Here is a step by step guide to prepare your herbal medicine

Step 1: Make Sure you have everything you need.

You will need:

Chinese herbs, typically wrapped in little packages
A decoction pot, preferably made from inert material like glass or clay. But if you don’t have it, it is ok.
Water
A strainer, and
A bowl

Step 2: Determine your herbs and corresponding instructions.

Read your instructions carefully. Usually the type of herbs will determine your decoction method. For example, for fragrant herbs, you don’t want to overcook it, otherwise you will lose the volatile compounds needed. Some herbs are difficult to extract and will need more time.

Today I am going to make an herb decoction for myself. These are regular tonic herbs. I am going to use the standard 3 cups to 1 cup method and do it twice.

Step 3: Add the herbs and water to the decoction pot

After you read the instructions and understand them, put the herbs in your package inside the pot. You need to add enough water to cover them. Usually it is 3 Chinese rice bowls (wan). A Chinese rice bowl is about 200 ml or about 6 ozs, which is about 3 quarters of a cup.

Here I have 500 ml. I am going to add it to my pot. Everyone’s herb package is different. Sometimes you have more herbs, then you will have to add more water. Sometimes you have less herbs, then you will have to use less water. It is also determined by how absorbent your herbs are. So it may take you a couple tries to get it perfect. But don’t worry, as long as you follow the basic guidelines, you will be fine.

Step 4: Soak

After you put herbs and water in the pot, do not start immediately. Soaking the herbs is an important step. When you soak herbs in the water, you are performing a cold extraction. Some compounds are volatile and.boil off easily. Soaking allows you to extract them at low temperature, reducing the length of time you need to boil the herbs.Soaking also allows the water to penetrate deep inside the herbs. Some herbs contain starch, if you boil before the water can penetrate the herbs, many ingredients will be trapped inside.

Therefore, it is generally recommended to soak the herbs for a long time. On your instructions, I usually put a minimum soaking time. You may soak your herbs longer like a couple hours up to 10 hours.

Step 5: Bring the water to a boil

After you have soaked the herbs, you may bring the water quickly to boil using high heat. We don’t want to use low heat because it may make the boiling time too long. I am using an automatic herb cooker here. You will probably be using a stove at home. After the water reaches a vigorous rolling boil, you need to reduce the heat and simmer it at a gentle rolling boil. It is important to keep the temperature at boiling because some herbs need boiling temperature to activate their ingredients.

Step 6: Reduce and simmer

Read your instructions and find out how long you will need to simmer. Simmering time is the most important factor in your instructions. Either too long or too short is not ideal. As you simmer, active ingredients are released from the herbs. As the water evaporates, your decoction becomes more concentrated. After reaching a certain concentration, additional boiling will not yield more active ingredients. Therefore, you don’t have to simmer longer than instructed.For me this time, I am doing the typical 30 minutes.

If you are not using a clay pot, make sure you leave a gap on your cover so water can boil off.

Step 7: Strain the decoction

After the decoction is finished, strain it into a bowl using a strainer if necessary. You only need to drink the liquid part. The first brew usually will extract 60% of the active ingredients. Therefore, on your instructions, you may be asked to repeat the decoction process to extract more.

Step 8: Repeat

If you are repeating the decoction process, you need to add fresh water to the pot again. Because the herbs are already soaked and wet, you need to add less water on the second decoction. The second brew usually yields another 30% of the active ingredients. Because the first brew is stronger and the second brew is weakening, you should mix the two brews together so they are the same strength.

Step 9: Store the decoction

The decoction is now ready to drink. If you are instructed to finish them within 24 hours, you do not need to refrigerate. If you are instructed to finish your herbs in more than 1 day, you will have to refrigerate your decoction. Take out the portion you need and reheat them to the temperature recommended in your instruction and drink it during the time you were instructed. The decoction can last for a week in your refrigerator.

Tips

Here are a few tips for decocting Chinese herbal medicine:

Soak the herbs, longer the better, up to 10 hours
Bring the water quickly to a vigorous boil
Simmer the herbs within instructed time. Overcooking is not beneficial.
Because the package of herbs changes and different herbs absorb water differently. You may take couple tries to get it perfectly.

Other situations

There are special situations that will change your cooking instructions. For example, Fragrant herbs, Herbs with minerals, Herbs with heat sensitive ingredients, Herbs that need additional processes. If you are interested in those instructions, leave a comment and let me know.

Thanks for watching my video on how to decoct Chinese herbal medicine. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below.