Medicinal Bone Broth Recipe for Period Cramps

Growing up bone broth was often used as a tonic by my family to treat various “imbalances” in the body. For example, that nagging cough that stays on after getting a cold or even treating those nasty period cramps. That’s because traditional Chinese medicine uses food and herbal ingredients to rebalance the energies in your body. Now, each body has a different energy composition and to be exact there are actually 9 different body types. I’ll be sharing more information on how to identify your body type, so make sure to sign up as an IG subscriber!

Now on to the recipe for this medicinal bone broth:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of short ribs

• 2-3 garlic cloves

• 2 tbsps soy sauce

• 1 tsp of salt

• 1/2 turnip, cut into bite sized pieces

• 1 onion sliced into quarters

• Herbal ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp mai dong 麦冬 (aka dwarf lily turf)

  • 4-5 pieces of dried kelp

  • 2 pieces of huang qi 黄芪 (aka astralagus root)

  • 1/4 cup lotus seeds 蓮子

  • 4 pieces of dried mushrooms (mostly for flavor)

• 8 cups of water

• Garnishes:

  • Egg strips

  • Seaweed

  • Kimchi

  • Cilantro or scallions

  • Vermicelli noodles

Instructions:

• Soak the ribs in cold water for 20 mins to help remove as much of the blood and impurities

• Place the cleaned ribs in a clean pot with cold water and 2 scallions

• Set the pot to boil and let the ribs cook for about 5 mins once it’s reached boiling

• While you’re waiting for the ribs to boil, add the dried medicinal herbs to a bowl and wash with water

• Once the herbs are cleaned, cut up your turnip and onion. Simply peel the garlic as you’ll just be using the full clove — no need to dice or cut.

• Once the ribs are done boiling, drain, then wash to remove the scum

• Place the cleaned ribs into a clean pot along with the 6 cups of water, onion, garlic, turnip, and dried ingredients. Season with the soy sauce and a tsp of salt.

• Bring to a boil and cook on high for 1 hour and remove the turnips so they don’t fall apart

• Then lower the heat to medium/low and let it cook for another hour

• In the last 5 mins, add in your vermicelli noodles to the pot to cook quickly

• Serve in a bowl with garnishes like fried egg strips, scallions, kimchi, and seaweed