Another herb "Kei Ji"

This red little herb is very commonly used in Chinese cuisine. It is generally believed to have the effect of slowing down the aging process (something to do with free radicals; some reports even say the herb's anti-aging effect has been proven, I don't know).

It is not an essential ingredient in the fishhead soup. But in the book which I referred to, it is recommended to include a small amount of it in making the soup.

I followed that recipe from the first time I cooked the soup. There are in fact variations in the precise recipe for fishhead soup described in different reference books. The most important ingredients that must be use, as mentioned in all reference books, are head of bighead carp and Tin Mah. Some recommend other herbs to go with them. I happened to follow the relatively simply recipe of using "Kei Ji" along with the fish head and Tin Mah the first time I cooked it, and it worked extremely well in reducing my TN pain.

Later on, I did try some variation. Instead of Kei Ji, I once used some other herbs along with Tin Mah and fishhead. I did not feel any difference in the effect; and I didn't like the smell of those other herbs. Therefore I returned to using Kei Ji and recommend it here.

The amount of Kei Ji to be used in cooking one dish is about 12 grams, which is roughly the amount shown in the first two photos. (Anyway no need to be very precise.) The method of preparation is simple. Just rinse and then soak in water for several minutes; drain away the water and basically the herb is ready for cooking.

This morning I further searched some Chinese website on health tips and found the following recommendation in the way to prepare Kei Ji for cooking: soak it with concentrated sea salt for 5 minutes in order to remove any preservatives. I'm not sure about the truth in this method ; but I guess it is harmless to do so. I'll do it next time I cook the soup.

Kei Ji is not expensive at all. The small amount used in cooking a dish probably costs HK$1.5 or US 20 cents (I didn't really bother to remember the exact cost in buying the Kei Ji.)

With the exception of some really expensive herbs (some are indeed outrageously expensive), many of the herbs used in cooking Chinese therapeutic food are not very expensive. When we buy them in the market, our main concern is whether the product is of good quality. We even worry if it is authentic or fake. (Sometimes they make fake products in the mainland of China from where all the herbs come from.)

In the case of Kei Ji, indeed there have been reports of fake product. Real Kei Ji is the fruit of some plant. (A small fruit indeed.) If you cut it open, you can see those tiny little seeds inside, as in the last photo. The Chinese characters in the same photo stand for the name Kei Ji. The three little Kei Ji here look a little darker in colour, probably because they have been soaked and I have tried to dry them with kitchem paper (for the purpose of dissecting them for photo-taking).

When rinsing Kei Ji, don't rinse it so hard as to crush it (thus making all the seeds come out.) Only rinse it gently. (The water may become a little reddish. That's normal.) After cooking, the seeds will all come out. Let that happen during cooking, not by your washing beforehand.

Recently I heard a radio interview featuring a local celebrity aged over 70. When asked how he kept his youth, he answered he ate a teaspoon of Kei Ji (steamed) each day. I myself never paid attention to such things in the past. If I had, maybe I would have less wrinkles and better complexion now. Too late.

Anyawy, with TN, beauty (or rather, lack of it) is not something that bothers me. There's nothing more important than fighting the demon and preventing it from happening again (or when it comes back, let it not be severe). For TN patients, other problems in life drawf in comparison with the illness.

Last night I had dinner gathering with some old friends. I felt so happy for being able to chat and laugh freely. When one of my friends was unhappy and agitated over some minor things, I said "How about a free trial of TN? That will make you forget your unhappiness now."

(Next posting will be the main cooking process of the soup. )

Addendum: About the English and scientific names of Kei Ji, the following is obtained from Wikipedia:

Wolfberry - commercially called goji berry - is the common name for the fruit of two very closely related species: Lycium barbarum (Chinese: 寧夏枸杞) and L. chinense (Chinese: 枸杞; ), two species of boxthorn in the family Solanaceae (which also includes the potato, tomato, eggplant, deadly nightshade, chili pepper, and tobacco). Although its original habitat is obscure (probably southeastern Europe to southwest Asia), wolfberry species currently grow in many world regions. Only in China, however, is there significant commercial cultivation.
It is also known as Chinese wolfberry, goji berry, barbary matrimony vine, bocksdorn, Duke of Argyll's tea tree, murali (in India),red medlar or matrimony vine. [1] Unrelated to the plant's geographic origin, the names Tibetan goji and Himalayan goji are in common use in the health food market for products from this plant.

Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Asterids
Order:
Solanales
Family:
Solanaceae
Genus:
Lycium