Thursday, June 30, 2011

Chinese Medical Clay Pots

Pudu, Kuala Lumpur; 28th June, 2011  ~  Though our Hawker Food Safari Tour did not turn out as planned but we (Alan Tan, Khee Ming, Lee Lee, Tong Bak, Yoke San, Rebecca, Siak Kuan, Suat Pheng and I) certainly had a good time.  What a great excusion, we had there.....

While we strolled at Pudu Market, we passed by an old chinese medical shop and caught sight of these pots at the 5-foot way....  yes, those are the traditional chinese medical clay pots... on charcoal stoves...

The shopkeeper offers the service of boiling chinese herbal concoctions/teas for his customers/clients/patients, especially those who do not know how to use them and/or are too busy to prepare the concoctions themselves.

Intro to the pots and the properties.....



It is believed that the effects of herbs would be better if conditioned in clay (ceramic or porcelain), glass or enamel pots.  Metal pots, such as stainless steel, iron, copper, and tin can change the chemical consistency of the herbs and therefore it is best to avoid using those type of pots, especially for concoctions that are for oral consumption.  The following video is the best that I can find to tell us more on how to use the clay pot.... (Noticed that the user had the pot on a gas stove and remembered my Mum had told us to use the charcoal stove if possible....)

2 comments:

  1. I had a bad experience once many years ago. Went for a drink (the bitter stuff) to reduce the body heat. Aspirin powder was added to the drink to make it more effective. I'm allergic to Aspirin and was not aware of it. Within 20 minutes my face swelled and my internal organs also swelled. Admitted to GH just in time to save my life....

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  2. How nostalgic! It is a pity that many modern kitchens no longer have claypots or clay slow cookers anymore. Clay is natural and does not leach harmful chemicals into the pots' contents, and does not react chemically with the contents or heat. The heat is distributed more evenly and retained longer. Give me a clay pot anyday.

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