Traditional medicine suggests that catfish is effective for nourishing blood, regulating menstruation, enhancing skin complexion, and treating back pain, knee aches, dizziness, and nocturnal emissions. Additionally, this type of fish helps treat nosebleeds, sexual dysfunction, and alleviates cold symptoms.
According to traditional medicine, catfish has a sweet flavor and a warming nature, providing benefits such as nourishing yin, stimulating appetite, promoting milk production, and acting as a diuretic. Here are some simple medicinal dishes made from catfish:
Kidney tonic, spleen strengthening, blood nourishing, and menstrual regulation (for spleen and kidney deficiency), blood deficiency, irregular menstruation, symptoms of dark circles under the eyes, pale skin, loose stools, and nocturia: Use 2 catfish (about 250 g), 150 g of black beans. Clean the catfish by removing the gills and intestines, then cut each fish into 3-4 pieces. Rinse the black beans. Simmer the black beans with enough water, then add the catfish and cook until done. Season and serve hot.
Spleen strengthening, kidney toning, blood circulation enhancement, treats dark circles, improves skin moisture; alleviates back pain, knee aches, dizziness, tinnitus, nocturnal emissions in men, and menstrual irregularities in women: One catfish weighing 500 g, 12 g of safflower, 160 g of black beans, one piece of dried tangerine peel. Clean the catfish, remove the intestines, rinse, and let it drain. Rinse the safflower and put it in a bag, roast the black beans until cracked. Boil 0.5 liters of water, add all ingredients to the pot, cover, and simmer on low heat for 2 hours until the beans are soft. Serve hot. Pregnant women and those with yin deficiency and excessive heat should avoid this recipe.
Blood nourishing, lung moistening, qi toning, enhances rosy complexion, and promotes hair health: One catfish weighing 500 g; 300 g of pork ribs; 16 g of dong quai; 12 g each of wild yam, mulberry leaves, and fresh hyacinth beans; 8 g of almonds; 20 g of codonopsis; 2 slices of fresh ginger. Clean the catfish, cut the pork ribs into bite-sized pieces. Mash the ginger and marinate the catfish and ribs. Place the herbs in a cloth bag and add to a pot with 1 liter of water, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, then remove the bag, add the catfish, and cook for another hour. Serve hot.
Sexual dysfunction: 1-2 catfish, cleaned of slime and guts, keeping the head intact, which is essential, rinsed thoroughly and drained. Soak 40 g of black beans in water for 4-5 hours, then drain. Heat oil in a pan, add the catfish with 2 pieces of ginger and garlic, then add the black beans and a bowl of water to boil. Reduce to low heat for one hour until the beans and fish are tender. Season to taste; this dish is excellent for those who do a lot of mental work.
Tinnitus and poor eyesight: One golden catfish weighing about 300 g, a handful of green amaranth, and a handful of purple amaranth. Cook the amaranth soup, then cut the catfish into pieces and add it when the soup is boiling. Once the fish is cooked, remove from heat, let it cool slightly, and serve. You can also prepare catfish soup with water spinach similarly.
Insomnia, loss of appetite, and numbness in hands and feet: 400 g of catfish, 200 g of green black beans and sticky green beans, one piece of dried tangerine peel, 20 g of job’s tears, 20 g of glutinous rice, a little sugar, salt, shallots, coriander, and ground pepper, all finely ground and cooked into a porridge.
Asthma: One catfish weighing 200 g. Clean the catfish thoroughly, removing the guts, coat it with the sap of prickly pear, and grill over hot coals, eating one at a time, multiple times.
Nosebleeds: Clean the catfish, removing all innards, and marinate the whole fish with salt and soy sauce. Cook rice until it’s nearly done, place the fish on top to steam it thoroughly. When eating, flake the meat and mix it with rice. Alternatively, follow the same preparation, but cook the catfish meat with porridge. It can be eaten with perilla leaves by mixing them into the porridge. Consume three times a week.
Diabetes: Cook catfish soup with white water spinach, enough for daily consumption. Repeat every few days for a month.
Heat relief and cold alleviation: Clean the catfish, cut it into pieces, or keep it whole, marinating in ginger water, turmeric, fermented rice, shrimp paste, salt, and fish sauce. Heat oil in a pan, sauté shallots until fragrant, add the catfish, stir briefly, then add water to submerge the fish and cover, simmering on low heat until the fish is tender. When the fish is cooked and the water has evaporated, add scallions and Vietnamese coriander. Serve hot with rice.
Dr. Phó Thị Thu Hương, Health & Life
