Medicinal Spicy Tofu to Beat Brain Fog
Alice Sun•Jan 8, 2024
There are days where my mind just doesn’t feel sharp. When I’m in a funk of brain fog, I tend to turn to spicier foods to help me break out of that cycle. In Chinese medicine, sudden brain fog can be a sign of Yang deficiency, meaning that the person has lower Yang qi. Yang represents the active energies in the body that power metabolism, govern motivation, and action. When someone is Yang deficient, the person will usually feel groggy, colder, and clammier than usual, despite warm temperatures outside.
***PS I’ve included links to shop for some of the specialty ingredients — use code ASUN15 for 15% off!
To counter Yang deficiency, Chinese medicine recommends adding a little heat or spice to food and cutting down on raw foods! I know, salad can sometimes not be the best for you!!!
Try this 15 minute one pot gochujang glazed tofu instead — it’ll knock your socks off with flavor and hopefully help with beating out brain fog. ‘
Alice Sun (@alicecsun) shares a unique view into her life through the ways she uses food to nurture wellness, cross cultural divides, and bring people together, all through the medium of storytelling.
Ingredients (14)
Ingredients (14)
Sauce
Garnish
Instructions
Slice the firm tofu (1 block) into bite size square pieces and pat dry
Next, beat the egg (1) with the salt (1 Tbsp). Coat the tofu in the beaten egg, then set to the side while you quickly put the sauce together.
For the sauce, combine all the ingredients above and thin the sauce out with a few tbsps of water
For 1 block of tofu, I ended up using 2-3 tbsps of water to make enough sauce to cover everything
Now, fry the tofu (1 block) first on both sides till golden brown, then pour the sauce in
Turn the heat down to med/low and let the sauce cook and caramelize
Once the sauce has turned thicker, turn the heat off and garnish with sesame seeds (1 Tbsp) and scallion greens
