Jade Screen Carrot-Ginger Soup

Cold and Flu season is already upon us- so stay warm and strengthen your immune system with Chinese herbs as a stock for this delicious carrot/ginger soup.

You’ll need:

3 tbls. olive oil, 2 cups chopped yellow onion, 4 garlic cloves minced, one 5″ piece of ginger chopped, 1 tbls. dried basil or a handful of chopped fresh, 10 medium carrots, peeled and sliced thinly, 1 thinly sliced yellow finn potato, juice of half a lemon, 1 tbls. tamari, freshly ground pepper, 3 tbls. cilantro (save a little for garnish), 5 cups chicken or veggie broth and finally 1 cup of the Jade Screen formula i.e. 9 grams ea. of Astagalus, Atractylodes and Siler. (HuangQi, BaiZhu & FangFeng).

This is what you do:

Soak the herbs in 2 cups of water for 20 minutes while you start slicing your carrots and prepping the other ingredients. Start the flame under the herbs and bring up to a boil then down to a simmer for 30 minutes. Strain and set aside. Next heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and sautee over high heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the basil carrots and potato and cook for 5 minutes. Add the herbs and broth, cover the pot, reduce heat and simmer until the carrots are soft, 30-40 minutes.

In a blender or food processor, blend the soup and herb formula until smooth and return to the stove. Add the lemon juice, tamari and pepper to taste. Stir in the cilantro and simmer another 5 minutes.

Now you are ready to garnish and serve your therapeutic soup as you imagine a protective jade screen shielding you from cold and flu season.

Historical Note: This formula “Yu Ping Feng San” -The Jade Screen Decoction has been used traditionally to strengthen the Spleen Qi (digestive energy) and to boost the Lungs’ ability to spread the “protective Qi” to the surface of the body.

Contributed by Laura

八珍湯 Ba Jen Tang, Eight treasure tonic

八珍湯 Ba Jen Tang, Eight treasure tonic

This formula it a combination of “Si Wu Tang四物湯” and “Si Jun Zi Tang四君子湯”, very good blood and qi tonic. So might be a good tonic after menses. In general, after the period finished(no bleeding anymore), take for 7 to 10 days. Because this tonic not just tonifying blood but also regulate blood, it should not be taken during period, otherwise will cause too much bleeding.

This soup can be take along, but I like to use this formula to make chicken soup. It’s got strong flavor, so it would be better to start with smaller amount.

1.人參或黨參 Ren Shen or Dang Shen 3 qian: Qi tonic.

2.白朮 Bai Zhu 3 qian: Harmonize blood

3.茯苓 Fu Ling 3 qian: Strengthen the spleen, leaches dampness.

4.當歸 Dang Gui 3 qian: Blood tonic, harmonize blood.

5.熟地黃 Shou Di Huang 3 qian: Nourish Yin and blood.

6.白芍 Bai Shao 3 qian: Harmonize blood.

7.川芎二錢Chuan Xiong 2 qian: Invigorate blood, move qi.

8.甘草 Gan Cao 1.5 qian錢半: Strengthen the middle, harmonize stomach.

9.紅棗Hong Zao 2 qian二錢: Strengthen spleen.

10.生薑Shen Jiang 3 piece三片

Besides these four herbs, you can also add some “Gou Qi Zi枸杞子” for better flavor also tonify the Liver, adding some sweetness, or even some Qi tonic herbs such as “Huang Qi黃耆”. And of course this formula can be adjusted for individual constitution.

Herb Note:

地黃Di Huang:There are 2 kinds of “Di Huang地黃”, one is raw(“Sheng Di Huang生地黃” or “Sheng Di”), another is roasted(“Sho Di Huang熟地黃”, or “Sho Di”). For those who tend to run cold, cold hands/feet, or deficiency type, use roasted(“Sho Di Huang”, or “Sho Di”). For those who with deficient heat, dry mouth, thirsty or gets acne with period, use raw(“Sheng Di Huang” or “Sheng Di”). Raw(“Sheng Di Huang” or “Sheng Di”) is often classified in clear heat/cool blood category, and it also nourish Yin, generates fluid, cool ascending heart fire. While roasted(“Sho Di Huang”, or “Sho Di”) is classified as herbs that tonify blood.

Chen Pi chicken

Because we just learned this herb "Chen Pi", which is Aged tangerine peel.

Ingredients:

1. Chicken(about 1.5 lb)

2. 5 star anise(Ba jiao)

3. 10 dried chili pepper

4. 2 big spoons of Chen Pi

5. 0.5 tea spoon brown pepper corn(Hua Jiao)

6. 4 tea spoon sesame oil

7. 1.5 tea spoon sugar

8. 1 tea spoon fermented rice(Tian Jou Niang, )

9. 1.5 tea spoon sherry wine(or rice wine)

10. 3 tea spoon soy sauce

11. 1 tea spoon dark vinegar

12. 2 tea spoon salt

13. 8 cups of fried oil

14. 1 tea spoon MSG(this recipe was from a cook book published in 1970s, yes, people use a lot of MSG in cooking.......we've tried, it tastes so good without MSG)

Methods:

1. Clean the chicken and remove big bones. Cut the chicken in to large pieces. Marinate in soy sauce, sherry(rice wine), salt for half an hour.

2. Heat up the oil, fry the chicken for 3 minutes until turning to light golden color.

3. Heat 3 T sesame oil, add stars anise, dried chile pepper, chen pi, hua jiao, pan fry until them turn to brown. Add 3 cups of water and the fried chicken.

4. Add 1 T salt, 1.5 T sugar, 1 T soy sauce, 0.5 T sherry(rice wine), and 1 T fermented rice. Turn to mid-heat and set until the sauce almost dry out.

5. Add 1 T dark vinegar and 1 T sesame oil, mix well before serve.

Notes: This can be served as a cold dish.

Chen Pi: this spicy, bitter and aromatic herb enters the Lung, the Spleen and the Stomach. It regulates Qi and improves transportive function of Spleen, adjusts middle, relieves diaphragm. It also dries damp and transforms phlegm. And helps to prevent food stagnation.

It is very good to cook with greasy food or meat for helping the digestion. And most important of all, it's so tasty.

Gretchen found this recipe from a cook book published in 1970s. For the first time she only uses half of everything, and a bit more Chen Pi, and the result was great! So why not create your own Chen Pi chicken from this recipe?