Chinese Medicinal Cuisine

Medicinal cuisine is a unique characteristic of Chinese food. "Medicine and food are of the same sauce". In the early days of human history, people found some foods had curing effects. But only in China, because of Chinese medicinal theory, the tradition of "treating food as medicine or medicine as food" is retained and carried forward. Chinese medicinal cuisine now become a systematic theory. There is an old saying that "food tonic is much better than medicine tonic in build up one's health". Even now modern medicine has been available, many Chinese people still refer to use medicinal foods to cure or prevent some illness, or only for inproving physique. More and more people in other counrties also pay attention to the Chinese medicinal food.

Chinese medicine is based on the principles of Yin and Yang, chi, heat and cold, dampness and dryness. If these are out of balance, people will be ill. For example, if you have a cold it is because there is too much yin in your body. According to Chinese medicine, different foods have different natures. They could be hot, cold, warm, cool, wet and neutral. Foods could be selected to help people to keep the balance and stay in health. Some herbs could be added to food to enhance its cure effect. Some diseases are due to lacking certain elements. These elements could be supplied by some foods. Medicinal foods are combinations of food and traditional Chinese medicine(herbs, animals), or just use normal foods. In traditional Chinese medicine, many common foods serve as medicines and many specific medicines are also commonly used as foods. Among the most common items are the Chinese date, ginger, cinnamon, Chinese prickly ash, Chinese onion, garlic, Chinese yam, liquor, grapes, honey, walnuts, lily bulb, vinegar, eggs, sesame, mung beans, apricot kernels and rice. Medicinal foods have some therapeutic qualities. But like normal foods, they could be very delicious. Medicinal foods can prevent and treat diseases, improve fitness, and/or slow down the aging process.

Following are a few foods' medicinal effect:

There are many medicinal food recipes. they are mainly divided into two kinds: for preventive care and for cures. Here are some:

If you will suffer from energy deficiency. for example, lack of energy in the two legs, difficulties in climbing stairs, try it:

Ingredient:
Peanut - 120gm
Kidney beans - 120gm
Pig spinal bone - 300gm
Chicken feet - 10
Pitted red dates - 12
Citrus peel - 3gm
Garlic- 10 cloves (skinned)
(Chestnut and walnut can be used instead of peanut and kidney beans.)

Cooking Method:
Rinse peanuts, kidney beans and citrus peel.
Cut out the pointed paws of chicken feet and wash. Rinse pig bones. Put them in boiling water to rinse for a few minutes. Remove and rinse.
Put all ingredients in a pot with adequate water (about 3 liters) and cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 hours.
Add salt to serve and eat as much of the content as possible with soup (especially the soft tissue of chicken legs).


Usage:
Twice a day and continue for 5 days as a course to see improvement. Continue for up to 10 - 15 days to see complete recovery. Use regularly as soup for the whole family, suitable for growing children, active adults and seniors to prevent osteoporosis.

• Steamed Ren Shen(Gin Seng) Chicken

This dish can re-energize you for a quick recovery and will relief most of women pains after delivery (Caution: Must take this soup after the post-delivery bleeding is finished)

Ingredients:
Chicken, 1 (1.5kg)
Salt, 2 tsp
Rice wine, 250 cc
Ren Shen, 1 pack

Cooking Method
Clean the chicken.
Stuff the chicken with ren shen. Put in a big bow. Add salt, rice wine and 500ml water.
Steam them for about 1-1/2 hours.
Take off some oil residue floating on the top of the soup.

Serves hot.

• Da Zao peanuts pork feet soup

This dish will help to re-energize and to stimulate your apetite. Good for the heart and the lungs, It is also helpful to cure sleeping problems, constipation and falling hairs. For young mother, it is a very good breast feeding stimulator. Soup shall be taken as soon as the second day after delivery.

Ingredients:
Pork feet, 1
Peanuts, 300g
Rice wine, 1000 cc
Salt, 2-3 tsp
Da Zao, 8-10

Cooking Method:
(1) Cut the pork feet into several pieces. Boil some water and cook first the pork feet, then put it in cold water to cool down.
(2) Soak the peanuts in cold water for about 4 hours before cooked. Then boil them.
(3)Put the cooked pork, the cooked peanuts, the rice wine, the Da Zao into a big bowl, add 250 ml water. Simmer them for 2 hours or until the meat and the peanuts are well cooked.

Serves hot.

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