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Source: Zhōu Pǔ 粥谱

Ingredients

• Xiān dōng guā (鲜冬瓜 Benincasae Fructus Recens, fresh winter melon) 80–100g
• Jīng mǐ (粳米 Oryzae Semen, non-glutinous rice)

Actions: Disinhibits urine; disperses water swelling; clears heat; eliminates heat vexation.

Indications: Water swelling, distension and fullness, and inhibited urination (including edema due to acute and chronic nephritis, ascites due to cirrhosis of the liver); summerheat-heatwith vexation and oppression, dry mouth, and thirst; lung heat with cough a cough and panting.

Method: Wash and dice the winter melon (with skin), and boil together with the rice. If fresh winter melon is not available, use 10–15 gr of dried winter melon seed.

Rationale: Winter melon, in the past often called wax gourd in Chinese cookbooks and on restaurant menus, is a common summer, autumn, and, as the name suggests, even winter vegetable in almost all parts of China, most frequently used to make soups. The seeds are prized for their lung-moistening action and the skin is used to treat water swelling. The whole gourd (or white gourd) is cool, and bland or slightly sweet. It enters the lung, large and small intestine, and bladder channels. It disinhibits water and disperses phlegm, as well as clearing heat and resolving toxin. It contains protein, sugar, fiber, inorganic salts, calcium, phosphorus, iron, carotene, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B2 and C. Its sodium content is explains its use as a diuretic and its use in the treatment of kidney disease and obesity.

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