Men's Health: Four Delicious Dishes with Dietary Therapy, Including Steamed Live Fish

Steamed Live Fish

Ingredients and Functions:In terms of nutritional value, fish is no less valuable than bird or animal meat. It is rich in protein, a major source of protein for the human body. There are many types of fish, and their composition varies, especially their fat content, which changes significantly with age, sex, season, and habitat. Fish meat is not only delicious and nutritious, making it an ideal meat food, but it also has medicinal value.

Ingredients:One live fish (any size), sliced ​​winter bamboo shoots, sliced ​​rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, sliced ​​cooked ham, cooking wine, MSG, salt, scallion segments, sliced ​​fresh ginger, and chicken oil as needed.

Preparation Method:Clean the live fish by removing scales, gills, and entrails. Make diagonal cuts on both sides of the fish. Drain the water and place it on a plate. Insert three slices of winter bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, and ham into the cuts on the fish. Pour in cooking wine, sprinkle with salt, then garnish the fish with scallions, ginger slices, and more wine. Steam for about 26 minutes. After steaming, remove the scallions and ginger, and drizzle with a little chicken oil.

Serving Method: Serve as a delicious dish.

Efficacy: Treats malnutrition, nutritional edema, ascites due to cirrhosis, edema in pregnant women, insufficient lactation after childbirth, vomiting during pregnancy, fetal restlessness, night sweats in children, bronchitis, asthma, general weakness, and deficiency of both qi and blood.

Kung Pao Chicken

Ingredients and Uses: Chicken is considered the king of tonics. Among meats consumed by the Chinese, pork is the most common among animals, and chicken is the most common among poultry. There are hundreds of breeds of chicken, each different from the ones produced in different regions. Its cooking methods are numerous and varied in flavor. Chicken has always held a superior position among tonics, and can be considered the king of tonics. In traditional Chinese medicine, the use of chicken for medicinal purposes has its own set of principles, with roosters and hens believed to have slightly different medicinal effects. Roosters, considered yang in nature, are good at replenishing deficiencies and are suitable for young and middle-aged male patients; hens, considered yin in nature, are beneficial to the elderly, women, postpartum women, and those who are weak and prone to illness. This may have its merits.

Ingredients: 200g chicken breast, 75g peanuts, Sichuan peppercorns, dried chili peppers, chili powder, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, scallions, ginger, garlic, cooking wine, peanut oil.

Preparation Method: Remove tendons from chicken breast and cut into cubes. Marinate with salt, soy sauce, and cornstarch. Peel and fry peanuts. Heat 100g of oil in a wok until smoking, add Sichuan peppercorns and fry until fragrant and charred. Remove from heat. Add dried chili pepper segments and stir-fry until charred. Add diced chicken and stir-fry over high heat. Then add a little chili powder and stir-fry until the oil turns red. Immediately pour in the prepared sauce (mixed with chopped scallions, ginger, garlic, 20g soy sauce, 10g vinegar, 10g sugar, cooking wine, and a little cornstarch) and stir-fry until well combined. Add the fried peanuts and stir-fry briefly before plating.

Serving Method: A common and delicious home-style dish.

Efficacy: Highly effective in replenishing qi and nourishing the body. Suitable for tuberculosis, stomach ailments, serious illnesses that severely deplete physical strength, postpartum women, and other debilitating conditions.

Dragon and Phoenix Balls

Ingredients and Uses: Shrimp is a common meat in households. There are many varieties, which can be divided into two main categories: saltwater shrimp and freshwater shrimp. Shrimp is rich in protein and has high nutritional value, making it an excellent health food. However, when cooking, care should be taken not to use too high a heat, otherwise the shrimp meat will easily become tough, and the protein will reduce its nutritional value once it coagulates.

Ingredients: 150g shrimp meat, 100g chicken breast, 75g peeled white bread cubes, a little cooking wine, salt, pepper, MSG, minced scallions and ginger, and egg liquid.

Preparation Method: After removing the skin and tendons from the shrimp meat and chicken breast, mince them separately with the back of a knife. Combine them, add all the seasonings listed above, and then add a little oil that has been fried with minced scallions. Mix well. Knead the mixture into a ball and repeatedly slap it in a bowl until it becomes sticky and gelatinous. Squeeze the mixture into balls about 2.5cm in diameter and roll each ball in a bread cube. Place the breadcrumb-coated meatballs into warm oil and fry over low heat for about 5 minutes, until they puff up. Then, fry them again over high heat until golden brown. Remove and plate.

Serving Method: Suitable for everyday cooking and other delicacies.

Efficacy: Nourishes health, tonifies the kidneys and strengthens yang, promotes fertility.

Braised Three-Color Meatballs

Ingredients and Uses: Winter melon, which comes in varieties such as oil-green, green, and white. Winter melon is slightly cold in nature, has a thick skin, and its pulp is white like cotton wool. The pulp contains seeds that can be used medicinally, known as winter melon seeds. Winter melon is rich in vitamin B, and its pulp contains dietary fiber, which aids digestion and can promote urination, treat swelling, and clear heat toxins.

Mushrooms are fungi that parasitize woody plants such as chestnut, oak, pine, and maple trees. Mushrooms are shaped like umbrellas, with a lid and a stem. They come in many varieties, varying in size, thickness, and aroma depending on the season, region, and cultivation method. Mushrooms are rich in protein, but also contain minerals and vitamins. Their freshness and aroma far surpass those of any vegetable, hence the name "shiitake mushroom" . Shiitake mushrooms are mild and appetizing, often used as an ingredient to enhance flavor and aid digestion. They are also believed to treat wind-related ailments, benefit the stomach and intestines, and resolve phlegm.

Water chestnuts are sweet and slightly cold in nature. They contain crude protein, crude fat, and starch. Water chestnuts are good at clearing lung and stomach heat, quenching thirst, improving eyesight, clearing phlegm and heat, and have other benefits.

Ingredients: 100g each of winter melon, canned mushrooms, and canned water chestnuts; a little oil, salt, and MSG; 250g of stock (fresh broth made from animal ingredients such as chicken or duck bones and minced meat).

Preparation Method: Peel and remove the seeds from the winter melon, cut it into large cubes, and then cut it into flat, round shapes similar in size to the water chestnuts. Blanch them briefly in boiling water and set aside. Heat a little oil in a wok, then neatly arrange the winter melon balls, mushrooms, and water chestnuts in the wok. Add the stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 1.5 minutes. Add salt and MSG, then thicken with cornstarch slurry. When thickening, do not stir the ingredients; instead, gently swirl the spoon to make the sauce clear. Finally, turn the entire dish over and remove from heat. Arrange on a plate and serve.

Serving Suggestion: A simple and delicious home-style dish.

Efficacy: Resolves phlegm and eliminates stagnation, clears heat and promotes body fluid production, benefits the intestines and promotes urination, enhances flavor and aids digestion, and benefits the intestines and stomach.