“If you don’t detox after the beginning of Heat, your body will remain congested.” After the beginning of Heat, frequently eating these 3 types of vegetables can detoxify and remove dampness, leaving you feeling refreshed!
As the old saying goes, “Detoxify after the beginning of Heat to avoid congestion in the body.” The three periods of Heat are the hottest and most humid time of the year, also the peak of Yang energy. During this time, the body’s metabolism accelerates, various cells in the body become abnormally active, sweat production increases, leading to issues like fatigue, loss of appetite, poor sleep, and digestive problems. This is because the hot and humid weather causes stagnation of dampness in the body, resulting in discomfort, serving as a signal from the body to remind us to detoxify and remove dampness.
In our daily diet, there are many ingredients for detoxification and dampness removal. By selecting seasonal ingredients, we can prepare delicious and nourishing dishes, aligning with seasonal dietary habits to help us detoxify and remove dampness, indulge in seasonal delicacies, and feel relaxed and comfortable. So, what dishes can help detoxify and remove dampness? Let’s find out together!
1. Shiitake Mushrooms.
Shiitake mushrooms are a familiar type of fungus, belonging to the Liver and Stomach meridians. We all know that shiitake mushrooms are very nutritious, but what many people don’t know is that they also have a high efficacy in removing dampness and replenishing qi, especially wild shiitake mushrooms, which show the most significant effects. Additionally, consuming shiitake mushrooms is beneficial for replenishing qi, nourishing yin, and benefiting the stomach and lungs.
Recommended Dish: [Braised Chicken with Shiitake Mushrooms]
Main Ingredients: Shiitake mushrooms, chicken thighs.
Seasoning: Cooking oil, salt, scallions, ginger, garlic, cooking wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, spices.
Instructions: 1. Cut the chicken thighs into small pieces, blanch in a pot to remove impurities, wash them clean, and drain. Clean the shiitake mushrooms, remove the stems, cut them into small pieces, slice the ginger, garlic, and chop the scallions.
2. Heat cooking oil in a pan, caramelize the sugar, add the chicken thighs, stir-fry until colored, then add all the seasonings and continue stir-frying until well mixed. Add water and shiitake mushrooms, stir-fry evenly.
3. Bring to a boil, simmer on low heat until the meat is tender, then increase the heat, add sugar to thicken the sauce. Once the sauce reduces, remove from heat.
2. Bitter Gourd.
Among many vegetables, bitter gourd stands out for its remarkable dampness-removing effects. In traditional Chinese medicine, bitter gourd is bitter in taste and cool in nature, entering the Heart, Liver, Spleen, and Lung meridians, it is rich in effective components like quinine, offering various functions such as clearing heat, removing dampness, improving vision, and detoxifying. It can help eliminate internal dampness, release heat toxins, treat abscesses, and alleviate prickly heat symptoms.
Recommended Dish: [Stuffed Bitter Gourd with Minced Pork]
Main Ingredients: Pork, bitter gourd.
Seasoning: Salt, scallions, cooking wine, light soy sauce, wolfberries, starch.
Instructions: 1. Wash the pork, cut it into chunks, mince in a food processor, season with salt, scallions, cooking wine, light soy sauce until well mixed. Wash the bitter gourd, cut off the ends, slice into equal lengths, remove the pith and seeds.
2. Stuff the prepared minced pork into the bitter gourd, top with a wolfberry, steam in a steamer until cooked.
3. In a bowl, add a pinch of salt, light soy sauce, and starch, dissolve in water, pour into the pan to thicken, drizzle the thickened sauce over the bitter gourd, sprinkle with chopped scallions, and serve.
3. Daylily.
Daylily is known for its brain-enhancing properties, but it also has excellent dampness-removing effects. It contains rich nutrients such as vitamin C, amino acids, calcium, carotene, etc., with functions like diuresis, strengthening the stomach, nourishing yin, calming the mind, and reducing swelling.
Recommended Dish: [Stir-Fried Daylily with Eggs]
Main Ingredients: Daylily, eggs.
Seasoning: Cooking oil, salt, scallions, cooking wine.
Instructions: 1. Soak the daylily in cold water to remove impurities, then wash and blanch it.
2. Crack two eggs into a small bowl, add scallions, salt, and cooking wine, beat well. Heat oil in a pan, pour in the beaten eggs, scramble until set, transfer to a plate.
3. Add more oil to the pan, stir-fry the daylily rapidly until coated with oil, add some soy sauce, then add the scrambled eggs, sprinkle with a little salt for seasoning, turn off the heat, and serve.
This is the end of the sharing about the dampness-removing foods to eat during the three periods of Heat. Do you like consuming these foods? How would you make them more delicious? Feel free to leave your comments in the comment section and share your thoughts. Let’s learn together!
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