Cooking with Astragalus
Cooking with Astragalus
Chicken Soup with Astragalus
This recipe is a great way to warm up on a cold winter day, and have the added benefit of some astragalus in your diet to boost your immunity system.
What you need to get started:
• 1 small-to medium-sized whole chicken
• enough rice to stuff the chicken
• 5 to 7 chopped garlic cloves
• ginger, chopped finely – ½ inch length
• 1 bay leaf
• sea salt to taste
• garnish of dark roasted sesame oil (garnish)
• sliced green onion (garnish)
• finely chopped small Thai chili peppers (garnish)
• 2 medium sized roots of dried astragalus (can be left out if unable to find)
Method of preparation:
Remove any excess fat and skin from the chicken, and rinse thoroughly.
Stuff the inside of the chicken with rice. Using a covered pot, set the stuffed chicken into the pot and fill with enough water so the chicken is entirely covered. The water should be about 2 inches above the top of the chicken.
Add the bay leaf and sea salt to the water in the pot and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium-low to gently simmer. Now add the garlic, ginger, and astragalus. Continue to cook for about two hours or until the chicken and rice are well done.
When serving, add some of the chicken to rice and soup mixture and garnish with green onions, chili peppers – just a few as these are very hot, and dark sesame oil.
Winter Congee with Astragalus
In China, Congee (also called jook or juk) is a rice porridge that is often served for breakfast. It is frequently served to elderly or weak people, as it is easily digested and tones the body. As the taste is rather bland, often toppings will be added, such as eggs, shrimp, peanuts, ginger, soy sauce or scallion.
When astragalus is added to this recipe, it boosts the immunity, and energizes the body.
What you need to get started:
1 oz. astragalus root
1/2 cup long-grain rice
8 cups of water or stock
12 black dates, soaked and pitted
1 large or 2 small carrots, diced
1 T fresh ginger, minced
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
1 tsp. powdered cardamom seed
Method of preparation:
In a large pot, mix all ingredients and bring to a boil. Then continue to simmer until congee is soft and resembles porridge (this takes about 1 to 2 hours). Remove the astragalus root from the mixture. Enhance the flavor by adding a bit of cinnamon and butter.