Yi Yi Ren (Job’s Tears), also known as Yi Mi, Yi Ren, and Liù Gǔ Zi, is an excellent dual-purpose food and medicine. It is cool in nature, with a sweet and bland taste, and is associated with the Spleen, Lung, and Kidney meridians. Its benefits include strengthening the spleen, promoting water metabolism, drying dampness, and clearing heat and pus.
According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, it “strengthens the spleen and benefits the stomach, supplements the lungs and clears heat, dispels wind and overcomes dampness.” Clinically, it can be used for conditions such as edema, difficulty urinating, beriberi, spleen deficiency diarrhea, rheumatic pain, muscle stiffness, and lung abscess with purulent cough.
Modern research has confirmed that Yi Yi Ren has certain effects in lowering blood pressure, improving glucose and lipid metabolism, regulating intestinal flora, anti-cancer properties, and skin whitening. Due to its high nutritional value, wide applicability, dual-use as food and medicine, and affordability, it is very suitable for inclusion in daily diets.
Several Yi Yi Ren Medicinal Dishes
Yi Yi Ren and Chi Xiao Dou (Adzuki Bean) Porridge
Ingredients and Method: 30g of Yi Yi Ren, 20g of Chi Xiao Dou, wash and place in a pot, add water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer for half an hour. Add 50g of rice and cook for another half hour.
Effect: This porridge strengthens the spleen and dispels dampness, suitable for spleen deficiency with excess dampness, symptoms include heaviness in the body, reduced appetite, abdominal distension, and sticky stools with a thick greasy tongue coating.
Yi Yi Ren Eight Treasure Porridge
Ingredients and Method: 30g of Yi Yi Ren, 10g each of Bai Pian Dou (White Hyacinth Bean), Lian Zi (Lotus Seed), He Tao Ren (Walnut), Chi Xiao Dou, and Gui Yuan Rou (Longan Flesh), 6 dates, and 100g of glutinous rice, wash and add water to boil, then simmer until porridge is ready, add rock sugar or brown sugar to taste.
Effect: This porridge strengthens the spleen, opens the appetite, dispels dampness, and nourishes qi and blood, suitable for spleen deficiency with blood deficiency, symptoms include fatigue, poor appetite, chronic diarrhea, irritability, and insomnia.
Yi Yi Ren, Shan Yao (Chinese Yam) and Oat Porridge
Ingredients and Method: 200g of Yi Yi Ren, wash and boil for half an hour, add 150g of Shan Yao (peeled and cut into pieces), cook until tender, then add 30g of oat flakes.
Effect: This porridge strengthens the spleen, dries dampness, and aids digestion, suitable for spleen and stomach qi deficiency with damp stagnation, symptoms include pale complexion, fatigue, poor appetite, difficulty digesting food, and a thick greasy tongue coating.
Yi Yi Ren, Chi Xiao Dou, Winter Melon Skin, and Carp Soup
Ingredients and Method: 1 carp (about 400-500g), scale and clean, pan-fry in a little oil until cooked, then remove. Wash 50g of Yi Yi Ren, 30g of Chi Xiao Dou, 50g of winter melon skin, and 5g of Chen Pi (Dried Tangerine Peel), and slice 3 pieces of ginger. In a pot, add water and boil Yi Yi Ren for half an hour, then add Chi Xiao Dou, winter melon skin, Chen Pi, ginger, and carp, simmer for half an hour, then add a little cooking wine and boil briefly.
Effect: This soup strengthens the spleen and promotes water metabolism, suitable for spleen deficiency with edema, abdominal fullness, reduced appetite, and fatigue.
Yi Yi Ren, Xing Ren (Apricot Kernel), Winter Melon Seed, and Reed Stem Soup
Ingredients and Method: 50g of Yi Yi Ren, 10g of Xing Ren, 30g each of winter melon seed and reed stem, wash and boil in clean water for 1 hour.
Effect: This soup strengthens the spleen, dispels dampness, and stops cough while transforming phlegm, suitable for cough due to lung heat, with white or yellow phlegm that is sticky.
Yi Yi Ren, Huang Qi (Astragalus), Jujube, and Millet Porridge
Ingredients and Method: 100-120g of Yi Yi Ren, 30-50g of fresh Huang Qi, 10 jujubes, and 50g of millet, cook into porridge.
Effect: Yi Yi Ren contains components such as Yi Yi Ren Zhi and Yi Yi Ren Nei Zhi, and is rich in selenium, which can inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells, making it suitable for cancer patients as an auxiliary dietary therapy.
Yi Yi Ren, Rose Flower, and Chinese Rose Tea
Ingredients and Method: 30g of Yi Yi Ren, wash and boil for 1 hour, add 5g of rose flower and 3g of Chinese rose flower, cover the pot tightly and steep for 15 minutes, then drink warm.
Effect: This tea has skin whitening and blood activating properties, regular consumption can smooth the skin and help reduce spots and acne.
It is important to note that Yi Yi Ren has a cooling property, so those with a deficiency-cold constitution should consume it after it is roasted. Yi Yi Ren is difficult to cook thoroughly; it can be soaked in clean water for half a day beforehand, or cooked in a pressure cooker, or blended in a high-speed blender before cooking.
Source: China Traditional Chinese Medicine News Author: Li Mohang, First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine