Ever Since I was a child I was aware that my maternal grandmother brewed Chinese herbs. I was my grandmother's shadow because I was interested in food and by being next to her and a good errand girl, I could help taste a lot of food.
I have been conscious of what Foochow women take for their female disorders from the moment I was given my first "female" brew by my grandmother when I had my first menstruation : the Foochow Red Wine and fried egg soup cooked with old ginger. Grandma always had a few lumps of old ginger in her food cupboard.
When I was eating the hot soup my grandmother told me with no emotion at all that I must, from that day onwards sleep with a boy until my wedding day!! I must be very careful with boys.
The smell of Tong Gui would always remind me of that advice from my grandmother because the second month she made a special chicken soup (double boiled) with tong gui for me.
A good recipe :
Get a good free range chicken, clean it really well and double boil it with old ginger and some tong gui. Ask the Chinese sin seh for an appropriate amount for your general heath. Slow simmering for about 4 hours.
Native to China, dong qui is a tonic herb with an interesting sweet and spicy flavor. It is mostly known for its effects on the female reproductive system, but it also serves as a circulatory and liver tonic. Rarely used on its own, dong quai is often used with other herbs. However we Foochows use it alone when boiling plain chicken soup.
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