Practice of Astragalus Congee
Release time : 03/19/2026 09:30:05
Astragalus, also known as Beishi, Mingyao, Zhi Astragalus, and Sheng Astragalus, is the root of the perennial herbaceous plant Astragalus and the Inner Mongolia Astragalus. Astragalus can be prepared into Astragalus porridge. However, do you know how to make Astragalus porridge? Astragalus is considered to be the best among all herbs for boosting Qi (vital energy). It is well-known in traditional Chinese medicine for its sweet and slightly warm taste, which enters the spleen and lung meridians, and it has the effects of boosting Qi, elevating Yang, firming the exterior, stopping sweating, promoting diuresis, and reducing swelling, as well as fostering the secretion of granulation tissue. But have you ever wondered how to make Astragalus porridge? Here's how we can prepare it! Ingredients: Astragalus, rice.
Method: 1. Take about 30 grams of Astragalus, soak it in 10 times of water for half an hour, and cook it with the water until boiling. Then simmer for 30 minutes, and use the decoction.
2. Then add an equal amount of water and boil it again, decant the decoction after 15 minutes.
3. Discard the astragalus root residue that has been boiled.
Take the three times boiled medicine decoction and put it together, add about 100 grams of rice, cook into a porridge that is.
Huangqi porridge is very strong in promoting vitality. It's best to drink it in the morning, and you will feel full of energy throughout the day.
In this porridge recipe, the amount of Astragalus is not excessive, and when combined with rice, it is quite harmonious. It belongs to a moderate tonic, and for most people during seasons of excessive dampness, it can be consumed in moderation.
Friends with weak physique and deficiency should persist in drinking astragalus porridge every day during the three-heat period to enhance qi, strengthen immunity, and avoid falling ill in autumn and winter.
Friendly reminder: When making Astragalus porridge, it's important to note that Astragalus itself should not be consumed. Instead, the Astragalus should be processed through the traditional Chinese method of "three boiling and three cooking" to extract its medicinal juice. This medicinal juice is then used to cook porridge with rice.
Astragalus is sweet and slightly pungent, but not unpleasant to the taste. Therefore, it is often used in making porridge.
Astragalus is also a tonic for qi, adept at nourishing the lung qi and aiding the spleen qi, offering significant benefits for strengthening and tonifying. Below, let's delve into the benefits of Astragalus porridge! During the hot summer days of the Three-Fold Deity period, when dampness harms qi, it is an opportune time to nourish with Astragalus. The extreme heat of this period often leads to lethargy, a lack of enthusiasm for speaking and movement, some experiencing heaviness in the body, dullness in the mind, excessive sweating, hot palms and feet, as well as swelling in legs and constipation, all of which are symptoms that necessitate the therapeutic effects of Astragalus.
Astragalus porridge is a remedy for deficiency, but it is contraindicated in cases of excess.
Patients with physical weakness, deficiencies in qi (Qi), middle-aged and elderly individuals, those recovering from major illnesses, post-surgery patients, and those undergoing chemotherapy can consume more.
Individuals with yin deficiency and hyperactivity of yang, as well as those with external pathogens, are advised against this treatment.
For instance, if you catch a cold today due to exposure to wind-cold, then you have exterior pathogenic factors. Therefore, you should not consume Astragalus porridge in the next two days.
Huangqi porridge has a long history.
In Su Shi's poetry, there is a mention of him drinking Astragalus porridge after he had recovered from a serious illness.
That year, he was thirty-nine years old and exiled to Mizhou. At that time, "sitting in a secluded place sick with illness before the ban on smoke, I have disappointed the flowers for a year," so he used "Huang Qi porridge to nourish the body after illness". This is using Huang Qi porridge to nourish the body after illness.
How to make Astragalus Porridge: Astragalus, a precious medicinal herb, is recorded in the Pharmacopoeia for its nourishing Qi and firming the exterior, as well as diuretic effects. Folk practices have long included making Astragalus-based foods during winter for strengthening and health preservation. Astragalus can be cooked into a medicinal porridge, thereby promoting physical well-being. However, many are unaware of how to prepare Astragalus Porridge deliciously. Below, we will introduce how to make Astragalus Porridge from scratch! Ingredients: Astragalus, millet, mung beans, rice, water, each appropriate amount.
Instructions: 1. Gather the ingredients: Astragalus, rice, millet, and black beans.
2. Soak the broad beans and rice in water for about 10 hours.
3. Soak the Astragalus in water.
4. Add aquam in the pot.
5. Add rice, millet, and black beans to the mixture.
Cover and cook for 2 hours.
Astragalus is also known as Northern Astragalus, Northern Sage, or Yellow Astragalus. It is one of the most commonly used traditional Chinese medicines and comes from the root of the plant of the Medicago sativa species in China's Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Heilongjiang, etc.
