How long does it take to boil Chinese medicine for the second time?

Chinese herbal medicines have been widely used nowadays. When you buy medicine in a pharmacy, there is usually a free decoction service, which greatly facilitates many working people. After all, boiling Chinese medicine is too time-consuming, but I don’t know that the actual effect of boiling it in a pharmacy and boiling it at home is quite different. Generally, pharmacies only need to boil it once, but you can even boil it three times at home. It is a huge waste of Chinese medicinal materials. I personally think it is best to make them yourself at home if you are short on time. So how do you boil Chinese medicinal materials? There is a lot of knowledge involved in boiling Chinese medicine, and the commonly used equipment, degree of doneness, time, etc. must be taken into consideration. Let me briefly talk about my work experience.

Special tools/raw materials

Pottery or stone pot. Packaged Chinese medicinal materials, cooking sticks, medicine drops, and wooden chopsticks.

Process/Method

1

Boiling Chinese medicine in a stone pot is the most ideal. First put the medicine into the stone pot, add water according to the amount of medicine, and the added water must fall into the amount of Chinese medicine (don't add too little, otherwise the Chinese medicine will easily become dry). Soak for about 20 minutes. It is best to stir it frequently with a cooking stick during the soaking process so that it can be soaked more evenly. When the weather is hot, you can add cold water to soak, when the weather is cold, you need to add cold water to increase the soaking time, or you can use warm water, which will have a better effect.

2

After the Chinese medicinal materials are soaked, put them on the gas stove or honeycomb stove to start boiling. Use fire before the medicinal materials are boiled, and then switch to low heat to simmer slowly after boiling. Slow heat simmers the materials for about 20 minutes. Look at the watch. When the time is up, if there is still a lot of medicine soup, you can boil it for a while longer. Remember never to boil the Chinese medicinal materials, otherwise they will be thrown away. When boiling Chinese medicine, there must be many people watching over. After boiling, you can put a chopstick on the edge of the stone pot to cover the residue, and then use a medicine filter to filter it, which will have a better effect.

3

When boiling the ingredients for the second time, you can add warm water, and the amount of water added should be half of the first time. It is also boiled for about 20 minutes. After boiling, check how much medicine soup there is. If there is very little, you can pour it out immediately. If there is more medicinal soup, you can simmer it for a while longer.

4

If you have time, you can boil it for the third time, adding half the water of the second time. But in general, it is enough to boil it twice. The efficacy of the third time is very low, but you can use the medicinal soup to soak your feet after boiling it.

5

When pouring Chinese medicinal materials, be careful of heat. The containers for Chinese medicinal materials are preferably made of porcelain or stainless steel, so that the Chinese medicinal materials are not prone to chemical reactions with the containers.

6

If the Chinese medicinal materials are cooked during the boiling process, you must not add water and must throw it away, because the dried Chinese medicinal materials are very toxic. This is very important. When boiling Chinese medicine, you must remember the time and there should be someone professional watching nearby.

7

Chinese herbal medicine is very bitter, you can eat a piece of old rock sugar after drinking it. However, do not add sugar during the process of boiling Chinese medicinal materials, as it will greatly affect the efficacy of the medicine. It’s best to drink it in one breath, so it won’t taste so bitter.

END

Frequently asked questions

Take Chinese medicine after meals.

Generally, a Chinese medicine is boiled and taken twice, once in the morning, once at noon and once in the evening.

During the period of taking Chinese medicine, avoid spicy food, cold, greasy food, etc., and eat more vegetables and fruits.