Pork liver stir-fried in black sesame oil (麻油炒豬肝)

What the tradition says

The tradition holds that 豬肝能「化血」, that it breaks down and expels 污血/惡露, that 麻油暖宮 and that 米酒活血; the Hong Kong framing is 排惡露、暖宮. No mechanism or evidence was located for any of these. Clinically liver is valued for iron and B12, which is the opposite framing, building blood rather than breaking it down.

After a caesarean

剖腹產媽咪不建議使用米酒入菜，尤其傷口若還有發炎時，會使傷口癒合情況不佳; rice-wine dishes are delayed 7 to 10 days, and 產後7天內傷口若有紅腫、疼痛時，禁止吃麻油酒煮食物, forbidden in the first seven days if the wound is red or painful. Whether wine in food impairs a caesarean wound is not established; the reasons not to eat this dish after a caesarean that are established are the alcohol exposure and the retinol load.

Ingredientsserves 2

Method

1. Heat the sesame oil and fry the ginger to light brown, then remove it.
2. Flash-fry the liver over high heat.
3. Add rice wine and bring to the boil.
4. Return the ginger, kill the heat immediately and eat hot.
5. Note that this method (wine added near the end and boiled briefly) sits at the high end of the USDA alcohol-retention range of about 5% to 85%. Only long, uncovered simmering approaches the low end.

Also cooked then

Five reds soup, red-skin peanut, red date, adzuki bean, goji and brown sugar (also 五紅粥)Chinese yam and pork rib soup (淮山排骨湯)Dripped chicken essence

Information only. This page records a food tradition and is not medical advice. Recovery differs for everyone. If you are breastfeeding, recovering from a caesarean, taking medication, or feeling unwell, speak to your doctor, midwife or a registered practitioner first. Full statement