Hormone Balancing Chinese Red Bean Soup for Period Cramps

8 ingredientsPrep: 12 hrs, 10 minsCook: 50 mins
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Alice SunJan 30, 2023

I first turned to Chinese medicine for help with my horrible monthly cramps that would leave me with cold sweats from the pain. Over-the-counter pain medication was there when I really needed it, but I was truly searching for a long term solution. After seriously adopting and committing to acupuncture and diet changes that my Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner advised me with, I slowly started seeing results.

Ingredients (8)

Instructions

  1. Soak the lily bulb (3–4 pieces) and raw adzuki beans (¼ cup) overnight

  2. The next day, add the lily bulb (3–4 pieces) and soaked beans (¼ cup) into a pot with the tangerine peel (1 piece)

  3. Pour in the water (2 cups) and bring everything to a boil

  4. Cook for 30 mins, and see if the beans are soft to the touch and lily bulb can easily be cut by the edge of a spoon

    If it’s not soft enough yet, cook for another 10-15 mins

  5. Once the ingredients are cooked, add in Chinese black sugar (1 block) (or sweetener of choice)

  6. Mash the beans a bit to help thicken the soup, then add in goji berries (1 tsp) to cook for 10 mins

  7. Separately, cook the tapioca boba pearls (1 tsp) according to package instructions

  8. Once the red bean soup is done, take off the heat and scatter on some osmanthus flowers (1) for garnish

  9. Mix in the tapioca (1 tsp) and enjoy!