食療（三）

吴宇琛

SUM WU

Sum Wu

Registered Chinese Medicine Practitioner

Bachelor of Health Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine (UTS)

Bachelor of Science Majoring in Psychology (UOW)

Specialising in pain management and mental wellbeing through Tradition Chinese medicine in combination with modern science in mental health, dieting and nutrition.

吳宇琛，澳洲政府註冊中醫師、針灸師，五龍崗大學心理學學士、悉尼科技大學中醫系學士，擅長用傳統針灸理傷手法和中藥治療各種新舊損傷痛症，特別採用中醫中藥和現代心理學、營養學相結合調理治療各種慢性病和亞健康。

Plain Congee

白粥

Plain congee is one of the simplest yet important staples in Cantonese cuisine. It is usually eating for breakfast as an excellent source of energy and filling although it can also be had for practically every meal depending on the ingredients you put in. This recipe will deal with the most basic of variations and that is the plain congee. This is the go-to food when anyone in the family came down with a debilitating illness such as lethargy and the flu as it was easy to digest and not heavy in flavour to cause nausea. Something that my mother would use to do is make up a large pot of plain congee and then leave it in a slow cooker which maintains the heat without having to return it to the stove and the quantity will be sufficient for the duration of most illnesses. As we got better more savoury ingredients such as pork, chicken and shallots may be added later.

白粥是粵菜中最簡單卻又重要的一道菜。它通常作為早餐，作為能量和飽腹感的絕佳來源，即便每天都食用的話，也可以根據個人所需而添加其他的食材來變換不同的口味，這所有變化的基礎就是白粥。當家裏有人患上嗜睡和流感等讓人感覺虛弱的疾病時，白粥就是首選食物，因為它很容易消化，而且味道不會太重而引起惡心。我母親經常做的一件事是煮一大鍋白粥，然後把它放在慢燉鍋中，這樣可以保持溫熱而不用再重新加熱，而且這一鍋足夠吃到病痊愈。當我們身體逐漸恢復之後，才可以在這基礎上加入其他味道豐富的食材，例如豬肉、雞肉和青蔥。

From the western nutritional perspective congee has been noted to have similar health properties as described from a TCM perspective. One of the main benefits of congee is the ability to hydrate the body due to the amount of water used in cooking. The rice also breaks down and becomes soft as it cooks and this is perfect for someone with a weakened digestive system.

從西方營養學角度來看，粥具有與中醫角度所描述的相似的健康特性。粥的主要好處之一是由於烹飪時使用的水量能夠為身體補充水分。米在煮熟時也會分解並變軟，這對於消化系統較弱的人來說是完美的選擇。

The main ingredient in this dish is rice. Rice is sweet in flavour and neutral in nature therefore its channel propensities lie with the Stomach and Spleen. By itself the sweetness of rice is good for nourishing the Yin and Qi and as it enters the spleen and stomach it also supplements the functions of these organs as well as boost Wei Qi via the Stomach and helps produce Gu Qi.

白粥的主要原料是米，米味甘性平，歸胃、脾經。大米本身味甘，有滋陰補氣的作用，入脾胃後，還能補充臟腑的功能，還可以益胃升衛氣，助於生谷氣。

As this is a congee, water is used as a medium to carry the flavour as well as being Yin in nature and therefore it adds a cooling and moistening nature to the dish.

又因為粥的特性，以水為媒介承載味道，又具有陰性，因此給食物增添了涼潤的性質。

Usually a bit of table salt is added during the cooking and this table salt is salty in flavour and cool in nature and is good for clearing pathogenic heat such as UTIs because saltiness enters the Kidney and Bladder. The flavour increase appetite as well as helps soften masses and moistens.

通常我們會在烹飪的時候加入一些食鹽，食鹽性味鹹涼，因鹹入腎膀胱，有利於清熱解毒，比如尿路感染。這種味道可以增加食欲，並有助於消腫和滋潤。

The ingredients individually favour the middle and lower jiao and this is evident in the whole recipe as it helps boost and regulate the functions of the organs involved with digestion, transformation and separation of fluids. The method of preparation is boiling and simmering. This makes a cool natured food slightly warm as well as moderates the overall hot nature of the dish through the addition of water.

