Dried Ginger

Gan Jiang is the ginger rhizome (Zingiber officinale), dried and sliced, to be distinguished from fresh ginger (Sheng Jiang), which TCM reads otherwise.

Drying changes its profile deeply: more pungent, more penetrating, far warmer.

The slices, of a pale yellow-brown, sometimes greyish at the surface, give off on cooking a warm, deep scent.

The reference herb for warming the median sphere when Cold settles there deeply (transformation made hard by Cold, a descending movement that scatters under Cold, a constitution that seeks out warmth and takes comfort in it).

It also warms the Metal Phase when Cold stagnates there, and brings back the fundamental Yang in much-weakened constitutions.

• Decoction: 3 to 9 g, simmer for 25 minutes
• Li Zhong Tang: a classic blend with Ren Shen, Bai Zhu and Gan Cao for Cold constitutions of the middle region
• Supplementing cooking: slices simmered in winter broths, in reasonable quantities
• Warming infusion: 2 to 3 slices in a cup, 10 minutes, after a cold meal

To be avoided in cases of settled heat, of deficient Yin with empty heat, or of constitutions marked by dryness.