Zhi Ke Tang - 止咳汤

Since the Weather is changing very fast during these few months, it's good to drink this herbal drink regularly to relieve cough and strengthens functions of respiratory system. You can have this at least once or twice a week like normal herbal drinks.



Ingredients: (serve 3-4)
40g Sweet & Bitter Almond(南北杏)
2 Ju Bing(桔饼)
15g Chuan Bei Mu(川贝母)
10 Dried Figs(无花果)
6g Gan Gao(干草)
5-10g Dried Chrysanthemum(菊花)
1-2 Tablespoon Dark Brown Sugar(optional)

Methods:
1. Roughly rinse the ingredients then add in add around 1.5 litres of water and boil for 1 – 2 hours under low heat and serve.
2. Or you can transfer everything to a slow cooker and simmer on Auto Function for 2 hours.

Notes: You can get those dark brown sugar in chinese medical hall, it's good to use them in herbal drink as it had some detoxify function according to some old folk tale. If not, just add in some rock sugar if you want it to be sweeter.
Chuan Bei Mu(川贝母)
It’s bittersweet in taste and slightly cold in nature. It clears Heat, moistens the Lungs, eases coughing, expels phlegm, cures oedema and promotes the flow of Qi and blood. It is commonly used in curing Qi-Asthenia in the Lungs, prolonged coughing, lung pain, breast pain and scrofula.

Dried Chrysanthemum(菊花)
Cool and slightly cold; sweet and bitter; attributive to lungs and liver. It can lower blood pressure; improve vision due to kidney and liver dysfunction; clear internal heat; eases swelling and inflammation; nourish blood. Also effective for vertigo, headache with fever and for eye aches or itchiness.

Dried Fig(无花果)
Makes stomach active, improves flow in the intestines, clears constipation.

Gan Cao(干草)
It’s naturally sweet and warm, no toxins which helps to circulates around 12 major blood vessels in body. It also strengthens spleen and benefits energy, moistens lungs and calms coughing, slows and cures pain forms classic medicine flavour.

Ju Bing(桔饼)
It Promote energy circulation; strengthen spleen; relieve coughing; help digestion and relieve cough.

Sweet & Bitter Almond(南北杏)
Sweet almond tastes sweet and is of neutral nature. It does not carry any toxic element, and heals coughing. Bitter almond tastes bitter and is of warm nature. It carries slight trace of toxic but heals coughing and expels sputum. Mixing the two together will make a soup that clears the Heat, moistness internal Dryness and avoid coughing.