食疗（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.

吴宇琛，澳洲政府注册中医师、针灸师，五龙岗大学心理学学士、悉尼科技大学中医系学士，擅长用传统针灸理伤手法和中药治疗各种新旧损伤痛症，特别采用中医中药和现代心理学、营养学相结合调理治疗各种慢性病和亚健康。

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.

白粥是粤菜中最简单却又重要的一道菜。它通常作为早餐，作为能量和饱腹感的绝佳来源，即便每天都食用的话，也可以根据个人所需而添加其他的食材来变换不同的口味，这所有变化的基础就是白粥。当家里有人患上嗜睡和流感等让人感觉虚弱的疾病时，白粥就是首选食物，因为它很容易消化，而且味道不会太重而引起恶心。我母亲经常做的一件事是煮一大锅白粥，然后把它放在慢炖锅中，这样可以保持温热而不用再重新加热，而且这一锅足够吃到病痊愈。当我们身体逐渐恢复之后，才可以在这基础上加入其他味道丰富的食材，例如猪肉、鸡肉和青葱。

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.

从西方营养学角度来看，粥具有与中医角度所描述的相似的健康特性。粥的主要好处之一是由于烹饪时使用的水量能够为身体补充水分。米在煮熟时也会分解并变软，这对于消化系统较弱的人来说是完美的选择。

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，归胃、脾经。大米本身味甘，有滋阴补气的作用，入脾胃后，还能补充脏腑的功能，还可以益胃升卫气，助于生谷气。

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.

又因为粥的特性，以水为媒介承载味道，又具有阴性，因此给食物增添了凉润的性质。

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.

通常我们会在烹饪的时候加入一些食盐，食盐性味咸凉，因咸入肾膀胱，有利于清热解毒，比如尿路感染。这种味道可以增加食欲，并有助于消肿和滋润。

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.

这些成分各自对中焦和下焦有益，在这个配方中很明显，因为它有助于增强和调节涉及消化、转化和液体分离的器官的功能。粥的烹饪方法为煮、煨，这使得冷性食物变得稍微温暖，并通过添加水来缓和食物的整体热性。

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.

粥可以增强胃气，对食欲不振、消化问题和流感症状的人非常有益。但是另一方面大家应该记住，食用过量会加剧脾气虚湿的情况。这是因为脾主生津，脾气虚弱，就会因甘味过多而导致湿气生成过多。

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，白粥一般是在身体虚弱或因病或病愈而消化不良时吃，因为它有营养并且易于消化。一般人在体质虚弱的情况下，吃了成分复杂、味道浓重、荤腥味重的食物，可能最终会呕吐出食物，或者由于脾脏功能受损而导致进一步的消化不良（脾负责转化食物和运气到四肢）。如果继续吃这样的食物，只会让他们的食欲更差，阻碍他们的恢复能力，所以直到身体恢复健康之前，应该尽量吃一些简单的食物，比如白粥，甚至白面包应该是主要饮食。

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.

一旦身体开始显示出好转的迹象，并且消化能力可以处理更复杂和稍微油腻的食物，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干贝。干贝味甘、咸，性微温，用于滋阴、补血、补肾、健脾和胃。这种额外的成分会慢慢地增强普通粥中已有的特性，而不会给消化带来很大的额外压力。其他可以逐渐添加的成分是山药或莲子，因为它们有益于脾肾。最后则可以加入猪肉末或鸡肉末等配料，以提供额外的蛋白质和营养来源，补充气血。

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.

粥是一种食用范围极其广泛的食物，在中医食疗中占有重要地位，因为它是配合不同食材和口味的绝佳基本食物，从食疗的角度来看，只需调整和添加一些额外的东西，就可以适合大多数病理模式。添加一些其他食材，就是寒冷季节极佳的舒适食品。

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（吴宇琛中医师，澳洲政府注册中医师、针灸师，五龙岗大学心理学学士、悉尼科技大学中医系学士，悉尼好思维松轩药行主治中医师，本文仅供参考，具体诊疗应咨询专业人士。）