Although fruits are nutritious, their properties are not suitable for everyone. Some people with a weak spleen and stomach, or a weaker constitution, may not only find them difficult to digest and absorb but may also experience diarrhea. Steaming fruits not only reduces their cold nature but can also double their therapeutic effects.
「1. Salt-Steamed Orange」
Treats coughs, instantly outperforming all cough and anti-inflammatory medicines.
The orange peel contains two ingredients with cough-relieving and phlegm-reducing effects: noscapine and orange peel oil. These two ingredients are only released from the peel after being steamed. It is especially suitable for children with persistent coughs and has no side effects.
Method:
1. Wash the orange and soak it in salt water for 20 minutes to remove the wax from the surface. Do not peel the orange. Cut a slice off the top, sprinkle a little salt on the exposed flesh, and then poke a few holes in the flesh with chopsticks to allow the salt to seep in.
2. Place the cut slice back on top, put it in a bowl (no water needed), and steam in a steamer for 15 minutes after the water boils. It's done. The peel of the steamed orange will have shrunk slightly, and juice will collect at the bottom of the bowl.
How to eat: Eat the flesh and discard the peel. Drink the juice from the bottom of the bowl.
「2. Apple with Skin」
Steamed to stop diarrhea, detoxify, and is easy to digest.
When apples are steamed, the pectin, after being cooked, can not only absorb bacteria and toxins but also has an astringent effect to stop diarrhea and is easier to digest.
Method: Cut the apple with its skin into small pieces, place in a small bowl, and steam for 5 minutes. Let it cool slightly before eating.
Salt-Steamed Orange
「3. Hot-Steamed Pomelo」
Clears heat, reduces phlegm, and expels bad qi from the intestines.
Pomelo is a fruit that ripens in autumn and is known as a "natural canned fruit." It is rich in protein, organic acids, vitamins, and essential elements like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and sodium.
Only eating the pomelo flesh wastes the active substances in the peel, such as hesperidin and naringin, which can reduce the viscosity of blood circulation, prevent thrombosis, and effectively prevent strokes in middle-aged and elderly people. Therefore, the best way to eat it is to steam it with the peel.
Method: Use a fresh pomelo with its skin on, remove the seeds, steam it, and add honey to eat.
「4. Red Dates」
The "King of Vitamins," steamed dates are easier to digest.
Red dates are rich in nutrients like protein, fat, carbohydrates, carotene, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin P, and calcium, phosphorus, iron. The vitamin C content is among the highest in fruits, earning it the title "King of Vitamins."
The skin of dried dates is very hard and not suitable for people with a weak spleen and stomach. Fresh dates are also not recommended to be eaten in large quantities. Therefore, the most effective method is to steam the dried dates. Steamed dates are easier to digest and very suitable for people with a weak spleen and stomach.
Method: For those with qi and blood deficiency or insufficient liver and kidney function, you can steam large red dates with goji berries and eggs.
Steamed Red Dates
「5. Cinnamon and Red Wine Poached Apple」
Nourishes the heart and calms the mind, nourishes yin and moistens dryness.
Boil an "apple of peace" with red wine, and add fresh lilies that nourish the heart and calm the mind, and cinnamon that warms the kidneys and dispels cold and pain. This not only brings good luck but also beautifies the skin, fights aging, and relieves menstrual pain.
Ingredients: 1 apple, 300ml red wine, 1/2 a lily, 1 slice of lime, a suitable amount of cinnamon powder, and a suitable amount of rock sugar.
Method:
1. Slice the lime and soak it in cold water.
2. Wash and peel the lily into petals.
3. Peel and core one apple, then cut it into eight pieces. Quickly place it in the cold water with the lime.
4. Add red wine to a pot, add cinnamon powder and rock sugar to taste.
5. Bring to a boil, then add the apple and lily.
6. Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat. Let the apple soak in the red wine for 2 hours before eating.
Red Wine Apple
「6. Lychee and Dragon Fruit Syrup」
Clears heat and relieves dryness.
Lychees can easily cause "heatiness" when eaten alone, but using them to make a syrup can clear heat and relieve dryness. The syrup cooked with water chestnuts is sweet and delicious, and adding pink dragon fruit juice makes the color stunning.
Ingredients: 250g water chestnuts, 300g lychees, 100g dragon fruit, a suitable amount of rock sugar.
Method:
1. Prepare the lychees, water chestnuts, red dragon fruit, and rock sugar.
2. Peel and deshell the lychees, wash them clean. Wash the water chestnuts, peel them, and cut into small pieces.
3. Peel the red dragon fruit and extract its juice.
4. Place cold water in a pot and add the prepared lychees and water chestnuts.
5. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Add rock sugar and simmer for another 5 minutes.
7. Let the syrup cool, pour the dragon fruit juice into a glass, and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
Lychee and Water Chestnut Dragon Fruit Syrup
「7. Fungus and Snow Pear Soup」
Relieves cough, moistens the lungs, clears heat, and detoxifies.
Ingredients: 6 loquats, 1 pear, a suitable amount of rock sugar, goji berries, white fungus, pineapple.
Method:
1. Prepare the ingredients.
2. Break the white fungus into pieces.
3. Peel and core the loquats and pear, slice the pineapple.
4. Place the white fungus in an electric pressure cooker with a large bowl of water and cook for 10 minutes.
5. After the pressure is released, add the pineapple.
6. Add the pear.
7. Add the loquats.
8. Finally, add goji berries and sugar and cook for another 3 minutes (or transfer to a clay pot and simmer for 15 minutes if you don't mind the extra effort).
Chuanbei Snow Pear and White Fungus Soup
「8. Sugar Poached Peaches」
Generates body fluids, moistens dryness, and invigorates blood.
Suitable for summer. Peach has the effects of nourishing yin, generating body fluids, moistening dryness, and invigorating blood. It is very effective for summer thirst, constipation, menstrual pain, deficiency-type coughing, spontaneous sweating, and night sweats.
Ingredients: 800g fresh peaches, 150g rock sugar, 3500ml water.
Method:
1. Boil water in a pot.
2. Wash the peaches.
3. Pit, peel, and cut into small pieces.
4. Add rock sugar to the boiling water.
5. Add the peach pieces.
6. Bring to a boil over high heat.
7. Cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
Sugar Poached Peaches
「9. Stir-Fried Hawthorn」
For bloating, abdominal pain, and indigestion.
Ingredients: 300g hawthorn, 100g rock sugar, 1g salt.
Method:
1. Soak and wash the fresh hawthorns.
2. Use the cap of a pen to twist into one end of a hawthorn and pull it out.
3. At the other end, use the same method to twist the pen cap in, and the pit will be pushed out intact. This method is convenient and keeps the hawthorn whole.
4. In a clean pot, add water, a little salt, and the prepared hawthorns.
5. Bring to a boil over high heat.
6. After the water boils, skim off the foam, turn to medium heat, cover, and cook for 3-4 minutes until the water reduces.
7. Uncover, add rock sugar.
8. Stir constantly over medium heat for a few minutes until the liquid in the pot thickens. Let it cool completely, then you can bottle it, add some honey, and refrigerate for a more flavorful treat.
Stir-Fried Hawthorn