Chinese Herb – Asian pear with Chinese almonds

My friend apologies for his cough. But as one subjected to spells of dry cough, I empathise with him. Long nights of poor sleep, chest pains from trying to get the phglem out, and being self-conscious that you’re irritating your friends with the incessant coughs.

My trusty solution for dry coughs…

Double-boiled Asian pear with Chinese almonds- supposed to strengthen the lungs. An alternative recipe is White Fungus stewed with rock sugar and Chinese almonds/ red dates. White fungus tastes like plastic sheets to me, so I’m not a fan. But Hong Kongers love it for good complexion.

I’ve a soft spot for Chinese alternative medicine.  After my face broke out with acne in my twenties moving back to Singapore, and facials etc did not help. Someone told my mom to boil Lotus root with black beans (and pork) soup. Coincidentally, my cleaning lady told me the same thing. After drinking for 4 times, my face cleared. Lotus root helps to dispel toxic. (Poison is the word my cleaning lady used, and it sounded scary enough.) I’m not sure the scientific explanation, and even if it can be proven by the FDA. But I’m a convert with personals stories to tell.

Back to the double boiled Asian pear with Chinese almonds. It makes delicious dessert or lovely light summer drink whether drank chilled or warm.

Chinese Kong pear with Chinese almonds

 

Pear can be purchased from any supermarket. About S$2 for 3 pears.   It doesnt work with green western pears.  Asian pears are delicate yellow with brown freckles.

 

 

Recipe
1 Asian pear (Ya pear or Kung pear) – remove skin, quarter it, and remove core. Put it in double boiler with Chinese almonds, otherwise known as North-South almonds.

If you like it sweet, add rock sugar. I don’t add sugar coz the Asian pear carries a fragrant delicate sweetness which is masked by the rock sugar.  The Koreans have Asian pear made into canned juices.

Short-cut: put everything in crock pot and simmer for 3 hours until soup tastes of the pear’s sweetness.

Dry cough heals after drinking for 5 days. But the phlegm needs to be out of the way first, i.e. when it prolongs to the dry-cough stage. The remedy doesn’t work with wet cough and if your phlegm is greenish. That, according to my family physician, is caused by bacteria versus the whitish phlegm caused by virus.

Chinese medicine heals the body and a is slow healing process.  I usually will visit the doctor, and after my phlegm is gone, consume the asian pear soup when I’m bothered by the dry cough.

My sister-in-law, ever the sceptic, feels that the body heals itself through the natural course of time. And not because of the tonic. (And to throw a spanner in the works, my dad claims that he was cured from his cough while consuming durians, which proved my sister in law right. Its all in the mind.  Placebo effect!!!! :-)).  By the way, I made this remedy for my mom, and she was healed of her dry cough. Perhaps she felt the love through the soup. :-)))

In any case, its a nice dessert for the effort. You be the judge.