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Tag: Cold

  • Winter Congee Recipe

    Winter Congee Recipe

    a winter TCM recipe to warm and heal your gut.

    Ingredients:

    • 1 cup of jasmine rice
    • 8 cups of chicken stock, vegetable stock, or bone broth (this makes a medium consistency congee, for a more soup-like consistency, use 10-12 cups.
    • pinch of salt
    • pinch of white pepper (warming herb)
    • 1-3 inches of chopped ginger
    • 3/4 cup of enoki mushrooms
    • 3/4 cup of thin slicked shiitake mushrooms (dehydrated work nicely)
    • 3/4 cup of thin sliced woo-ear mushrooms (dehydrated work nicely)
    • Optional: Shredded chicken

    Option ingredients to top at the end:

    • Splash of soy sauce
    • a few drops of sesame oil
    • thinly sliced scallions
    • cilantro
    • chili flakes

    Preparation:  

    Rinse the rice and soak in water for 30-45 minutes. This allows the rice to break down easier during the cookie process. (you can forgo this step if you’d prefer to just rinse)  

    Add all the ingredients to a large pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil then simmer on low heat, with the lid half covered for 2-3 hours. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking to the bottom.

    Congee is done when the grains disintegrate into the liquid to reach a uniformly dense texture. (You can also use a slow cooker or instapot. Instapot has a porridge setting!)

    Congee can thicken a little as it cools. Add optional ingredients from the topping list above.

  • Winter

    Winter

    As winter approaches, we find ourselves in the most Yin time of year. This is a season of going inward, conserving energy, slowing down, and honoring rest. Let these months guide you back to yourself. Find your rhythm in the season: seek out warmth, joy, and light while not overextending yourself. A mindful balance of activity and introspection will help keep the yin and yang healthy.

  • TCM warming broth

    TCM warming broth

    Cold and cough season has arrived. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the lungs, which open to the nose and mouth through the respiratory passages, are considered the most delicate of the five yin organs and the easiest for external influences to affect. These external factors are described as six types: 

    • Wind
    • Cold
    • Dampness
    • Dryness
    • Heat
    • Fire

    Coughs are most often linked to Wind, though Wind frequently combines with other influences such as Cold, Heat, or Dryness, depending on seasonal conditions. Wind enters from the back of the neck and ankles. Wrap up in a scarf or buff to keep your neck ‘wind gate’ covered!

    Here is a quick and easy recipe to nip that cold in the bud:

    • 1 green onion, white portion, thinly sliced
    • 1 clove of garlic, sliced thinly
    • 1-2 thin slices of fresh ginger, unpeeled
    • 1 to 1.5 cups of bone broth or water

    Bring the water or broth to a boil, add ingredients and turn down to a simmer after a few minutes. Strain and cool a few minutes to a comfortable temperature. Serve in a mug or bowl.

    This may induce a slight sweat which helps expel dis-ease from the body. Snuggle up in some blankets, but if you feel damp rinse off and put on dry clothes.