Astragalus has the functions of replenishing qi, solidifying exterior and preventing leakage, diuresis, toxicity removal, drainage, and scab formation.
Used for symptoms of qi deficiency and fatigue, poor appetite, loose stools, spleen and stomach descending downwards, chronic diarrhea with rectal prolapse, bleeding from the uterus, spontaneous sweating due to illness, difficult abscesses that do not heal, long-standing hemorrhage, pale complexion due to blood deficiency, internal heat with diabetes.
Warm Reminder: When consuming Astragalus porridge, it is necessary to remove the Astragalus and should not consume it.
Huang Qi Porridge: Recommended and Avoided Individuals Pharmacological studies have shown that Huang Qi is rich in carbohydrates, choline, folic acid, and amino acids, which can stimulate the central nervous system, enhance the function of the reticuloendothelial system, and improve disease resistance. However, are you aware of the recommended and avoided individuals for Huang Qi Porridge? Let us discuss the appropriate and inappropriate individuals for Huang Qi Porridge! Advantages of Huang Qi Porridge: 1. Suitable for individuals with weak constitutions and those who frequently stay up late.
2. Insufficient Qi in the middle, middle-aged and elderly can consume it, and middle-aged and elderly friends often eat Astragalus porridge to help with self-healing of the body.
3. Patients who have recovered from serious illnesses, undergone surgery, or received chemotherapy can consume more foods to replenish vital energy.
4. The majority of overweight individuals exhibit signs of qi deficiency.
For those who are both weak and overweight, drinking Astragalus porridge to nourish qi is indispensable.
The excess body fat is essentially the accumulation of metabolic waste, which cannot be metabolized. After consuming Astragalus porridge, the body's transportation function is enhanced, and the excess fat naturally has no place to settle.
Contraindications to Astragalus Powder Porridge: 1. It is not suitable for people with robust constitutions for health maintenance.
2. For individuals with a cold, fever, sore throat, and redness in the pharynx, it is not advisable to use this product.
3. Patients with excessive irritability, rapid temperament, and high liver fire should not take this product.
4. Hypertension should be used with caution; hypertension is often due to liver yang ascending, and taking Astragalus may exacerbate it.
There are claims online that Astragalus can treat hypertension; however, it is specific to certain conditions and only suitable for certain syndromes identified by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) differentiation. Self-medication is not recommended.
In the preparation of Astragalus porridge, the amount of Astragalus is not excessive and it pairs well with rice, making for a balanced nourishment. It is suitable for most people during seasons with heavy dampness. However, to create an excellent Astragalus porridge, it is essential to select high-quality ingredients. Below, we'll share with you the methods for selecting the ingredients for Astragalus porridge, as shared by Mama.com! The root of Astragalus is cylindrical, branching at some points, with a thicker upper end that ranges from 30 to 90 centimeters in length and 1 to 3.5 cm in diameter. The outer surface is longitudinally furrowed, light brown or light brownish, with uneven longitudinal grooves or creases, hard and tough with a powdery texture, with the skin yellowish white and loosely arranged.
The texture of the wood is like that of chrysanthemum flowers, and it has a fragrant aroma resembling that of soybeans with a slight sweetness.
The roots occasionally exhibit signs of decay, with black or brown discoloration and hollow areas.
The aroma is faint, the taste is slightly sweet, and when chewed, there is a faint beany odor.
Quality should be characterized by thick and long roots, distinctly colored flowers, small cavities, and few broken skins.
Red ginseng is considered of superior quality when its skin is reddish, the roots are uniform in size and shape, firm, and the powder is rich.
Specifications are generally divided into three grades according to the thickness and length.
Red Spleen is wild, root is cylindrical, mostly straight, few branched, upper end is thicker than lower end, length 10~50cm, diameter 0.6~2cm.
The surface is grey-reddish brown, with longitudinal fissures and a few root scars. The bark peels easily, revealing the pale yellow cortex and fibers underneath.
Pale and slightly translucent, either yellowish or dark yellow in color, somewhat protruding.
Hard and tough, not easily broken, with a fibrous and powdery appearance on the cross-section.
The cortex is yellowish-white, occupying about 1/2 to 1/3 of the radius. The cambium is light brown and the xylem is yellowish-brown with reticulate texture.
The odor is faint, and the taste is sweet; when chewed, there is a bitterness reminiscent of soybeans.
The characteristic can be summarized as follows: the red ginseng root is a cylinder-shaped, with a thick upper part and a thin lower part, which is reddish-brown.
The wood is hard yet flexible, with a porous texture and a yellowish-white color.
The aroma is faint, the taste sweet, and it has a bean-like odor. It nourishes the qi and reinforces the exterior, and is used for treating carbuncles and abscesses.
*The medical content involved in this text is for reference only.
In case of discomfort, it is advised to seek medical attention immediately. The diagnosis and treatment should be based on the professional assessment by a face-to-face clinician.