Chinese Yam, also known as Dioscorea, Mountain Yam, Huai Shan, or White Yam, is a medicinal herb listed in the Chinese Materia Medica. Its medicinal source is the dried rhizome of the Dioscorea plant.Chinese yam nourishes and strengthens the body, aids digestion, reduces spontaneous sweating, and stops diarrhea. It is primarily used to treat spleen deficiency diarrhea, lung deficiency cough, diabetes with excessive thirst, frequent urination, nocturnal emissions, vaginal discharge in women, and chronic enteritis with indigestion. Chinese yam is most effectively combined with Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi mushroom) to prevent and treat diabetes.
Stir-Fried Lamb with Yam
Lamb is an excellent warming tonic ingredient, offering therapeutic and restorative benefits for coughs, chronic bronchitis, and cold-type asthma. Poorly prepared lamb can retain a gamey odor, but this dish incorporates white pepper and chili peppers to eliminate that odor while creating a fragrant, rice-accompanying flavor.
Ingredients: 200g lamb, 1 yam, 2 stalks celery, 2 red chili peppers, ½ tsp salt, 3g ginger, 5 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp cooking wine, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, ½ tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 scallion, vegetable oil and white pepper to taste.
Method:
1. Slice the lamb, cut the celery into sections, slice the scallion, ginger, and garlic, and cut the red peppers into rings.
2. Peel the Chinese yam and slice it thickly. Blanch in boiling water for 10 seconds, then drain and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok. Add the lamb slices and stir-fry until just cooked through. Remove immediately.
4. Heat oil in the same wok. Stir-fry the scallion, ginger, and garlic until fragrant. Add the lamb slices, celery sections, and red pepper rings. Stir-fry briefly.
5. Add the cooking wine and Chinese yam. Quickly add the light soy sauce.
4. Add oil to the same wok, sauté scallions, ginger, and garlic until fragrant. Add lamb slices, celery segments, and red pepper rings, stir-fry briefly.
5. Pour in cooking wine and yam slices. Quickly add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, and white pepper powder. Stir-fry over high heat until well combined. Finish with a drizzle of sesame oil.
Rose Yam Puree
This dessert is simple to make yet incredibly delicious.The yam has a fine, soft texture and a mildly sweet flavor, dotted with rose petals. It not only aids digestion and removes dampness but also beautifies the complexion.
Ingredients: 500g yam, 1 small handful rose tea, 2 tbsp milk powder, 2 tbsp fine granulated sugar.
Method:
1. Steam the yam until tender. Transfer the steamed yam to a bowl.
2. While still warm, add dried rose petals and a suitable amount of milk powder.
3. Add granulated sugar to taste, mash the yam into a paste, mix thoroughly, then shape using molds.
Yam is a mountain herb and a food-medicine. It can be made into health foods and possesses medicinal value for regulating ailments.The Compendium of Materia Medica states: Yam treats all forms of deficiency and debility, heals five types of exhaustion and seven injuries, dispels wandering wind in the head and face, alleviates back pain, clears烦热 (feverish irritability), supplements deficient heart qi, opens the heart orifices, enhances memory, benefits kidney qi, strengthens the spleen and stomach, stops diarrhea and dysentery, moistens hair and skin, and when pounded fresh, can be applied to swellings and hard toxins for treatment.The formulas Jade Liquid Decoction and Nourishing Essence Decoction in Medical Synthesis of Chinese and Western Medicine combine yam with astragalus to treat diabetes and consumptive diseases with shortness of breath. Frequently brewed as tea with medicinal foods like goji berries and mulberries, it fortifies the kidneys, strengthens the body, boosts immunity, and delivers excellent health benefits.