Chinese drugstores witness the booming business in late autumn and winter, which are the best seasons to take tonics according to traditional Chinese medicines. During the period, our body requires extra energy and some foods like longan and ginseng have special effects.
The following are two kinds of home-made tonics made with longan.
Logan cooked with eggs
Prepare an egg and about 100 grams of fresh longan or 25 grams of dried longan pulp. Get rid of the shells and stone of longan and clear the dried pulp.
Beat the egg in a bowl and add some water. Steam the egg with longan pulp for five to eight minutes. You may add some sugar according to taste.
The egg soup is good to nurture the energy and blood. It also helps beautify one's skin.
Longan porridge
Prepare 25 grams of longan pulp, several Chinese dates, 100 grams of seeds of Job's tears and 100 grams of sticky rice.
Mash the sticky rice and pit the dates. Boil the four ingredients with water to dense porridge.
(Shanghai Star December 7, 2001)
