Don’t dismiss the onion porridge as rustic; it is extremely useful when you have a cold. Take 20 g of scallions with roots, 10 g of fresh ginger, and 50 g of glutinous rice, cook it into porridge, then wrap yourself in a blanket. Once you start sweating, remove the blanket, dry yourself, and avoid drafts.
There are many traditional dishes for relieving colds, used for different types of ailments:
Wind-Cold Type
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Fresh Scallions (Image: foodsubs) |
Patients experience mild fever, fear of cold, lack of sweating, headaches, body aches, joint pain, nasal congestion, clear runny nose, itchy throat, cough with thin white phlegm, minimal thirst or thirst for warm water.
Use 10 g of fresh ginger and 15 g of brown sugar. Clean and slice the ginger, then steep it in boiling water in a sealed container. After about 10 minutes, add the brown sugar, drink hot, and then wrap yourself in a blanket to sweat it out.
Combine 15 g of coriander, 15 scallions, and 9 g of fresh ginger. Clean, chop the three ingredients, and boil them for 10 minutes. Strain out the solids, drink hot, and cover yourself in a blanket to induce sweating.
Mix 25 g of fresh ginger and 50 g of carrot. Slice the ginger and chop the carrot, then boil both for 15 minutes. Strain the liquid, add brown sugar, and drink hot.
Wind-Heat Type
Patients present with high fever, slight sensitivity to wind and cold, sweating, headaches, body aches, coughing up sticky or yellow phlegm, sore throat, nasal congestion, yellow foul-smelling runny nose, and thirst.
Use 30 g of fresh mint (or 10 g if dried), 60 g of regular rice, and an appropriate amount of rock sugar. Boil the mint for 5 minutes, strain to obtain the liquid; then cook the rice until it becomes porridge. Once cooked, pour in the mint liquid and simmer for a bit, adding rock sugar. Divide into two servings throughout the day, and consume hot.
Watermelon and tomatoes in adequate amounts. Peel and chop the watermelon, then extract its juice; briefly boil the tomatoes, peel them, mash them, and then mix with the watermelon juice, stirring well to drink several times.
Use 3 heads of mustard greens, 2 bulbs of scallions with roots, and 10 g of lotus root. Clean the three ingredients, boil them for 20 minutes, and drink the liquid. Benefits: promotes sweating, relieves symptoms, clears heat, and eliminates dampness.
