Simple and effective
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
Often touted as a cure for the common cold in China, it is indeed a cure for cold.
I’m not taking about the sneezing, body aches, sore throat, run down cold (although it would not hurt). What I’m talking about is winter in southern China where it is colder inside than outside. Where the damp slides into your bones as the cold pulls the heat from your flesh. Cold as in shivering. Cold as in two pairs of long underwear, three shirts, a fleece coat, hat and there is still the desire to crawl under a thick quilt. Or two.
Southern China has no heat. But, it does have ginger and dates.
Old Mother Ginger tea is a popular winter drink in Taiwan as well. Spicy like over fizzy cola, it is made from the root of winter harvested ginger, combined with red dates, brown sugar and slow cooked into a thick syrupy delight. It has an incredible ability to chase cold out of one’s body, as it improves the circulation, warms the internal fire and will burn that damp from the bones.
Here in Guangzhou at the beginning of the Chinese new year, with a dampness like that of Taipei and a temperature just 20 degrees above Beijing’s high for the day, a warm bowl of ginger, red date and brown sugar soup makes all the difference in the world.
As for the “common cold,” taking this at the very first sign of the shivers, and then bundling up to get a light sweat can save one a few miserable days in bed.