街市THE WET MARKET
Green radish
青蘿蔔
clears heateases indigestionresolves phlegm下氣生津
A long radish with green shoulders and pale-jade flesh, milder and sweeter than white daikon. Scrubbed and cut with the skin on, it anchors clear old-fire soups, most famously alongside carrot, or with dried tangerine peel and duck in the classic pairing.
TCM properties
Nature · cooling Flavour · sweet、pungent Meridians · lung、stomach
Traditional food therapy
In Cantonese food therapy green radish is used to clear heat, ease stagnation and transform phlegm; tradition keeps radish apart from ginseng-type qi tonics, which it is said to counteract.
Cautions: read first
- Take care if you have a weak, cold spleen and stomach
- Combination restriction: do not eat radish while taking qi-tonic herbs such as ginseng, American ginseng or astragalus (北芪), as it breaks up qi and cancels their effect
Preparation
Wash and cut into pieces with the skin on.
Origin
Northern China (Tianjin green radish is the famous one); the stock sold for soup is mostly grown in the south. In-store item at Australian Asian greengrocers; rarely online
Availability in Australia
Easy to find
