Longan porridge

How much do you know about longan porridge? Let me introduce it to you.

The ancient Chinese have long used longan for health care and treatment, believing it to be a nourishing medicine with the effects of replenishing qi and blood and calming the nerves. It can treat insomnia, forgetfulness, palpitations, weakness, maternal edema and other symptoms.

"The outer robe is golden in color, and the inner skin is white jade. When it is cut, it will all turn into a disk, and each one is a luminous pearl."

——Song Yu, a Ming Dynasty writer, painter, calligrapher, and seal engraver

Longan is a subtropical perennial evergreen tree that originated in China and mainly grows in Fujian, Taiwan, Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou and southern Sichuan. Depending on the variety and the growing area, the longan tree is usually more than 100 years old, and the fruit matures from July to October every year, and the fruit age is 70 to 80 years. The ancient Chinese ate longan very early and planted it. The "Shennong's Herbal Classic" of the Eastern Han Dynasty said: "Longan is also called Yizhi, and grows in the valleys of the South China Sea." The "Book of the Later Han" records: "The seven counties of Jiaozhi presented longan, and longan has been a treasure since the Han Dynasty." The South China Sea and Jiaozhi mentioned in the Han Dynasty are equivalent to the Lingnan area of ​​Guangdong today.

Longan has many aliases, such as Longmu, Lizhu, Yizhi, Yuanyan, Guiyuan, Mipi, Litchi Slave, and Chuandanzi. Some documents record the origins of some aliases. The Compendium of Materia Medica in the Ming Dynasty said: "Longan and Longmu are pictographs." The Tang Dynasty's Records of Strange Things in Lingbiao explained Litchi Slave as "Lychees are ripe when longan is ripe, so people in the south call it Litchi Slave."

The ancient Chinese have long used longan for health care and treatment. They believe it is a good tonic medicine with the effects of replenishing qi and blood and calming the nerves. It can treat insomnia, forgetfulness, palpitations, weakness, maternal edema and other diseases. Longan flesh can be eaten alone or made into longan paste. For example, the "Yuling Paste" recorded by Wang Shixiong, a doctor in the Qing Dynasty, in "Sui Xi Ju Diet", is a steamed medicine made of longan flesh and white sugar (about 1/10 of the amount of longan flesh). It is said that its effect is "greatly replenishing qi and blood, and is more effective than ginseng and astragalus". It can be taken with boiled water to treat people with insufficient qi and blood, and is considered to be very suitable for women before giving birth. Longan can also be combined with other drugs to form a variety of prescriptions for therapeutic purposes. Among them, the "Guipi Decoction" recorded by Yan Yonghe, a doctor in the Song Dynasty, in "Ji Sheng Fang" has the effects of strengthening the spleen and nourishing the heart, replenishing qi and blood, and is still a famous prescription commonly used in health care and medical treatment.

In addition, longan flesh and other foods can be made into a variety of foods. For example, eight-treasure rice and eight-treasure porridge are well-known desserts, while longan lotus seed soup, longan and red date soup, longan red bean soup, etc. can also be used for dietotherapy.

Modern scientific experiments have shown that longan meat is rich in glucose, riboflavin, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and selenium is particularly prominent. It also contains more sucrose, tartaric acid, niacin, choline, protein and dietary fiber. It is reported that longan meat is likely to contain substances that delay aging. Therefore, eating longan meat in moderation in daily life is beneficial to the body. However, traditional Chinese medicine believes that people with indigestion, thick and greasy tongue coating, red and sore throat, toothache, and yin deficiency and internal heat should not eat longan for the time being.

In addition to using longan pulp for health care and medical treatment, Chinese medicine literature also records the therapeutic effects of longan kernels, longan shells, and longan leaves. Longan kernels are calcined and ground into fine powder (called "Lizhu Powder"), which is used for external application to local wounds to stop bleeding, relieve pain, and reduce scars after healing. "Compendium of Materia Medica" records that 6 longan kernels and 14 peppercorns are ground into fine powder and can be used to rub armpit body odor. Longan shells are calcined and ground into fine powder, mixed with tea oil to make a paste, which can be used for external application to treat burns and skin ulcers that do not heal for a long time. In addition, longan leaves are boiled and used for external washing to treat sores and swellings.

The wood of the longan tree has a fine texture, is hard and durable, and has a pleasing purple color. It is a superior material for carving handicrafts.