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Chinese Food Therapy 3
The yin yang type of each individual determines how susceptible the person is to these effects of food. A neutral person is generally healthy and will have strong reactions to these effects only after over consumption of certain kind of food. A yang type person usually can eat all yin type food with no ill effect, but may easily get a nose bleeding with small amount of yang type food. A yin type person is usually very unhealthy and is reactive to either yin or yang food. Boosting or nourishing type of food is needed to bring a yin person back to health.
Some common food therapy items and recipes
1.Bird nest
Oral secretion of swiftlets, collected from the binding material of their nests.
Alleged effects: promote beautiful skin for women. Strengthen the spleen and improve the appetite.
Vegetables and fruits are believed to nullify the effect of bird nest if taken within the day.
The dried material is soaked in water to rehydrate.
The soaked bird nest is cleaned by hand to remove other nest building debris such as grass and feathers.
The cleaned and crumbled bird nest is double steamed with rock sugar as a dessert or with a small amount of pork as a soup.
2.Korean or Chinese ginseng
Root of a plant that has the yang properties.
Alleged effects: promote circulation, increase blood supply, revitalize and adi recovery from weakness after illness.
The ginseng root is double steamed with chicken as a soup.
3.American ginseng
Root of a plant similar to Korean ginseng, but it has the yin properties.
Alleged effects: cleansing of excessive yang in the body, aphrodisiac.
The ginseng is sliced, and a few slices are soaked in hot water to make a tea.
Most American ginseng is produced with Wisconsin, USA.
4.A Cantonese cough remedy--Dried duck gizzards, watercress, almond kernels
Alleged effects: relieve yin (resulted from cold) or yang(resulted from dryness) types of coughing.
Watercress is for removing excessive yang in the body.
The sweet almond kernels and bitter almond kernels target the lungs.
The dried duck gizzards are used to balance the yin and yang of the recipe.
Watercress is available in most supermarkets while the rest of the ingredients can be found in most Chinese herb stores.
The ingredients are slow cooked for couple of hours into a soup. A small piece of pork is optional for flavor.
Do not use yang type meat such as beef or chicken in this recipe, because they nullity the effects of the watercress.
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