Dietary Therapy for Spring Cough
For cough due to cold exposure, try Apricot-Summer Squash Cake: Use flour as needed, ferment, knead into 3–5 portions. Soak 15 g apricot kernels, remove skins, grind into powder, mix with red sugar, sprinkle on cake surface. Place 3–5 fresh perilla leaves on top, wash clean, cover the cake, steam until cooked. Eat daily 1–2 times.
For initial wind-heat cough, try Chrysanthemum Egg Drink: Beat 1 egg in a bowl. Boil 15 g chrysanthemum with 200 ml water for 5 minutes, strain juice, pour over egg, drink hot in one go.
For qi-deficient cough, try Walnut-Goji Ginseng Soup: Use 20 g walnut meat (without skin), 6 g ginseng, 3 slices of ginger, add water, simmer, extract 200 ml juice, remove ginger, add a little rock sugar. Take once daily before bedtime. Do not use if phlegm is excessive or blood appears in sputum.
For yin-deficient cough, use 30 g glutinous rice, 10 g apricot kernel, 15 g donkey-hide gelatin, 10 g stemonae root. First boil apricot kernel and stemonae root, filter out residue, use the juice to cook rice into porridge. Melt donkey-hide gelatin into liquid, mix into porridge, add rock sugar and consume.
For phlegm-damp cough, try Perilla Seed-Poria-Coix Porridge: Use 15 g perilla seed, 60 g coix seed, 15 g poria powder. Cook into porridge, consume nightly. Wrap perilla seed in clean gauze before cooking; discard the gauze when serving.