It's a cozy thing to invite a few friends for hot pot in the autumn and winter, which can warm your body and allow for heart-to-heart chats. However, for people with different constitutions, the suitable hot pot broth is different, and eating the wrong one can easily lead to internal heat and breakouts.
Yang Deficiency Constitution: Jujube Soup
Typical Symptoms: Usually feels cold and prefers warmth, has tired limbs, and the most classic signs are a pale tongue with teeth marks on the side.
Healthy Broth: Morinda officinalis, raspberry, goji berries, jujubes, and a clear broth.
Side Dishes
Vegetables: Crown daisy, chives, and onions. If eating cool vegetables like bok choy, you can add some ginger to counteract the cold.
Yin Deficiency Constitution: Goji Berry Soup
Typical Symptoms: Individuals are on the leaner side, have a dull complexion, often feel thirsty, have a dry throat, are prone to insomnia, and experience dizziness and blurred vision.
Healthy Broth: Chinese yam, Solomon's seal root, glehnia root, goji berries, and a clear broth.
Side Dishes
Vegetables: Mustard greens, radish, lotus root, asparagus lettuce, and celery. These bitter vegetables can nourish yin and reduce fire.
Qi Deficiency Constitution: Ginseng Soup
Typical Symptoms: Poor adaptability to the environment, catches colds easily when the weather changes, and has a pale complexion.
Healthy Broth: The simplest way is to buy a Qingbulai (a mix of dried fruits and herbs) and make it into a clear broth. You can also use astragalus, Codonopsis root, Chinese yam, and goji berries. If possible, you can also use fresh ginseng.
Side Dishes
Vegetables: Lettuce and romaine lettuce, which are mild and warm. If pairing with watercress, it's recommended to cook it longer to dispel cold.
Blood Deficiency Constitution: Angelica Soup
Typical Symptoms: Pale lips, dry eyes, puffy eyelids, easily fatigued, and dizzy.
Healthy Broth: Angelica sinensis and white peony root, with a small amount of sandworm.
Side Dishes
Vegetables: General side dishes like lettuce, Napa cabbage, and watercress are fine.
Qi Stagnation Constitution: Gastrodia Elata Soup
Typical Symptoms: Feels melancholic, experiences chest tightness easily, and often sighs for no apparent reason.
Healthy Broth: Szechuan lovage root, gastrodia elata, and cyperus rotundus to regulate qi and relieve depression.
Side Dishes
Vegetables: Daylilies, bergamot flowers, and mung bean sprouts (soybean sprouts affect the spleen and stomach, while mung bean sprouts affect the liver, so people with qi stagnation should preferably eat mung bean sprouts).
Damp-Heat Constitution: Coix Seed Soup
Typical Symptoms: Sturdy build, ruddy complexion, strong body odor, and an irritable temper.
Healthy Broth: Coix seed, hyacinth bean, and red bean, which are very effective at removing dampness.
Side Dishes
Vegetables: Konjac tofu (high in fiber and low in calories, can resolve phlegm and remove dampness), Chinese yam, soybean sprouts, and watercress.
Phlegm-Dampness Constitution: Hyacinth Bean Soup
Typical Symptoms: Overweight, produces a lot of phlegm, is lazy and inactive, and wants to sit on any chair and sleep in any bed.
Healthy Broth: Astragalus, Codonopsis root, Chinese yam, and hyacinth bean to strengthen the spleen and transform dampness.
Side Dishes
Vegetables: Chinese yam, lotus root, crown daisy, soybean sprouts, and lettuce.
Blood Stasis Constitution: Sanqi (Panax Notoginseng) Hot Pot
Typical Symptoms: Rough skin, very dark circles under the eyes, prone to dark spots or purpura.
Healthy Broth: Sanqi (Panax notoginseng), sea dragon, or sea horse to invigorate blood and resolve stasis.
Side Dishes
Vegetables: Wood ear mushrooms, onions, garlic, and others.