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November 13, 2019 By Yang 13 Comments

Sichuan Fritillaria Steamed Pear (川贝雪梨): TCM Natural Cough Remedy

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Sichuan Fritillaria Steamed Pear is a popular home remedy to treat coughs in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

fritillaria steamed pear

With cold weather coming, you will need this natural cough remedy in the next few months. I am excited to finally share this special yet simple recipe on the blog! The Fritillaria steamed pear takes only 3 ingredients to make: Sichuan Fritillaria, Chinese snow pear, and rock sugar.

Sichuan fritillaria (Chuan Bei, 川贝) and Chinese snow pear (Xue Li, 雪梨) are both known for their medicinal properties to calm coughs, moisten the lung and eliminate phlegm.

Not only Sichuan Fritillaria is used for adults, this herb is suitable for children as well. The additional rock sugar makes the steamed pear sweet and delicious to eat, therefore it is a favourable home remedy for kids. I remember the times after I had the flu, my mother would make me Sichuan Fritillaria steamed pear to treat my lingering cough.

ingredients for fritillaria steamed pear

Ingredients of Sichuan Fritillaria Steamed Pear

Rock Sugar (冰糖)

Rock sugar is a crystallized sugar, shaped as small rocks. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, rock sugar is believed to benefit the lung as a tonic and reduce coughs and phlegm too. This is why rock sugar is used in this recipe instead of white sugar. Rock sugar are often used in various TCM remedies and recipes.

What if you don’t have rock sugar? You can replace rock sugar with another natural sweetener, such as honey or organic cane sugar, and the remedy can still be effective.

Sichuan Fritillaria (川贝)

Among a number of Fritillaria spices, the Sichuan Fritillaria is the best for medicinal purpose. Traditional Chinese Medicine uses the bulbs of the plant to cure coughs and clear the lung. The Sichuan Fritillaria is a prized herb used in many traditional remedies and home remedies.

I used the Sichuan Fritillaria bulbs whole in order to show what that look like in the photos. You can buy and use them either whole or in a powder form. If you have a spice grinder, you can grind your Sichuan Fritillaria bulbs into powder, so that the herb is easily ingested along with the pear. I usually prefer to grind them up before use.

Chinese Snow Pear (雪梨)

Eating pears in the fall and winter months can support lung health. Pears can reduce coughs and phlegm, and have cooling properties. Whether eating pears raw or cooked, they are delicious!

See the photos below to correctly prepare the Chinese snow pear for this remedy.

step to step illustration making fritillaria steamed pear

How to Use This Remedy

The Sichuan Fritillaria steamed pear can be taken once a day, for a few days in a row. If the cough is mild, I find the remedy often effective after 1 serving. If the cough is severe, it may take 3 to 5 days to get rid of the cough.

The remedy is safe and taste good, therefore very popular for young children. I have read that the dosage of Sichuan Fritillaria should be kept to 1-2 g per day for young children, but for adult it’s safe to use up to 6 g per day.

If you are using more of the Sichuan Fritillaria bulbs for adults, you can divide up the daily dosage to make 2 servings of the steamed pear to consume morning and night.

fritillaria steamed pear in a bowl

More recipes based on Chinese medicine you will love:

  • Chinese Herbal Healing Oxtail Soup
  • Ginseng Chicken Soup: The Ultimate Nourishing Soup for Energy, Brain Function and Immune Support
  • Natural PMS Remedy: PMS Relief Herbal Chicken Soup (四物汤)
  • Adrenal Support Chinese Herbs And Pig Stomach Soup (四神汤)
  • Millet Porridge: A Chinese Postpartum & Digestive Healer
  • Instant Pot Forbidden Rice & Red Bean Congee
  • How to Cook Chinese Herbal Medicine

SICHUAN FRITILLARIA STEAMED PEAR

Sichuan Fritillaria Steamed Pear is a popular home remedy to treat coughs in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
5 from 11 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Herbal Remedy
Cuisine: Chinese
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 1 people
Calories: 54kcal
Author: Yang

Ingredients

  • 1 Chinese snow pear
  • 15-20 Sichuan fritillaria bulbs
  • 20 g rock sugar (approx. 8 pieces)

