Double Boiled Tian Qi 田七 Soup ("Notoginseng)

Isn't it amazing and yet scary how social media is able to collect data about your likes and dislikes, and then send you recommended posts on travel destinations, food recommendation, fashion advise etc when you open up your apps like Facebook and Instagram? 

One day, I was scrolling through my FB app when I saw a post on Tian Qi ("Notoginseng) which is purported to help your child grow taller. Intrigued (read: alert for Kiasu Mommy), I went to search online for more information about this wonder herb and found many articles and recipes relating to this.

Some main benefits of Tian Qi that I have gathered in brief are:

1. It helps to relieve pain by promoting blood circulation
2. It helps to stop bleeding
3. It aids in physical growth during puberty (Ding Ding!)
4. It is a suitable remedy for women after childbirth (due to its ability to stop excessive bleeding)
5. It is beneficial for preventing and treating heart disease

I asked around and lo and behold, those that I asked actually knew about this wonder herb and have given it to their children for consumption, either in soup or capsule form. I asked my older boy, who turns 12 this year, if he would like to try this out, and he was quite excited at the possibility of a height increase when I mentioned it to him. You see, he is one of the shorter ones in class and he does get made fun of at times.

Tian Qi can be purchased at a local Chinese medical hall. You can request for them to slice the herb and pack them into individual packs (recommended if you do not have a digital weighing scale at home).

You should pair it with American ginseng (Pao Shen) to counteract the "heaty" nature of Tian Qi. For about 100g each of ginseng slices and Tianqi, I paid slightly above S$100 after a discount which was ongoing at the time of purchase. 100g is enough to cook the soup 10 times, at a serving portion of 3 persons.

The soup has a bitter taste, with a mild sweet aftertaste.

This soup is not recommended for young children below age 10, and for women, do not take it during your menstruation period due to its ability to stop bleeding.

Doubled Boiled Tian Qi Soup (Serves 3)

Can be taken once a month or every 3 weeks

Ingredients:

10g sliced Tian Qi (Notoginseng)

10g American ginseng (Pao Shen) slices

1 honey date

2 teaspoons of Chinese wolf berries (goji berries)

150-200g piece of lean pork (soaked in boiling water for 10-15min to remove smell and scum)

1 litre of water
Salt, to taste (optional)

Method:

1. Rinse the dried ingredients, then put all ingredients including the scalded pork, and water into inner pot of the double boiler
2. Place the inner pot into double boiler and fill it with water
3. Set it to cook for 2 hours if using electric double boiler. If using stove top to double boil, cook it at medium heat, taking care to top up the water in your outer pot when it reduces. Add salt, to taste. 
4. Skim off any oil in the soup and serve it hot. Best to drink before eating your meal

Enjoy!

PS: After the older boy had his first dose of the soup, he came back from school the next day excitedly telling me that his good friend had asked him," Did you grow taller???" even though he did not tell anyone about this "magic" soup he drank. LOL!

PPS: He is a fussy eater and hates strong tasting herbal soups, but this he drank it all up, every single last drop. I suppose this is the power of motivation at work! Ha!

PPPS: The boy asked me, "Mommy, when are you making the "growing tall" soup for me again??" after 2 months had passed since his first dose. Well, he got his soup today!

For reference:

1 honey date and 2 tsp goji berries

10g American ginseng slices

10g Notoginseng (田七) slices

Place all ingredients into inner pot and add 1 litre of water