這些成分各自對中焦和下焦有益，在這個配方中很明顯，因為它有助於增強和調節涉及消化、轉化和液體分離的器官的功能。粥的烹飪方法為煮、煨，這使得冷性食物變得稍微溫暖，並通過添加水來緩和食物的整體熱性。

Congee is very beneficial to those who are suffering from loss of appetite, digestive problems and flu symptoms by boosting Wei Qi. On the other hand it should be kept in mind that in excess it can exacerbate spleen qi vacuity and damp patterns. This is because the spleen generates fluids and if the spleen qi is weak there will be over production and build-up of damp through excess consumption of the sweet flavour in this dish.

粥可以增強胃氣，對食欲不振、消化問題和流感症狀的人非常有益。但是另一方面大家應該記住，食用過量會加劇脾氣虛濕的情況。這是因為脾主生津，脾氣虛弱，就會因甘味過多而導致濕氣生成過多。

As mentioned before plain congee is generally eaten when someone is very weak or has an impaired digestion either due to illness or recovering from illness as it is something that is nutritious and easy to digest. Generally when someone is in this weakened state eating foods that are contain complicated ingredients or strong flavours and heavy in meats, they may end up throwing up the food or leading to further indigestion due to an impaired spleen function (spleen is responsible for transforming food and transporting Qi to the 4 limbs) and forcing someone to keep eating such foods will only make their appetite worse and hinder their ability to recover so simple foods such as plain congee or even plain bread should be the main diet until they get stronger.

就像前面提到的，白粥一般是在身體虛弱或因病或病愈而消化不良時吃，因為它有營養並且易於消化。一般人在體質虛弱的情況下，吃了成分複雜、味道濃重、葷腥味重的食物，可能最終會嘔吐出食物，或者由於脾臟功能受損而導致進一步的消化不良（脾負責轉化食物和運氣到四肢）。如果繼續吃這樣的食物，只會讓他們的食欲更差，阻礙他們的恢復能力，所以直到身體恢復健康之前，應該盡量吃一些簡單的食物，比如白粥，甚至白面包應該是主要飲食。

Once they start to show signs of improvement and their digestion can handle more complex and slightly fattier foods then you can slowly introduce more flavours and ingredients. In the case for congee, the next step would be to add some dried scallops. Dried scallops is sweet, salty and slightly warm in nature and it is used for nourishing Yin, tonify blood, replenish the Kidneys and harmonise Spleen and Stomach. This extra ingredient slowly builds on the properties already present in plain congee without putting a lot of extra stress on digestion. Other ingredients that may be gradually added is Chinese yam or lotus seeds as they benefit the spleen and kidneys. Eventually ingredients such as mince pork or chicken can be added into this dish to provide an extra source of protein and nutrition as well as tonify the Qi.

一旦身體開始顯示出好轉的跡象，並且消化能力可以處理更複雜和稍微油膩的食物，那麽你就可以慢慢引入更多的口味和食材。如果是粥，下一步可以添加一些乾貝。乾貝味甘、鹹，性微溫，用於滋陰、補血、補腎、健脾和胃。這種額外的成分會慢慢地增強普通粥中已有的特性，而不會給消化帶來很大的額外壓力。其他可以逐漸添加的成分是山藥或蓮子，因為它們有益於脾腎。最後則可以加入豬肉末或雞肉末等配料，以提供額外的蛋白質和營養來源，補充氣血。

As congee is an extremely versatile dish it features heavily in TCM food therapy since it is an excellent base dish for experimenting with different ingredients and flavours and from the perspective of food therapy it is suitable for most pathological patterns just by adjusting and adding a few extra ingredients and is an excellent comfort food during the cold seasons.

粥是一種食用範圍極其廣泛的食物，在中醫食療中占有重要地位，因為它是配合不同食材和口味的絕佳基本食物，從食療的角度來看，只需調整和添加一些額外的東西，就可以適合大多數病理模式。添加一些其他食材，就是寒冷季節極佳的舒適食品。

如有疑問想咨詢小吳醫師，可以在微信或whatsapp搜索0404836368，加小吳醫師微信或whatsapp，也可以發短信或致電0404836368作語音留言，小吳醫師有空就會回復。

（吳宇琛中醫師，澳洲政府註冊中醫師、針灸師，五龍崗大學心理學學士、悉尼科技大學中醫系學士，悉尼好思维松轩药行主治中医师，本文僅供參考，具體診療應諮詢專業人士。）