Duck Blood, Tofu, and Dried Shrimp Soup,From *Proven Tea, Decoction, and Soup Recipes for Common Ailments*,Nourishes qi and blood. Suitable for amenorrhea caused by deficiency of both qi and blood.
with a distinctly warm cast, the formula may aggravate dryness-heat; those prone to oral ulcers or constipation should be cautious; in the absence of frank deficiency, or where an excess or heat pattern prevails, indiscriminate warming tonic use is inadvisable; the warming-tonic nature is inadvisable during damp-heat, yin deficiency with fire, or episodes of exterior-heat
Commentary
With duck blood chunks as the sovereign, nature neutral, flavor sweet, channeled into the Liver, Spleen, it nourishes blood, resolves toxicity, and stops bleeding, and this opening sets the main therapeutic direction. The ministerial layer, tofu (of cool nature and sweet flavor, entering the Spleen, Stomach, Large Intestine, tonifies qi, harmonizes the stomach, generates fluid, and clears heat), and dried shrimp (nature warm, flavor sweet, channeled into the Liver, Kidney, tonifies kidney yang, supplements essence, and promotes lactation), lends support that reinforces the sovereign’s main effect. Finished with scallions, harmonizing the stomach and supporting dietary nourishment, and ginger, acting as the envoy to harmonize the various ingredients, the formula attains a regulated, neither-excess nor-deficient balance. Viewed as a whole, the formula addresses the qi-blood presentation, treating both root and branch.