
Effects: It is suitable for postpartum women with deficiency of blood and qi, feeling cold in the limbs, dizziness, and blurred vision. It can enhance the ability to resist cold, strengthen the body, and promote physical fitness.
2. Dong Quai and Peach Kernel Congee
Ingredients: 15g Dong Quai, 15g Peach Kernel, appropriate amount of tangerine peel, 50g rice.
Instructions: Put Dong Quai and Peach Kernel into a clay pot, add water, and boil over high heat. Then simmer over low heat for half an hour, remove the residue, and add rice to cook into congee. Serve warm. Take it 2-3 times a day.
Effects: It has the functions of promoting blood circulation, nourishing blood, and regulating qi and menstruation. It is good for treating irregular menstruation, cold and painful lower abdomen, and other discomforts.
3. Dong Quai and Black Chicken Soup
Ingredients: 1000g black chicken, 25g Ligustrum lucidum, 50g Dong Quai, 15g dried longan, 5g salt.
Instructions: Clean the black chicken after splitting it, blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes, and then wash it. Put Ligustrum lucidum, Dong Quai (sliced), dried longan, and black chicken into a container, add 1000g boiling water, and simmer over medium heat for 40 minutes. Add salt before serving.
Effects: It nourishes the blood and heart, nourishes yin and tonifies deficiency, nourishes the brain and calms the mind, promotes bowel movements, and has anti-aging effects.
4. Dong Quai and Jujube Porridge
Ingredients: 15g Dong Quai, 10 jujubes without pits, appropriate amount of rice, and appropriate amount of white sugar.
Instructions: Slice the Dong Quai and put it into a clay pot. Soak it in warm water first, then simmer and cook it, filter the residue and take the juice. Add rice, jujubes, and appropriate amount of water to cook the porridge. Add white sugar when the rice is cooked and the porridge becomes thick. Take it on an empty stomach, one dose per day, divided into morning and evening.
Effects: It can nourish blood, regulate menstruation, promote blood circulation, relieve pain, and moisturize the intestines and promote bowel movements. It can be used to treat common gynecological diseases such as irregular menstruation and dysmenorrhea, and also assist in the treatment of nutritional anemia, postpartum anemia, and postpartum constipation.
