White dew is coming, eat less cucumber and mung beans, and eat more of the 5 white foods, follow the season, and enjoy the autumn comfortably!
“The reeds are lush green, the white dew turns to frost. The one I love is on the other side of the water.” September 7th, Saturday, the 5th day of the eighth lunar month, we are about to enter the white dew season. The most obvious feeling of white dew is that there is already a hint of chilliness in the morning and evening. People who get up early have to put on long sleeves and even jackets. In this season of temperature changes, we must pay attention to our diet. For example, the heat-relieving tools during the dog days such as mung beans, cucumbers, watermelons, cold drinks, and other cold foods should be reduced because these foods are no longer suitable for the season. Eating too much of these foods would be harmful to the body.
So, what should we eat during the white dew season? During the white dew season, it is important to nourish the lungs. The experience passed down by the older generation is: green benefits the liver, red the heart, yellow the spleen, white the lungs, and black the kidneys. Therefore, during this season, we should eat more white foods to combat the dryness of autumn. A few white foods have been shared before, today, I will share with you 5 white foods that are in season. Only by following the season can we enjoy the autumn comfortably! Let’s take a look together.
The first one: Gorgon Fruit.
Gorgon Fruit is both a food and a medicinal herb. It is also known as chicken head rice and grows in the Taihu Lake area. Autumn is the season when Gorgon Fruit matures and comes to market. Gorgon Fruit is a wonderful autumn supplement that is not harsh on the body and prevents dryness without being greasy. It is very beneficial to the lungs and is considered a valuable Chinese medicinal material. Consumption of Gorgon Fruit can also benefit the spleen, improve appetite, and enhance immunity.
Recommended dish: Gorgon Fruit Casserole
Main ingredients: Gorgon Fruit, taro, large prawns, broth.
Seasoning: Salt, ginger, cooking wine.
Cooking steps: 1. Wash the fresh Gorgon Fruit and boil in broth over high heat for 20 minutes. Peel and cut the taro into small pieces, pan-fry until golden, then set aside.
2. Remove the heads of the large prawns, peel, devein, and stir-fry in a pan. Add ginger and cooking wine, and stir-fry until fragrant.
3. Once done, add the taro and prawns into the Gorgon Fruit, season with salt, bring to a boil, and it’s ready to serve.
The second one: Button Mushroom.
The white and round button mushroom, also a seasonal produce in autumn, is rich in selenium, magnesium, zinc, calcium, and more than a dozen trace elements. It also contains carbohydrates, various vitamins, dietary fiber, protein, and other nutrients. It tastes extremely delicious, benefits the lungs, dissipates heat, protects the liver, lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, and prevents osteoporosis.
Recommended dish: Button Mushroom and Egg Soup
Main ingredients: Button Mushroom, eggs.
Seasoning: Salt, spring onions, ginger, cooking wine.
Cooking steps: 1. Wash and slice the button mushrooms, beat the eggs in a bowl, add salt and cooking wine, mix well, and set aside. Wash and slice the spring onions and ginger.
2. In a pot, add water, salt, cooking wine, spring onions, and ginger. Once the water boils, remove the spring onions and ginger and pour in the egg mixture. Once the eggs set, add the button mushrooms.
3. Bring to a boil, season with salt, sprinkle with spring onions, and it’s ready to serve.
The third one: Glutinous Rice.
Glutinous rice is a food with both medicinal and dietary values, sweet in taste and warm in nature. It enters the spleen, stomach, and lung meridians and is rich in calcium, magnesium, niacin, vitamins, and various nutrients. During the white dew season every year, families in the Jiangnan region make rice wine with glutinous rice. It is not only delicious but also has nourishing and strengthening effects.
Recommended dish: Glutinous Rice Tangyuan
Main ingredients: Rice wine, glutinous rice flour, red bean paste, wolfberries.
Seasoning: White sugar.
Cooking steps: 1. Mix glutinous rice flour with warm water to form a smooth dough. Divide into equal portions, wrap red bean paste to make small tangyuan.
2. Boil water in a pot, add the tangyuan, cook until they expand and float.
3. In a bowl, add half a bowl of rice wine, place the tangyuan, add a spoon of white sugar, wait until the sugar melts, then it’s ready to eat.
The fourth one: Snow Pear.
As the saying goes, “One pear moistens three autumns.” Snow pear is an essential food for moistening the lungs in autumn. It is fragrant, sweet, crisp, juicy, and particularly suitable for consumption in autumn. Around the time of white dew, there are all kinds of pears on the market, and we must not miss out on these moisturizing and nutritious pears. However, snow pears are cold in nature. Those who have a weak spleen and stomach should avoid eating them raw and should cook the pears before consumption.
Recommended dish: Snow Pear and Tremella Soup
Main ingredients: Snow pear, tremella, wolfberries.
Seasoning: Rock sugar.
Cooking steps: 1. Soak the tremella in advance, wash, remove the yellow parts, cut into small pieces, and set aside. Peel and core the snow pear, cut into small pieces.
2. Boil water in a pot, add the tremella, bring to a boil, add the snow pear, simmer until the tremella turns gelatinous and the snow pear turns translucent.
3. Add rock sugar and wolfberries, wait for the sugar to melt completely, then it’s ready to serve.
The fifth one: Water Bamboo.
Water bamboo is one of the aquatic “Eight Immortals” in Jiangnan, commonly known as the “ginseng of the water.” It is abundant in autumn and has a crispy and tender texture with a delicious taste. It is rich in nutrients and can be cooked alone or paired with fish, meat, and other ingredients to create excellent dishes. Moreover, water bamboo is highly nutritious. Eating water bamboo in the white dew season helps with beauty, diuresis, detoxification, and nutrient supplementation.
Recommended dish: Water Bamboo Stir-Fried River Shrimp
Main ingredients: Water bamboo, river shrimp.
Seasoning: Cooking oil, salt, spring onions, ginger, cooking wine, soy sauce.
Cooking steps: 1. Peel the water bamboo, wash, slice into thin pieces, blanch in boiling water, then cool. Trim the river shrimp by removing the whiskers and legs.
2. In a wok, add cooking oil, fry the river shrimp until they change color, add spring onions, ginger, cooking wine, and soy sauce, stir-fry. Add the blanched water bamboo, stir-fry.
3. Pour in a little water, bring to a boil, season with salt, then it’s ready to serve.
That concludes the sharing of the 5 white foods to eat during the white dew season and their delicious recipes. Do you like these white foods? How do you prepare them? Feel free to leave a comment in the section below and share with us. Your feedback is appreciated. Thank you for reading, stay tuned for more culinary updates. That’s all for today, if you found this helpful, please like and share to help others discover it, and don’t forget to follow for more upcoming content.
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