According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it is considered warm in nature and salty in flavor, and it influences the Heart and Kidney meridians. It can benefit essence and blood, supplement kidney qi, and moisten intestinal dryness. Adding sea cucumber to soups during the winter can help nourish the kidneys and moisten dryness.
Sea Chicken Soup
Eating sea cucumber can supplement kidney qi and moisten intestinal dryness.
In TCM, sea cucumber is considered warm in nature and salty in flavor, and it influences the Heart and Kidney meridians. It can benefit essence and blood, supplement kidney qi, and moisten intestinal dryness. It is primarily indicated for deficiency of essence and blood, emaciation and weakness; amenorrhea in women; spermatorrhea and frequent urination due to insecure kidney qi; impotence due to kidney deficiency; and constipation due to deficiency of yin and blood.
From a nutritional perspective, sea cucumber contains protein, fat, carbohydrates, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, niacin, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and other nutrients.
How to Choose Authentic Dried Sea Cucumber
For dried sea cucumber, its appearance should be dark brown or dark gray with a relatively uniform color. It should have the characteristic aroma of seafood, without any off-odors. The body should be full, with straight back spines, a firm texture, and thick flesh. The mouth area should have little to no limey substance exposed.
When selecting, be sure to avoid shriveled ones. Currently, many unscrupulous merchants add large amounts of sugar, gelatin, or even alum during the processing of sea cucumbers to increase their weight. Although such processed sea cucumbers do not meet product quality standards, they are often favored because their bodies are unusually full and their color is dark and shiny. Be mindful of this when choosing.
There are techniques for cooking sea cucumber soup
Many people use sea cucumber as a therapeutic food in folk medicine. The most common ways to prepare sea cucumber are in soups or stir-fries. When making soup, note that sea cucumber has a relatively mild flavor. It can be paired with a savory broth, such as chicken or bone broth, to enhance its taste.
It should be noted that sea cucumber is a high-protein food, and its breakdown products, amino acids, are mainly excreted by the kidneys. Therefore, individuals with poor kidney function should not consume large quantities at once.
Recommended Sea Cucumber Recipe: Sea Cucumber and Chicken Soup
Ingredients: Rehydrated sea cucumber, chicken broth, chicken legs, shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, fried tofu puffs, and bok choy hearts.
Method
1. Prepare the chicken by placing it in a clay pot to stew. Cook until the chicken is tender enough to be easily pierced with a fork. Remove and let it cool.
2. Soak and clean the shiitake mushrooms, remove the stems. Peel the winter bamboo shoots and slice them.
3. Cut off the shrimp whiskers and devein the shrimp.
4. With a knife, make a few diagonal cuts on the rehydrated sea cucumber.
5. Debone one chicken leg and slice the meat.
6. Pour the chicken broth into a pot and bring to a boil. Add the sea cucumber and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
7. Then, blanch the shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, winter bamboo shoots, fried tofu puffs, and bok choy hearts in the broth until cooked. Remove the sea cucumber. Season the broth with a little salt.
8. Arrange the blanched vegetables and sliced chicken meat in a large bowl. Pour the broth used to cook the sea cucumber over them.
♪ And the dates open the waffles ♪