Dried Longan Benefits In TCM

There is a saying in ancient times that in the North, they have ginseng and in the South, they have longan. This means that the tonic effect of longan is comparable to that of ginseng.

Dried longan is best known for its blood and qi tonic effect. This means it is very suitable to the following:

• People feel weak (after illness, surgery or giving birth).
• People who having difficulty falling asleep.
• People who tends to be forgetful.

Dried longan has a warm thermal nature. This means over-consumption will lead to heatiness. It is recommended to only consume 10g of dried longan.

In the record of TCM, dried longan is beneficial to the heart and spleen.  And in respect to TCM, the heart also mean our mind. And dried longan has a claming effect to the mind (heart) and this is why it helps people in falling asleep.

If you want to be more specific on what types of people can consume dried longan, you can take the TCM body constitution test. And if your body constitution is blood deficiency or qi deficiency, then you are generally ok to take dried longan.

People Who Are Not Suitable To Take Dried Longan

In general, if you are having flu symptoms, then it is best to avoid dried longan.

Also avoid eating dried longan if you are having sore throat.

The following body constitution types are not suitable to eat dried longan too:

• Tropical
• Phlegm and dampness
• Yin deficiency

How To Prepare A Morning Porridge With Dried Longan

The following is a simple recipe for morning porridge that I make from time to time.

Its main benefits is to energize, provide qi and blood boosting to our body. It also has some effect of calming the mind and hence, improving sleep quality.

It is suitable for people who feels lack of energy, can’t sleep well and can help in strengthening the back and legs too.

Ingredients (for 2 pax):

• Dried longan (10g)
• Red dates (3 to 5 pcs)
• Chinese chestnut (100g)
• Rice – feel free to add some mixed grains too (1 cup)

Steps:

1. Wash and rinse the dried longan.
2. Remove the seeds inside the red dates and cut it into small slices.
3. Wash the rice and bring it to boil. Note: You will need quite a bit of water here because we are cooking porridge. For me, I add as many as up to 6 cups of water to 1 cup of rice.
4. Once the rice starts to boil, put in dried longan, red dates and chinese chestnut (I use those instant snacks ones so it needs minimum cooking). Wait till it boils again then bring the fire to smallest and let it simmer for 15 to 20 mins. Then it is ready to eat!
5. As I am using thermal cooker, I only let it simmer for 4min then remove from heat and put inside the thermal pot and let it retain the heat for one hour before eating. I find that using thermal cooker is very gas efficient, instead of having the need to simmer on fire for 15 to 20min, I just need to let it sit inside the thermal pot for an hour. And thermal cooker does not require any electricity or fire to work!

I hope you find this post useful! Let me know if you have any questions.