Recipes for the Heart

TCM maintains that the Heart not only controls blood circulation but also governs all mental activities, including consciousness and thought. The Heart is most sensitive to excess Fire. When excess Fire is lodged in the Heart, some common symptoms are chest tightness, disturbed sleep with lots of dream, red tongue tip, painful armpits and irregular heartbeat. The accompanying recipes are all reduce excess heart fire in various degrees and settle the mind.

Note: All recipes serve 2

	Lingzhi Mushroom Spareribs Soup
	Ingredients: American Ginseng 10g Lingzhi Mushroom 15g Longan Fruit 20g Red Dates 10 pieces (without pits) Salt A little Ginger Liqueur 2 teaspoons Water 10 rice bowls (2000ml) Spareribs 600g Green Onions 2 strips Fresh Ginger 2 slices Instructions: 1. Scald the spareribs with boiling water and remove them. 2. Put the spareribs into a pot along with all ingredients. 3. Bring to boil and then turn down the fire to simmer for 1 hour. 4. Add salt to taste. Comments: 1. For enhanced effectiveness, the amount of Lingzhi can be doubled. However, the bitter taste will be prominent. Chinese Wolfberries can be used to absorb some of the bitterness of Lingzhi. 2. Traditionally, Lingzhi is used to calm the mind hence useful for the treatment of insomnia.

1. Mr Lee Jok Keng for concepts, general editing and comments on the recipes.
2. Mr Jack Shea of Shea Studio for food photography.