I hope you’re getting too wrapped up in all these herb facts! Let’s talk about cooking instructions for herbs…

HERB FACT:

Che Qian Zi (plantaginis semen) should be wrapped in a gauze or a cheesecloth sack before cooking.

EXPLANATION:

Che Qian Zi is water plantain seed. It’s a small black seed.

Before cooking with the other herbs, Che Qian Zi needs to be wrapped in gauze or cheesecloth so it stays separated from the other ingredients.

There are two reasons for this:

1. It will prevent the decoction from becoming overly gelatinous (like when you soak chia seeds)
2. The seeds are so small, they can be difficult to strain out with a normal strainer

(I think using gauze or cheesecloth is a more “traditional” recommendation. In modern times, I think most people just get little teabags that you can fill and seal.)

You can maybe remember this by thinking, “CHE Qian Zi goes in CHEesecloth.”

WRAP IT UP:

This special cooking instructions applies to other herbs as well:

Xin Yi Hua - magnolia flower

Certain flowers (like Xin Yi Hua or Xuan Fu Hua) have little hairs that can easily irritate the throat. So they should be wrapped in gauze or placed in a teabag to prevent these cilia from getting into the decoction.

Wu Ling Zhi - 🐿️💩

Certain animals substances can make the decoction muddy. For example, Wu Ling Zhi (flying squirrel feces) and Can Sha (silkworm feces) should be wrapped up so they don’t dissolve.

And similarly, certain minerals should be placed in a teabag as well, just so they don’t make the decoction cloudy. This would be things like Hua Shi (talcum) and Chi Shi Zhi (halloysite, a clay mineral).

OTHER SPECIAL COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

There are actually several special cooking instructions for herbs, and they have names in Chinese:

• Pre-decocted (先煎 xiān jiān)
• Post-decocted (后下 hòu xià)
• Decocted in gauze (包煎 bāo jiān)
• Separately decocted (另煎 lìng jiān)
• Dissolved in the strained decoction (溶化 róng huà)
• Taken with the strained decoction (冲服 chōng fú)

Pre-Decocted (Decocted first) - 先煎 xiān jiān

There are three kinds of medicinal that should be pre-decocted:

1. Toxic substances should be cooked 30-45 minutes before adding the other ingredients in order to reduce their toxicity
2. Shells and minerals should be cooked 10-20 minute before adding other ingredients just because it takes longer to extract their medicinal properties
3. Lightweight substances used in a large dosage may need to be cooked first just because there’s not enough room in the pot. So they are decocted for 20 minutes and strained, and then the liquid is used to decoct the rest of the ingredients

Post-decocted (added near end) - 后下 hòu xià

This usually refers to aromatic herbs that should be added during the last five minutes of cooking. Cooking these herbs too long will destroy the volatile oils that make them effective.

(For Da Huang, the cooking time will alter the effect of the herb. For a strong purgative effect, add near the end of cooking. For a less strong purgative effect [or if you instead want to invigorate blood], cook the entire time.)

Decocted in gauze - 包煎 bāo jiān

We talked about this above

Separately decocted (cook in double boiler) - 另煎 lìng jiān

This usually refers to expensive ingredients like Ren Shen (ginseng root). In order to maximize the extraction and not waste an expensive herb, Ren Shen is usually cooked separately in a double boiler for 2-3 hours.

Dissolved in the strained decoction - 溶化 róng huà

This can refer to salts, like Mang Xiao. You don’t boil Mang Xiao in the decoction, you just stir it in at the end.

This also refers to sticky substances (like Yi Tang) and gelatins (like E Jiao, Lu Jiao Jiao, etc.). If you tried to boil these with the decoction, they would just stick to the bottom of the pot and burn. Instead, strain the decoction and dissolve them in at the end.

(E Jiao and Lu Jiao Jiao are actually pretty difficult to dissolve. I’ve always had to return the pot to the heat and keep it simmering while I stirred constantly in order for it to dissolve properly.)

Taken with the strained decoction - 冲服 chōng fú

Some expensive herbs are not decocted—they are ground into a powder and swallowed with the strained decoction (or taken as a pill).

One example is Lu Rong, which is quite expensive. So you would grind it into powder and “chase” it with the decoction, or encapsulate it into a pill and take that.

Hopefully learning all the these herb facts isn’t leaving you cooked.

We’ll see you in the next one!

(When you're ready for the next one, click the "Complete and Continue" button below.)

Source: Bensky, D. (2004). Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica. Seattle, WA: Eastland Press. pp. xxix, 277