Rainy Day Remedy
The rain shower today is the first of many retreating monsoons of this season.
While it can be a damper on our collective moods, there is that little tinge of festivity when it reminds us of Halloween (or Gilmore Girls. or Twilight. Whichever floats your boat)
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, every season has its corresponding herbs that combat the drawbacks. When we wake up to a gloomy sky and soggy outdoors, we get drowsy, our energy is drained before we're even ready for the day!
Humid weather can easily cause gastrointestinal dampness and heat: it manifests as indigestion, bloating, and loose stools. Therefore, for daily dietary therapy, you can choose to make some soup that can strengthen the spleen and dry dampness, regulate qi and harmonize the stomach, relieve sleepiness and eliminate stagnation, in turn to reduce the burden on the gastrointestinal tract that this particular seasonal weather brings.
Below are 4 ingredients you can use to make a Rainy Day Remedy soup, or include them individually to your own recipes:
Rainy Day Soup: (serves 3-4 people)
The soup has the functions of dispelling dampness, eliminating stagnation, and strengthening the spleen and stomach. It is tonifying but not damp, warm but not dry. It is especially suitable for patients with spleen deficiency and qi stagnation due to epigastric fullness, loss of appetite, and indigestion after eating. People with chronic gastrointestinal diseases with food stagnation syndrome are especially suitable for this recipe.
Ingredients:
10 grams of Sha Ren 砂仁
30 grams of fried Bai Zhu 炒制白术*
5 grams of Chen Pi 陈皮
1 pork tripe (about 600 grams)
3 slices of Ginger
*If you do not have fried Bai Zhu 白术, here is how you prepare it from normal Bai Zhu 白术:
Take your Bai Zhu 白术 slices, put them in a hot pot, fry them over medium heat (150~180℃) until the surface is brown (do not use any oil), spray a little water to extinguish the sparks, take them out, let them cool, and sieve them. The surface should be burnt brown and the middle section should be burnt yellow.
Preparation:
1. Wash all ingredients;
2. Rub the pork tripe with flour and salt repeatedly, then wash it with water to remove the odor, following with a cold water rinse then cut it into strips;
3. Pound the Sha Ren 砂仁 and set aside;
4. Soak the Chen Pi 陈皮 until soft and scrape the white pith and set aside;
5. Put all the ingredients into a clay pot together, add about 2500 ml of water (about 10 bowls of water), bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for about 2 hours, add an appropriate amount of salt then drink it warm.
6. Serve and enjoy!
