As the weather gets cooler, many families start cooking mutton for nourishment. But do you know how to eat mutton for the best nutrition, how to eat it without getting "heaty" (internal heat), and what foods it shouldn't be eaten with?
Stewed mutton is the most nutritious
Among these cooking methods, stewing mutton is the best because it preserves the original broth and nutrients to the greatest extent. Besides pairing it with radish, stewing it with Chinese yam, chestnuts, and walnuts provides even more comprehensive nutrition.
Chinese yam replenishes qi and strengthens the spleen, and also aids digestion; Chestnuts tonify the kidneys, strengthen the waist, benefit the stomach, and pacify the liver. According to the principle in the I Ching of "using the upper part to nourish the upper part and the lower part to nourish the lower part," chestnuts are also an excellent brain food; Walnuts are warming and nourishing for the lungs and kidneys, and they relieve asthma and lubricate the intestines. When these three are stewed with mutton, the nutrition is rich, it's warming without being drying, and it builds the foundation and strengthens the root.
Hot pot mutton is probably everyone's favorite way to eat it. Because the meat is cooked for a short time, the nutrients are not easily lost.
Eating mutton with tofu prevents getting "heaty"
Mutton is warm in nature, and eating it often can easily lead to "heatiness." Therefore, when eating mutton, it's best to pair it with cooling and neutral vegetables to have a cooling, detoxifying, and heat-clearing effect. Cooling vegetables generally include winter melon, loofah, rape, spinach, cabbage, enoki mushrooms, mushrooms, lotus root, water bamboo shoots, bamboo shoots, and cabbage heart; While sweet potatoes, potatoes, and shiitake mushrooms are neutral vegetables. Ancient Chinese medical texts also record that mutton should not be eaten with pumpkin. This is mainly because both mutton and pumpkin are warming foods, and eating them together can easily cause "heatiness."
It's best to pair mutton with tofu when eating it. It not only supplements various trace elements but also has the effect of clearing heat, purging fire, relieving vexation, and quenching thirst. When mutton and radish are made into a dish, it can fully leverage the radish's cooling nature to eliminate food stagnation and resolve phlegm-heat.
When cooking mutton, the role of seasonings should not be ignored. It's best to add unpeeled ginger because ginger peel is acrid and cool, has the effect of dispersing fire and clearing heat, relieving pain and expelling wind-dampness, and can also remove the gamey smell. When cooking mutton, use less of the warming, pungent, and drying seasonings like chili, pepper, ginger, cloves, and fennel; You can add a bit of lotus seed heart, as it has the effect of clearing the heart and purging fire.
Precautions for eating mutton in cool weather
1. Avoid eating with tea
Tea is the "nemesis" of mutton. This is because mutton is rich in protein, and tea contains a lot of tannic acid. Drinking tea while eating mutton will create tannic acid protein, which slows down intestinal peristalsis, reduces water in the stool, and can induce constipation.
2. Avoid mutton for certain conditions
Those who often have canker sores, red eyes, a bitter taste in the mouth, irritability, a dry and sore throat, swollen gums, or are suffering from diarrhea, or are taking traditional Chinese medicine formulas containing Pinellia tuber or Acorus calamus rhizome should avoid eating mutton.
3. Not suitable to be eaten with vinegar
The sourness of vinegar has an astringent effect, which is not conducive to the generation of yang energy in the body. Eating it with mutton will greatly diminish its warming and nourishing effect.
4. Avoid eating with watermelon
Eating watermelon after mutton can easily "damage vital qi." This is because mutton is sweet and warm in nature, while watermelon is cold and a raw, cold food. Eating it not only greatly reduces the warming effect of mutton but also harms the spleen and stomach.
5. Not suitable to be eaten with pumpkin
Ancient Chinese medical texts also record that mutton should not be eaten with pumpkin. This is mainly because both mutton and pumpkin are warming foods, and if eaten together, it can easily cause "heatiness." By the same logic, when cooking mutton, you should also use less of the pungent, warm, and drying seasonings like chili, pepper, ginger, cloves, and fennel.