Introduction: During the changing of seasons, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) wellness focuses on strengthening the spleen and nourishing the heart. The heart corresponds to the color red, so eating more red vegetables in late spring and early summer can help nourish the heart. Eating red peppers can also effectively prevent colds! Today, the "Food God" is here to recommend a great red pepper dish—Stir-fried Red Pepper and Eggplant.
Just after the Start of Summer solar term, the weather is still unpredictable—chilly one moment and warm the next, with heavy dampness. In this kind of damp and clammy weather, many people, like me, are bothered by the lethargy caused by dampness and colds from temperature changes. Wellness during the spring-summer transition is also a topic that cannot be ignored! During the changing of seasons, TCM wellness focuses on strengthening the spleen and nourishing the heart. The heart corresponds to the color red, so eating more red vegetables in late spring and early summer can help nourish the heart. Eating red peppers can also effectively prevent colds! Today, the "Food God" is here to recommend a great red pepper dish—Stir-fried Red Pepper and Eggplant.
Theme: Stir-fried Red Pepper and Eggplant
Ingredients: 1 eggplant, 5 pointed red peppers, appropriate amount of ginger and scallions, appropriate amount of cooking oil and salt
Method:
1. Wash the eggplant, cut it lengthwise into strips about 5 cm long of moderate thickness. Wash the red peppers, remove the seeds, and cut them into strips. Set aside. Mince the ginger and chop the scallions into pieces for later use.
2. Bring water to a boil in a pot, blanch the eggplant strips for 1 minute, then remove and drain the water.
3. Heat oil in a wok. Once the oil is hot, add the minced ginger and scallions and stir-fry until fragrant. Turn up the heat, add the blanched eggplant and red peppers, and stir-fry continuously. Stir-fry until the eggplant becomes soft and translucent, then season with salt, stir to mix evenly, and it's ready to serve.
39 "Food God" Nutrition Tip:
1. Red Peppers Warm the Middle Jiao, Strengthen the Stomach, and are Rich in Vitamins to Resist Colds
As the name suggests, red peppers are red chili peppers, generally of two types: one is the red bell pepper, and the other is the pointed red pepper. Bell peppers are usually less spicy and more sweet, suitable for people from regions like Fujian and Guangdong who are not used to spicy food. The other type is the pointed red pepper, which is quite spicy and suitable for people from regions like Hunan and Southwest China who love spicy food.
In TCM, red peppers are pungent in taste and hot in nature. They can warm the middle jiao (stomach and spleen area), strengthen the stomach, dispel cold and dry dampness. They are used for conditions like a deficient and cold spleen and stomach with poor appetite, a cold sensation in the abdomen, and loose stools; or for dampness and cold stagnation with reduced appetite, a greasy tongue coating, body fatigue, and limb aches; or for common colds with wind-cold, chills, and no sweat. During the spring-summer transition, when dampness is heavy and colds are common, many people feel tired and sore. You might consider choosing red peppers to dispel the cold and dampness from your body to achieve the effects of relieving fatigue and resisting colds.
Furthermore, from a nutritional perspective, red peppers can remove the fishy smell from dishes. Besides their effects of warming the body, sterilizing, and increasing appetite, they are also rich in carotene and vitamin C. A single red pepper contains about 5,000 International Units (IU) of vitamin A, which can meet the daily requirement for an adult. It also contains over 100 mg of vitamin C. These rich antioxidants can neutralize harmful oxygen-free radicals in the body, which is beneficial for human health. Vitamin C can also boost immunity and resist colds. It can be said that red peppers are a top choice for fighting colds.
2. Eat More Eggplant for its Antioxidant Properties, Use Less Oil When Cooking
It is very well-known that eating eggplant can help fight aging. This is because every 100 grams of eggplant contains 150 mg of vitamin E. Vitamin E can enhance the antioxidant effect of cell membranes, resisting the damage caused by harmful free radicals to cells. Recent scientific research has found that vitamin E can protect proteins in the body related to aging, inhibit oxidative processes in the body, and slow down the aging process. Additionally, every 100 grams of eggplant contains 700 mg of vitamin P, which is 10 times that in oranges and 15 times that in apricots. Vitamin P can enhance cell adhesion, promote cell metabolism, maintain the body's normal physiological functions, and protect the vascular and circulatory system, helping to prevent freckles, dry skin, and stomatitis.
However, eggplant can bring an additional hidden concern: it is very good at absorbing oil. Eggplant doesn't taste good if you don't use enough oil when cooking it. Therefore, many households go to great lengths to "add more oil" when cooking eggplant, which results in consuming too much fat, making the cons of eating eggplant outweigh the pros. My personal suggestion is to first blanch the eggplant in hot water. Once the eggplant is softened, its oil-absorbing properties will be greatly reduced, which helps control the intake of oil.