Pickles and Tea Blog

I’ve always believed in the healing power of food. And since I’ve been sick several times this past winter, I’ve had many opportunities to harness their benefits.

Here are my top 3 favorite healing foods:  

1. Ginger

My mom’s spicy ginger tea does wonders to clear my sinuses and lungs when I’m ill. Some studies also indicate that this natural remedy is good for relieving menstrual cramps and motion sickness. Plus, I was chewing on lots of candied ginger when I was pregnant to help with nausea and morning sickness.

2. Garlic

Garnished with ample amounts of fried garlic and ginger, my friend Pranee’s healing pork and shrimp rice soup or kao tom moo, always gives me relief when I have a cold. But don’t just take it from me. Experts propose that garlic’s sulfur compounds are likely to boost the immune system and help fight infection. 

3. Chicken soup or congee

When I’m sick, sipping warm liquids such as soup, congee or tea soothes my sore throat and helps ease congestion. Bonus points if it’s mom-made! And research suggests that chicken soup contains anti-inflammatory properties that may help prevent a cold’s miserable side effects.

Now that the dreary winter has morphed into sweet spring, I thought this would all be behind me. Alas, I’m stuck with a cold weather souvenir–a lingering sinus infection. And we all know what a good round of antibiotics can do to our digestive system. Prevention is better than cure, so in defense, I bought myself a huge tub of yogurt.

Then, I was lamenting about my ill fortune (no pun intended) to a friend and she suggested eating sauerkraut and kimchi. Both are lacto-fermented products and beneficial for the digestive system. Why hadn’t I thought of that?

I rushed to H-Mart and came home with a huge jar of kimchi, among other things. I always end up with more items than I intended to buy at the Asian market!

The most common type of kimchi is baechu, Chinese cabbage kimchi, usually made with garlic, ginger, onion and red pepper. It contains the bacterium lactobacillus kimchii as well as other lactic acid bacteria that are said to benefit the gastrointestinal track and the immune system.  

I like to eat kimchi as a condiment with rice or plain as a snack. I also like to toss it into savory pancakes or stir-fry it with meat and/or tofu. But the easiest, no-fuss recipe I’ve found is to make kimchi fried rice.  If you want to cook with kimchi, add it toward the end of cooking and avoid overcooking it to prevent the loss of beneficial enzymes and bacteria.

Further research revealed that other Asian food products such as miso, natto and tempeh have probiotic properties too. I’ll save those for next winter–I hope I won’t be requiring relief any earlier than that!

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What foods give you comfort when you’re sick?

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