Meant to share with all this effective recipe for removing phlegm long ago but till now then really have the time to do so (now my 6 years old is having chesty cough and have to make it again).

STEWED PEAR WITH ROCK SUGAR
冰糖燉梨

INGREDIENTS:

• Chuan Bei Powder 川貝母粉
  • 3 to 6 grams for a 50 kgs adult (meaning if your child is 25 kg, you may use 1.5 to 3 grams.  Amount of powder is your child’s weight / 50 x (3 to 6 grams)
• Rock Sugar 冰糖
  • cannot use white sugar else may attract more phlegm. Optional (if your child doesn’t mind the bitterness, you may not add this item. Else, add a small rock like the size of your finger nail).
• A Pear
  • one medium size pear for a 50 kgs adult (meaning if your child is 25 kg, you take half. Amount of pear is your child’s weight / 50 x 1. Best to use organic pear as the skin will be used (but I still can’t find organic pears in Singapore yet).
• Boiling water

THINGS YOU NEED:

• A container (炖杯/碗)with cover (I use a chawanmushi cup)
• A rice cooker
• A measuring spoon (from Eu Yan San)

INSTRUCTIONS

(my son is about 25 kgs and so below shows the preparation for his portion):

• If the pear used is not organic, rub the skin with salt to rid any insecticide.
• Rinse the pear well.
• Peel its skin (keep for use)
• Cut the pear into half and remove the core. Use only half of the pear with half of the pear skin and eat the other half yourself.
• Cut the halved pear into small pieces.

• Next, put about 2 grams of powder into the cup.
• Fill the cup to about half with boiling water
• Stir to dissolve the powder in the water (stir well as the powder may turn lumpy).
• Add in the rock sugar and stir to dissolve it.
• Add in the pear pieces and its skin.
• Cover the cup with its cover.
• Then, fill the rice cooker with boiling water (to be about ½ the height of the cup).
• Put the cup into the cooker.
• Stew / boil for about 60 minutes.
• Remove and serve when cool (eat everything in it).

NOTES

1. The above will take you less than 10 minutes to prepare. It’s very simple and easy though my instructions above may sound / look complicated.
2. Your child will have to take it continuously for 7 days as a dessert (can be before or after food / morning or night). It loosen the phlegm and rid them quite completely if not completely. If after 7 days you still can hear some ‘phlegmy’ sound when your child laughs/coughs, rest for about 5 days and repeat another 7 days. It should work well.
3. Suitable for kids as young as 1 (but remember must adjust the amount of powder and pear used).
4. The best pears (tastiest) to used are those with brown skin that is really pear shape (not those rounded ones with yellow skin as not juicy and sweet enough). I got mine from Cold Storage which is $0.60 per piece. Choose the softer ones.
5. Chuan Bei looks like small white beads. Can get from any Chinese pharmacy store. I got mine from Eu Yan San, cost me about $30 for 30+ grams (一两). You may buy lesser and get them to grind the beads into powder for you. Also get a measuring spoon from them (they told me a flat spoon of powder is about 1 gram and I weigh from there).
6. Trust me, it’s yummy (with the rock sugar else my son will only eat it reluctantly). My son asks for it everyday after dinner…
7. Also can make for whole families as a dessert if a few of you have phlegm or can feel that the phlegm is coming up (use a bigger container and cut a few pears in and prepare accordingly. Some like to add in more water which is also fine).
8. If your child still cannot recover from his chesty cough with western medicine, this maybe the best thing to try.
9. There are a few variations available from the internet but I have settled for the above.
10. If more severe chesty cough, the strongest Chinese medicine that I know of is the 猴枣散 (monkey’s kidney). Price about $68 or $78 for 1 serving (think about 1 gm or 3 gm). While this is effective, overdose may stunt growth and so have to use this only sparingly (if Chuan Bei doesn’t work, then may proceed to use this one).

PS:

Don’t use your ‘western mind’ to laugh at stewing a pear will destroy all its vitamins. The purpose of stewing the pear is to remove it’s ‘coolness’ (which may cause more phlegm) while retaining its phlegm removing properties…

Have fun!