GINseng Tonic

You know what they say: "when in Rome" or in our case when in Singapore.

Singapore is a host of many different cultures, this makes for a unique and exciting adventure virtually everyday.

 Recently I have been feeling a cold/ allergies coming on, itchy eyes, sneezing, runny nose, you know the symptoms.  Scott has been feeling a bit run down, lack of energy, bone tired by bed time.

Chinese culture is probably the biggest percentage of represented people groups in Singapore.  Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is prevelent throughout the island.  Some of our security guards at our condo freely give us TCM advice. 

Scott and I headed out this week for some quick groceries at our local Holland Village Cold Storage.  There are many different items in the isles of the grocery stores here, things we have no idea about.  I decided to stop and take at look at the Chinese tonic section of the store to see if there was anything to help us feel a bit better in our energy levels and to take away my cold symptoms before it became a full blow cold.   

I found this: Ginseng Tonic Soup package

It looks a bit scary, I don't know what most of the ingredients are but low and behold there is a little old Chinese lady in the isle next to me who was thrilled to answer my questions.  She told me that this would make us full of energy and take away the cold symptoms but I MUST add some chicken to the pot, with bone and skin.

The package states to add 500 grams of meat, about one pound. Here are the roots and herbs that were contained in the package.

Then we added a pound of chicken thighs and this is what we have

Ginseng Root:

ginseng root is used to reduce stress, increase performance and energy levels, improve memory and boost the immune system. The Chinese use it as a prevention and as a cure.

Yam Rhizome:

Yam Rhizome is used for lingering cough and asthma of deficiency type caused by deficiency of the lung or by deficiency of both lung and kidney  Chinese yam comprises of significant amounts of mucilage, which soothe mucus membranes and can serve to ease cough. It is also taken to treat diarrhea, fatigue, poor digestion, wheezing, weakness, frequent urination, and decreased appetite.

Wolfberry Fruit:

Wolf berry is also known  as goji or Chinese wolf berries The Chinese believe that the wolf berry fruit, which is high in antioxidants, calcium, iron, zinc and vitamins, can help fight diseases, reduce the risk of kidney and liver conditions

Fragrant Solomon Seal Rhizome:

Fragrant Solomon seal Rhizome is used to treat impairment of the lung due to dry heat with symptoms of dry cough with little sputum.

Red Dates:

• calms the central nervous system.
• inhibits histamine, IgE and 5-HT (serotonin).
• protects liver.
• improves strength of muscles.
• inhibits cell mutation and inhibits cancer cells.

Sounds like we should try it so we bought it, put everything into a pot with 1500 ml of water

and let it simmer for two hours.  As it simmers the broth gets a golden color and a "earthy sweet" smell to it.

After two hours of simmering, let it cool and strain out the roots, berries, chicken etc... The little Chinese lady  from the grocery store said we should just eat all of the stuff in the broth, but... we are not that brave!  We strained the broth and this is what the tonic looks like after straining.

I have been taking a ladle full of this tonic every day for four days now, it is an "earthy sweet" tasting broth that is soothing.  My cold symptoms have gone away, I have energy and I feel great. 

Since it has been four days and nothing "weird" has happened to me, Scott decided today to take a cup of the tonic.  Hopefully it will help with his low energy levels.  Time will tell.

I think it is important for us to take advantage of the opportunities to lean new things while we are in Singapore.  We are finding it fun and challenging to understand new cultures.