Chicken Stewed with Astragalus Rcot for Qi

SOURCE: Cookbook of Suiyuan

INGREDIENTS
Young hen   1
Astragalus root, Radix Astragali (Huangqi)    30g
Refined salt  5g
Cooking wine  15g
Scallion, Bulbus Allii Fistulosi   10g
Fresh ginger, Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens  10g
Gourmet powder ( right amount)
Pepper powder, Pulvis Fructus Piperis (right amount)

PROCESS: Kill the hen, remove its feathers, cut off its claws, get rid of-its internal organs, wash it clean and scald it in boiling water until the folds on the skin spread out; wash it in cold water and drain; have the astragalus roots washed clean and cut into sections 6 to 7 cm long (each cut lengthwise into halves); then, put them tidily in the chicken’s abdominal cavity; have the scallion and ginger washed clean and cut into sections and slices respectively; put the chicken m a small food steamer, add the scallion sections, ginger slices, cooking wine, and salt; cover the steamer tight, then, put it in a big food steamer and heat it over a strong fire to boiling point for about two hours. After taking it out from the big steamer, pick the scallion and ginger out; then, take the astragalus roots out from the chicken’s abdominal cavity, stack them on the chicken, season it with pepper powder before eating.

DIRECTIONS: It can be taken with bread or cooked rice.

EFFICACY: Replenishing qi and elevating yang; nourishing the blood and treating syndromes of deficiency.

INDICATIONS: Anorexia due to deficiency of the spleen, weakness, spontaneous perspiration, liability to catching cold caused by deficiency of qi; dizziness due to deficiency of blood; prolapse of rectum, prolonged diarrhea, prolapse of uterus and other symptoms resulting from sinking of qi of the middle-jiao. It can be used as health-improving food for those who are weak after an illness and for those who suffer from Infantile Malnutrition, Anemia, Chronic Nephritis and prolapse of internal organs. As for those who are healthy, it can be used to build up their physique and prevent them from catching cold if taken often.