🌿 Folk Prescriptions

TCM holds that autumn is favorable for regenerating vitality and renewing the body, making it the most suitable season for tonification. However, autumn tonification should select mild, non-aggressive, non-greasy, and non-drying supplements—job’s tears (Euryale ferox) stands out as the top choice.
Job’s tears, also known as "chicken-head rice," "water chicken-head," or "chicken-head bud," is a one-year herbaceous plant of the Nymphaeaceae family, growing naturally in marshes and lakes across China. Recent pharmacological studies reveal it contains abundant beneficial compounds for the human body, including proteins, calcium, phosphorus, iron, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins B1, B2, C, crude fiber, and carotene. TCM considers job’s tears sweet and neutral, entering the spleen, kidney, and stomach meridians. It possesses tonic effects: strengthens the body, boosts qi, consolidates the kidney and prevents essence leakage, nourishes the spleen and stops diarrhea, benefits the kidney and quenches thirst, stimulates appetite, and supports vital energy.
Job’s tears come in raw and stir-fried forms. Raw job’s tears primarily nourish the kidney and solidify essence; stir-fried job’s tears mainly strengthen the spleen and stimulate appetite. Stir-fried job’s tears are available in pharmacies, requiring wheat bran and precise heat control during stir-frying—difficult to prepare at home. Some also use charred job’s tears, primarily for stopping diarrhea and strengthening the spleen.
Simplest way to use job’s tears in autumn is to make job’s tears porridge: add 50 grams of stir-fried job’s tears to a pot, boil briefly, then add 100 grams of washed rice, and cook until porridge forms. Regular consumption strengthens the body, strengthens bones and muscles, and enhances hearing and vision. Another option is job’s tears paste: grind 1,000 grams of stir-fried job’s tears into powder. Take 50–100 grams of powder, mix with boiling water, and drink. Add sesame, peanuts, or walnut meat as desired. Locally, people often use 60 grams of stir-fried job’s tears and 100 grams of lean beef, cooked with seasonings until tender, yielding good results.
For elderly with weak spleen and chronic diarrhea, recommend job’s tears and adzuki bean porridge. Preparation: combine 30 grams stir-fried job’s tears, 20 grams stir-fried adzuki beans, 10 jujubes, and 100 grams glutinous rice, boil with water into porridge, consume once daily. For elderly with weak kidney qi and frequent nocturnal urination, recommend job’s tears and golden plum porridge. Preparation: use 50 grams raw job’s tears, 20 grams golden plum, and 100 grams rice, simmer slowly into porridge. For elderly with chronic bronchitis or asthma (without cold symptoms), use job’s tears stewed with old duck. Preparation: slaughter the duck, remove feathers and internal organs, clean blood thoroughly. Place 200 grams of cleaned raw job’s tears into the duck cavity, put in a clay pot with sufficient water, bring to a boil over high heat, add scallions, ginger, and cooking wine, then simmer gently for 2 hours until duck meat is tender. Season with a little salt and monosodium glutamate before serving. Eat meat and drink broth.
Additionally, job’s tears are used for weight loss and beauty enhancement. As recorded in "Zun Sheng Ba Jian," use 500 grams of raw job’s tears, tender honeysuckle stems, and dried lotus root, steam until cooked, dry in sun, then grind into powder. Take 10 grams before meals, mix with warm water to form a gruel.