菊花山楂枸杞子茶

Cooling herbal tea to lubricate your lungs and helps to replenish fluid in your body in this horrendous weather.

Chrysanthemum to ward off body heat
Wolfberry for eyesight
Hawthorn to increase appetite

Mix all dry ingredients and boil till fragrant.  Add rock sugar and serve chill

SOUR PLUM DRINK

The sour plum drink eliminates toxic from your body and aids in digestion.  What better way to quench your thirst in this scorching weather.

Boil water in a medium size pot.  Add in handful of hawthorns, 4-5 pieces of liquorice roots, 4 dried sour plums and rock sugar when water boils.  Boil liquid in low fire for 1/2 an hour.  Switch off fire and cover pot till tea becomes cold.  Refrigerate to drink or serve it with ice.

Hawthorn is a bright red edible fruit that looks like tiny apple and is often candied as snack, especially love by children.  It is aromatic and sweet and sour in taste.  It is a herb that improves peripheral circulation and stabilizes the heart rate, blood pressure and coronary blood flow.  It acts as a diuretic and an antioxidant.

Dried sour plum is an appetizer and aids in digestion.

Liquorice root is sweet and neutral in nature.  It tonifies the Qi in the internal organs, expels heat, detoxifies and relieves cough.  It treats fatigue, sore throat or food poisoning.  It also moistens the lung and moderates the action of other herbs.  It works as an acid neutralizer and soothes stomach ache, has healing effect for inflammation and allergy.

AMERICAN GINSENG TEA

I feed ginseng tea to my children during exam time as I am particularly concern about their health.  I wanted to make sure that they are not stressed out and tired.  They are make to drink the tonic tea before bedtime or on an empty stomach before breakfast.

American ginseng, wolberry seeds and licorice root
Put all into boiling water and simmer for 30 mins over low heat
Add in salt, stir well and turn off heat

American ginseng is bittersweet and cold in nature.  It tonifies the qi and expels the heat.   It is suitable for those who are under stress and tire.

TONIC

When my children are having exam I will feed them tonic to counteract fatigue and stress.  American ginseng double-boiled with pig brain and other Chinese herbs is the common concoction brewed.

There are many grades of ginseng.  The best type comes from Chang Pai Shan region of China.  It is the most expensive grade and only consumed by the rich and famous.  The Chinese ginseng is considered to be a super tonic effective for invigorating the body's energy, strengthening the heart, nourishing the brain and relieves general body weaknesses.  It is best double-boiled with hot water and consumed.

The American ginseng is grown mainly in the temperate belts of the USA and Canada.  It is especially effective for treating fatigue, excessive smoking, drinking irritability and restlessness.  My mum used to boil this tonic for my father who was a heavy smoker.

Korean ginseng is rated second best to Chinese ginseng.  It is good for stimulating blood circulation, for post-natal nourishment, improving eyesight and nourishing the brain, which is suitable for my DH.  During my pregnancy and confinement I was fed this tonic often and my babies are all healthy and strong.  The ginseng should be stored in a cool dry place in a glass bottle with raw rice for preservation.  This can be kept for a very long time.

I was a very weak and sickly child when young and remembered my mum used to feed me Korean ginseng.  It was why she fed me the tonic when I was pregnant so that my babies will be strong and healthy.  She would put 2 small pieces of ginseng in a sauce plate and scooped a few teaspoons of boiled rice water over them, and then placed the plate on the rice in the steamer and steamed till the rice was cooked.  I was fed the tonic and the ginseng was used again for second round.  Only adult or elderly should consume Korean ginseng as they are not suitable for healthy children.

To double boil put the ginseng in an earthenware pot with a cover.  Add water till three-quarter in the pot to the ginseng and place the earthenware pot in a stand inside a large casserole with boiling water, cover and boil over slow fire for three to four hours.

The roots are cooked twice to extract all the essence.

Never cook ginseng in metal container as the roots lose their potency.  It is wise to store it in non-metal containers and to cook it in earthenware or ceramic pots.

EIGHT TREASURES HERBAL DRINK

This is a cooling tea which helps to detoxify and cleanse your body system.

Ingredients :
Carrot, sugar cane, celery, water chestnuts, corn, lemon grass, ginseng roots and sweet dates.

Prepare all ingredients and boil for 1 hour. Add honey to sweeten if necessary. Best to drink it without sugar.

CHRYSANTHEMUM & WOLFBERRY TEA

From the months of May to August is hot-dry season thus one tends to get sick easily.  When the weather changes, people easily contract common colds and coughs.  Drinking more soup and herbal tea can help boost immunity and strengthen the body.  During these months I will boil plenty of clear soup and herbal tea for my family.

Herbal tea assembles herbs and natural ingredients for maintaining health or for curing of ailments. The process of making tea with herbs is simple and long-time consumption can strengthen the body.

Wolfberry fruit with chrysanthemum tea is cooling.  It soothes the heart, brightens vision, diminishes liver-heat, detoxifies and lower blood pressure.  It is best consumed when the body feels "heaty".

Chrysanthemum is aromatic and clear heat as well as detoxify.  There are 2 types of chrysanthemum. Yellow chrysanthemum and white chrysanthemum.  Yellow chrysanthemum is more suitable for flu caused by heatiness.  White chrysanthemum is generally used for clearing heat, brightening vision and nourishing the lungs.

Wolfberry fruit is for nourishing blood and vitality, and defying aging.  It also dilates blood vessels, lowers blood cholesterol and sugar and strengthens immunity.  It is good for treating failing vision, fatigue, weak limbs and diabetes.

Rinse white chrysanthemum and wolfberries.  Boil water over high heat and add in ingredients and rock sugar.  You can add a handful of ginseng threads if you like the taste of ginseng (lower quality of ginseng which is shredded to slivers).  Boil tea for 1/2 an hour.  Remove from heat.  Steep for 20 mins, covered.  Serve.