菘菜 배추 (숭채)

Original, read line by line 東醫寶鑑 · Tangaek — Decoctions vol. 2

1. 性平一云涼, 味甘, 無毒一云微毒.

   Its nature is neutral, though some sources describe it as cool. The taste is sweet and it is non-toxic, though others note a mild toxicity.

2. 消食下氣, 通利腸胃, 除胸中熱, 解酒渴, 止消渴.

   It aids digestion, descends qi, and eases the passage through the stomach and intestines. It clears heat from the chest and relieves both hangover thirst and the wasting-thirst syndrome.

3. 菜中有菘, 最爲常食, 然多食發冷病, 惟生薑可解. 《本草》

   Among vegetables, napa cabbage is the most commonly eaten staple. Yet eating too much can bring on a cold-natured illness, and only ginger is able to resolve it. From the Bencao.

4. 子

   Now turning to the seeds.

5. 可作油, 塗頭長髮, 塗刀劍令不銹. 《本草》

   The seeds can be pressed into oil. Rubbed on the scalp it encourages hair to grow, and brushed onto blades it keeps them from rusting. From the Bencao.

6. 虀

   Next, a note on the pickled brine known as jesu.

7. 菘菜, 曬令半乾, 次早取入壜內, 以熱飯飮浸之三日後, 則酸如醋, 謂之虀水. 入藥, 可吐痰涎. 和五味, 作湯食, 益脾胃, 解酒麪毒. 《入門》

   Half-dry the napa cabbage in the sun, then the next morning place it in a jar and steep it in hot rice water for three days until it turns sour like vinegar; this is called jesu. Taken as medicine it draws out phlegm and saliva, and when seasoned with the five flavors and simmered into soup it strengthens the spleen and stomach while neutralizing the toxins of alcohol and wheat. From the Yumun.