According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, fresh raw radish has a spicy flavor and a cool nature. Cooked radish has a sweet taste, a neutral nature, and affects the lungs and stomach meridians. Radish is used to treat various ailments.
 |
Radish (Photo: People’s Daily) |
White radish is the root of the radish plant. In addition to using the root as food, the leaves can also be used (for boiling or pickling). Radish can be prepared in various dishes: thinly sliced for pickling, boiled for soup, stewed with meat, stir-fried with eggs or meat, made into salads, pickled in fish sauce, and eaten year-round. It can also be dried for preservation to make pickled vegetables.
Radish has numerous properties and benefits. The most significant focus is on its medicinal uses for the respiratory system (cough, asthma, phlegm, shortness of breath, chest tightness, hoarseness, loss of voice, coughing up blood, tuberculosis) and for the digestive system (such as epigastric pain, acid reflux, vomiting, indigestion, bloating, constipation, hemorrhoids).
Additionally, it helps treat certain urinary conditions caused by damp heat (such as infrequent urination, painful urination, cloudy urine, and kidney stones); metabolic diseases (obesity, stagnation, diabetes…); blood disorders (promoting blood circulation, preventing bleeding during urination, tuberculosis); and has a special detoxifying effect in cases of poisoning from carbon monoxide, gas, alcohol, and ginseng.
According to modern medical research, every 100 grams of radish contains: 93.5g of water, 0.06g of protein, 0.1g of fat, 5.3g of total sugars primarily in easily absorbable forms (glucose, fructose); essential minerals like calcium (32mg), phosphorus (21mg), iron (0.6mg), manganese (0.41mg), bromine (7mg)…; vitamins from the B group such as B1 (0.02mg), B2 (0.03mg), niacin (0.3mg), vitamin C (25mg), and many amino acids.
We would like to introduce some experiences using radish as both food and medicine:
Phlegm relief, respiratory support, cough reduction, and spleen nourishment. Here are some medicinal dishes (radish cakes) that can be prepared:
Recipe 1: 500g white radish, 500g wheat flour, 2g monosodium glutamate, 1g ground pepper, 50g canola oil, 5g salt, 15g sesame oil, 300g meat.
Clean the radish and shred it. Stir-fry briefly in canola oil, then mix in monosodium glutamate, salt, pepper, and meat to create the filling.
Recipe 2: 250g white radish, 15g fresh ginger, 50g canola oil, 250g wheat flour, 15g onion, 100g lean pork, 3g salt. Prepare as above.
Recipe 3: 125g white radish, 50g white onion (remove green leaves), 60g chicken egg, 5g sesame, 500g wheat flour, 50g sugar, 60g salt, 5g monosodium glutamate, 25g sesame oil, lard. Prepare as above.
Treating cough and weakness
1kg white radish, 1kg pear, 250g fresh ginger, 250g milk, 250g honey. Peel and core the pear, clean and chop the radish and ginger. Place each ingredient in a muslin cloth and squeeze out the juice separately. Boil the radish and pear juice until it thickens, then add the ginger juice, milk, and honey, stirring evenly and bringing it back to a boil. Once cooled, store in a sealed jar for later use, taking one tablespoon mixed with hot water to drink. Take twice a day.
Treating pulmonary tuberculosis (with chest tightness and coughing up blood): Fresh radish extract.
1kg fresh radish, 1kg fresh pear, 500g fresh rehmannia, 1kg fresh lotus root, 500g fresh ophiopogon, 1kg fresh rhizome of common rush, 100g fresh ginger. Boil all ingredients for 30 minutes, strain the juice, boil again, then concentrate into an extract and add the following: 500g donkey-hide gelatin, 500g rock sugar, 500g honey, cooking until thick, then store in a jar. Take twice daily in the morning and evening. Each dose is two tablespoons (3ml) mixed with warm water or gradually swallowed.
Dry mouth, bitterness, and constipation: Eat stir-fried radish with garlic.
Treating hoarseness, loss of voice with fresh radish juice, crushed or pressed. If cold-sensitive, mix with fresh ginger juice to sip gradually. Radish can also be made into jam. Combining with mung bean juice enhances effectiveness, and pairing with garlic is also good, though garlic has a strong odor.
For gallbladder pain: Slice radish into finger-thick pieces, soak in light or white honey (avoid dark brown honey). After drying, soak in honey again and dry once more, then eat the honey-soaked radish.
For jaundice and edema: Boil 60ml of radish juice to drink instead of tea daily.
Treating mouth ulcers due to heat: Crush radish to extract juice for gargling.
Treating dysentery (heat dysentery): Crush radish for juice with a little honey, boil together to drink on an empty stomach in the morning.
Diabetes: 200g radish, 50g regular rice, 50g sticky rice, cook into porridge. Eat hot, twice a day, for several consecutive days.
Urinary retention due to heat accumulation: 200g fresh radish, 100g onion, 50g regular rice, seasonings, 300ml water. Cook porridge until soft, then add onion and radish. Boil again. Eat twice a day on an empty stomach.
Support for cancer treatment:
– Lung cancer with coughing up blood: 50ml radish juice, 15g rock sugar, steam together, one dose daily.
– Esophageal and stomach cancer with vomiting: Crush radish to extract juice, add water and honey, boil. Alternatively, mix radish juice with honey for daily consumption.
