A cook prepares meal with hàu (oysters) in downtown Ho Chi Minh City.

Preventing a stroke is clearly easier and better than treating it.

A stroke leads to the rapid loss of brain functions due to disturbances in the blood supply to the brain. The problem happens suddenly and can kill quickly or leave the patient seriously handicapped with many conditions including: mouth contortion with hemiplegia (a symptom when one side of the body becomes totally paralyzed), speech disorders, declined brainpower and loss of control over bodily functions. Preventing a stroke, therefore, is very important. The following dishes are believed to help prevent and treat stroke.

Rice porridge with mussels and oysters

Boil 50g of mussels 50g of oysters and 100g of gạo tẻ (ordinary rice) with water until it becomes rice gruel. Serve twice every day for treating stroke, high blood pressure, headache, dizziness and liver disease.

Rice porridge with hoa cúc (chrysanthemum)

Remove the flowers’ pedicles, desiccate and grind them. Boil 100g of ordinary rice until it becomes rice porridge. Pour and stir 15g of chrysanthemum powder for a few minutes until it is well cooked. Serve in the morning and evening. Or wash fresh chrysanthemum seeds with water and shred. Then cook them with 100g of ordinary rice in boiling water and simmer until it attains porridge consistency. This dish is suitable for people who have high blood pressure, headache and dizziness. However, elderly people with spleen problems or diabetes should not have this.

Rice porridge with hoàng kỳ and cinnamon

Simmer 15g of hoàng kỳ (astragalus, which is called huang qi in traditional Chinese medicine, is the root of astragalus membranaceus plant), 15g of dried bạch thược (white root of common peony), 15g of cinnamon and 15g of fresh ginger in two bowls of water, simmer, then keep its water and take out residue. Boil 100g of ordinary rice and four táo tàu (black jujubes) with water until it becomes rice gruel. Add the herbal mixture and stir. Serve once every day to treat the aftereffects of apoplexy, especially resulting in the paralysis of arms and legs.

Soup with hoàng kỳ (huang qi) and meat

Simmer 10g of hoàng kỳ, 10 black jujubes, 10g of dÆ°Æ¡ng qui (angelica sinensis) - commonly known as “dong quai” or “female ginseng” is a herb from the family Apiaceae, indigenous to China, its drying root is commonly known in Chinese as radix angelicae sinensis - 10g of ká»· tá»­ (Chinese wolfberries) and 100g of sliced lean pork, cook until meat is well boiled. Season it with salt and spice. This herbal remedy is suitable for those who have suffered from atrophy or paralyzed limbs after a stroke. It is also good for hemiplegia victims.

To cook porridge, pour water at a much higher level than the rice in the container and cook it on low flame until it attains the needed consistency (for approximately half an hour).

Reported by Hoai Vu