What are the top secret recipes for Chinese medicinal spices in brine?

Basically every restaurant has its own braised delicacies, and the key to making braised delicacies lies in the brine. The production of brine is very particular, and the combinations of each family are also very different. The different side ingredients and main ingredients will result in different brines. Common medicinal spices used to make brine include sweet cabbage, cloves, star anise, fennel, etc.

1. Sweet Cabbage

Sweet cabbage is a fluffy, dark-brown root spice commonly used in spicy hot pot soups or braised dishes. People in Chengdu call it vanilla, and people in Chongqing call it fragrant cabbage. In fact, it should be called sweet cabbage, also known as sweet cabbage fragrant. Sweet cabbage has a spicy smell, similar to the strong smell of turpentine. It has the effects of regulating qi and relieving pain, relieving depression and invigorating the spleen. It is used as a traditional Chinese medicine to treat chest and abdominal pain, stomach pain and vomiting, loss of appetite and indigestion. Adding this spice to spicy hot pot soup or marinade will give it a strong aroma. However, you should pay attention to the amount. The amount used at one time should not exceed 5 grams, otherwise the aroma will be "cloying".

2. Clove

Clove, also known as male clove and young clove, is the flower bud of clove. The dried product is often used in cooking. It has a strong fragrance and a tingling and numbing taste on the tongue. It is pungent and warm in nature, and has the effects of warming the stomach, stopping hiccups, dispelling wind and relieving pain. The amount used in cooking should be within 1 to 2 grams, and never use more.

3. Star Anise

Star anise should be called star anise, also known as big anise, big anise, and August beads. This is a spice that people are more familiar with. Its characteristics are fragrance when smelling and slightly sweet when tasting. It is pungent and warm in nature, and has the effects of warming the middle, stimulating appetite, dispelling cold and treating hernia. It can be used in hot pot, braising, and brine cooking. Since some people like its fragrance while others are annoyed by it, it is more flexible in usage, and 5 to 10 grams is appropriate.

4. Cumin

Cumin is also called fennel, fragrant silk, Huaixiang, and wild fennel. It is cultivated in most parts of the country and is familiar to people. Its fresh stems and leaves are commonly used in cooking to make fennel beans, fennel-stuffed dumplings, etc. Its ripe fruits are like small rice grains or cumin, with a unique aroma. Used as a spice, it is widely used in braised dishes, brine, and spicy hot pot. The dosage can be increased appropriately in hot pot, such as 10 to 20 grams or more. In terms of medicinal use, it is pungent and warm in nature, and has the effects of promoting qi and relieving pain, strengthening the stomach, and dispelling cold.

5. Amomum villosum

The fruit of the grass fruit, a plant of the ginger family, has a strange and unpleasant taste. It has a warm nature and pungent taste, and has the effects of drying dampness and strengthening the spleen, removing phlegm and warming the middle, expelling cold and resisting malaria. It can be crushed or used whole in cooking, and it tastes especially good when used as a spice when roasting or braising beef. Don’t use too much cardamom in spicy hot pot and brine, 3 to 5 pieces are more appropriate.

6. Amomum villosum

Amomum villosum, also known as spring Amomum villosum and Yangchun Amomum villosum, is the mature fruit of the plant Amomum villosum. It tastes astringent and smells fragrant. It has a warm nature and a spicy taste. It has the functions of promoting qi, relieving fullness, strengthening the stomach and digesting food. It is used to treat stomach and abdominal bloating and pain, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, enteritis, dysentery, fetal movement disorder, etc. Do not use too much when using it in hot pot and braised dishes, less than 3 grams is appropriate.