As winter arrives, people start to miss the steaming hot mutton hot pot. Many people enjoy eating mutton in the winter, as it is highly nutritious and has many health benefits. However, eating too much mutton can easily lead to "heatiness" (上火). So, how can you eat mutton dishes to be less prone to this issue?
The Nutritional Value of Mutton
Mutton is one of the major meat consumed and an excellent food for nourishment in the winter. Its meat is tender and delicious in flavor, rich in nutrients, and contains less fat and cholesterol than pork and beef. Eating mutton in the winter can provide the dual benefits of nourishment and cold prevention. Mutton is easily digested, and eating more can improve physical fitness and disease resistance. Whether stewed, braised, or roasted, mutton has a fresh and savory flavor. Pastries, buns, and snacks made from mutton are also exceptionally delicious. Mutton has a unique "gamey" smell, mainly because its fat contains phenol components. Once the fat is removed, the mutton will no longer have this smell.
How to Eat Mutton Without Causing "Heatiness"
1. Eat more cool-natured vegetables.
Mutton is warm in nature, and eating too much can easily lead to "heatiness". Traditional Chinese medicine advocates the principle of "treating heat with cold" in diet therapy. When having a mutton hot pot, it is best to pair it with cool-natured and mildly sweet vegetables. Cool-natured vegetables include winter melon, loofah, rape, spinach, cabbage, enoki mushrooms, mushrooms, lotus root, water bamboo shoots, and bok choy. Vegetables like sweet potatoes, potatoes, and shiitake mushrooms are mildly sweet in nature.
[Sichuan] Spicy Mutton
2. Use less pungent and heating seasonings.
Ginger is used to remove the gamey smell and is essential when cooking mutton, which is unavoidable. However, for pungent and heating seasonings like chili and Sichuan peppercorns, it is best to avoid them as much as possible. A clear mutton soup without chili is preferable, and it's also best to avoid hot pot, as mutton hot pot is the most likely to cause "heatiness".
Related Reading: A Complete Guide to Cooking Mutton
The Benefits of Eating Mutton in Winter
Mutton is warm in nature. Regularly eating mutton in the winter not only increases the body's heat to resist the cold but also helps increase digestive enzymes, protect the stomach wall, repair the gastric mucosa, aid digestion, and has anti-aging effects.
Mutton is rich in nutrients and is very beneficial for tuberculosis, bronchitis, asthma, anemia, postpartum deficiency of both qi and blood, abdominal cold pain, physical weakness and aversion to cold, malnutrition, soreness in the lower back and knees, impotence and premature ejaculation, and all types of "deficiency-cold" illnesses. It has the effects of tonifying the kidneys and yang, and replenishing deficiency and warming the middle, making it suitable for regular consumption by men.
Radish Stewed with Mutton
So, what are the taboos to consider when eating mutton?
Taboos for Eating Mutton in Winter
Should not be eaten with vinegar:
The sour taste of vinegar has an astringent effect, which is not conducive to the generation of yang in the body. Eating it with mutton will significantly reduce its warming and nourishing effects.
Avoid eating with watermelon:
Eating watermelon after mutton can easily "damage vital energy" (伤元气). This is because mutton is sweet and warm in nature, while watermelon is cold and a raw food product. Eating it together not only greatly reduces the warming effects of mutton but also harms the spleen and stomach.
Should not 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 heating foods. If eaten together, it can easily cause "heatiness". By the same logic, when cooking mutton, one should also use less of pungent and heating seasonings like chili, pepper, ginger, cloves, and fennel.
Related Reading: A Complete Guide to Cooking Mutton
Mutton should be avoided by those with certain conditions:
Those who frequently suffer from canker sores, red eyes, a bitter taste in the mouth, irritability, a sore throat, swollen gums, or those with diarrhea, or those taking traditional Chinese medicine formulas containing Pinellia or Acorus Tatarinowii, should all avoid eating mutton.
Avoid eating with tea:
Tea is the "nemesis" of mutton. This is because mutton is rich in protein, and tea contains a significant amount of tannic acid. Drinking tea while eating mutton can create tannic acid protein, which slows down intestinal motility, reduces water in the stool, and can subsequently induce constipation.
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