Ginseng is a dried root that the Chinese believe possesses magical powers because it’s shaped sort of like a little person.
My wife often cooks with ginseng. She slices the ginseng thin and it goes into the wok with what she is cooking—tofu, cabbage, edamame, Bok Choy, etc.
The Chinese also use Ginseng as a powerful herbal medicine.
At one time, modern scientists rejected these claims, but recent research shows it does help the body resist illness and heal damage caused by stress by stimulating the immune system.
I’ve never taken the herb for its healing properties, but I like what it does for the taste of food.
Ancient Ginseng History reports that ginseng was used as an herbal medicine over 3,000 years ago and in cooking as far back as 5,000 years. Chinese emperors valued ginseng enough to pay for the herb with its weight in gold. In America, ginseng was also used by several North American Indian nations.
In fact, some Chinese are willing to pay a very high price for older ginseng roots. Business Insider.com reports that one ginseng root from a plant that lived for 65 years in the wild was going for more than a half million U.S. Dollars, because some buyers think roots that lived in nature for a long time are much more potent than farmed ginseng that costs a lot less.
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We made a video about hunting for Ginseng – have a look here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1ohBDSB3O0
Thank you for sharing