Instructions

  • Peel the Chinese snow pear. Slice off the top 1/4 of the pear, then take a spoon to scoop out the inedible core. Take care not to break the bottom of the pear. 
  • Fill the the hollow inside the pear with Sichuan fritillaria and rock sugar. You can either use the fritillaria bulbs whole, or grind them up into powder. I prefer to grind them up, so it's easier to ingest all the fritillaria along with the steamed pear. 
  • Place the top of the pear back on as a lid, to cover up the hollow inside the pear. Put the pear into a ceramic bowl. 
  • Place the bowl into a steamer, and steam for 50 minutes. Remove the fritillaria steamed pear from heat, serve warm.

Notes

  1. This remedy can be consumed daily until cough subsides.
  2. Suitable for all ages, including young children.

Nutrition

Calories: 54kcal
Tried this recipe?Tag me @YangsNourishingKitchen on Instagram!
Sichuan Fritillaria Steamed Pear (川贝雪梨): TCM Natural Cough Remedy
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Filed Under: Recipe Card, Recipes, TCM Tagged With: Chinese, cold and flu, dairy-free, gluten-free, herbal, medicinal, nourishing traditions, winter

About Yang

I found cure naturally for my incurable fibromyalgia. I believe you too can heal from ailments by listening to your own body. Let me show you how to use traditional wisdom to heal and use food as medicine. Read More…

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Stacey Crawford says

    November 24, 2019 at 2:11 pm

    My daughter’s acupuncturist gave her a Chinese medicine with this in it for her cough and it really helped. It is fantastic that I can make this myself. Thanks for the directions.

    Reply
  2. Zuzana says

    November 23, 2019 at 10:32 am

    easy to make and i really love this recipe

    Reply
  3. Meredith says

    November 21, 2019 at 9:40 pm

    An endless cough can be so frustrating and painful! Thank you for this delicious looking and natural remedy. Do you have a preferred source for buying fritillaria?

    Reply
  4. ChihYu says

    November 20, 2019 at 5:14 pm

    Amazing! So delicious and nourishes the body! Great timing for winter weather!

    Reply
  5. Raia Todd says

    November 20, 2019 at 4:17 pm

    I love this. I had no idea that pears were so good for you, but I’m definitely getting some for my son. Hopefully this will help his cough. Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Don Baiocchi says

    November 20, 2019 at 3:10 pm

    This is so cool! Love learning about this.

    Reply
  7. Alisa Infanti says

    November 20, 2019 at 10:18 am

    I myself have had so much success with Traditional Chinese Medicine and can’t wait to try this recipe this winter. Not that I want to get a cold but if I do I will be making this for sure. Where can I find the fritillaria bulbs locally? I am heading to Shanghai in a few days so am going to try and find some but outside of that, I am stumped.

    Reply
  8. Megan Stevens says

    November 20, 2019 at 8:57 am

    Thank you for teaching us and sharing about Sichuan fritillaria bulbs. I assume this is a flower’s bulb? What a lovely remedy and treat!

    Reply
  9. Heather says

    November 20, 2019 at 8:49 am

    You learn something new everyday, how interesting!

    Reply
  10. tina says

    November 19, 2019 at 8:04 pm

    Interesting! I have a cough going on right now – not sure if allergies or cold, might give this a try.

    Reply
  11. Carina says

    November 19, 2019 at 1:59 pm

    We use natural remedies most of the time, I would definitely try this, food really can be medicine.

    Reply
  12. Jean Choi says

    November 19, 2019 at 12:59 am

    Love how different cultures have natural remedies. There’s actually a very similar Korean recipe used for coughs as well! So curious to try this version.

    Reply
  13. Tessa Simpson says

    November 18, 2019 at 10:39 pm

    You always impress with your food as medicine recipes! Beautiful Yang!

    Reply

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Here you will find many nourishing recipes and natural remedies at Yang's Nourishing Kitchen.

Born and raised in China, now living in Canada for the past 20+ years, Yang shares time-tested traditional wisdom from the east to the west, through nutrient-dense real food recipes.

Having healed herself successfully from illness labeled incurable, Yang uses her knowledge and experience to help others to achieve balance and well-being. Read More…

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