A Natural Boost: Chinese Herbal Tonic Soups | Edible Queens: The ...

Madame Hwei-Yun Hsieh

Last Saturday, as part of its ongoing celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year, the Flushing Town Hall hosted a Festival of Herbal Tonic Soup, an historic introduction to and instructional demonstration of fortifying soups that have been traditionally administered to ?restore energy and recover balance.?? Much more than a quick lunch.

Dr. Hsing Liu Chou, a CUNY professor of Chinese cultural studies and Asian American history, as well as an artist, lead the discussion with an overview of the traditional Chinese perspective on physical composition and well-being.? He explained that the external (environmental) and internal (bodily) worlds are parallel and connected, and through knowledge of and attention to this connection, we can achieve proper balance of our yin and yang energies, where yin represents stillness and yang, activity.? Specifically, our five major organs are aligned with worldly elements:? the heart to fire, the kidneys to water, the spleen to soil, the lungs to metal (or gold), and the liver to wood.? When we bring the correct external elements into our bodies to ?feed? the corresponding organs, we achieve the right yin/yang balance.

Sesame Oil Ginger Chicken Soup

And there are times in our lives when we need a little extra boost ? after the birth of a child, when it?s frigidly cold, during particularly trying periods ? and instead of cramming coffee or energy drinks into our systems, herbal tonic soups, utilizing simple elements that can easily be found in our grocery stores, present a fantastic alternative for physical and emotional health.

whole, fresh chicken

The recipes were presented by two residents of Queens, Madame Hwei-Yun Hsieh, an esteemed home cooking artist who shared a soup popular in the Chinese and Taiwanese communities, Sesame Oil Ginger Chicken, and Kelby Leow, an herbalist and gardener, who demonstrated a traditional Korean soup, Gingseng Chicken.

ginseng, garlic, rice and jujubes

The audience was served bowls of both and, as Dr. Chou promised, I definitely felt physically energized and emotionally positive afterwards.? We all associate chicken soup with healing, but while these recipes both include chicken, they?re not brothy, rather, the herbal elements ? ginger and ginseng ? lead the aromas and flavors.? They?re light and bold and, well, full of yang energy.

The ingredients are easy to find and the recipes are simple enough to try at home.? Following is Madame Hseih?s recipe for Sesame Oil Ginger Chicken Soup, which, when plated over noodles, serves 4 or 5.

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs with legs (about 14 ounces of chicken)

Note:? Chicken purchased in Chinatown is typically smaller and has considerably less fat content.? Highly recommended is the black silky chicken.

1 ginger piece measuring 4-5 inches

1.5 liter bottle of Japanese sake wine (or other rice wine)

? cup black sesame oil

Steps:

Dr. Hsing Lih Chou

Cut chicken into pieces, each about 4 inches, wash and dry with paper towel.

Remove skin from ginger and cut into small pieces.

Heat a pot on high flame and pour in sesame oil.

When you smell the sesame, pout in the ginger and stir.

Stir until you smell the ginger, then add chicken pieces while continuing to stir.

When the chicken skin looks cooked, pour in the sake.

Reduce heat to medium. To render the chicken soft, cook for 35-40 minutes.

Note:? If you prefer the soup to have more wine flavor, leave the cover on the pot while cooking until the chicken is done.? If you don?t want too much of the wine taste, don?t cover the pot while cooking.

To make this a fuller meal, soup can be served with angel hair or rice noodles that have been cooked and seasoned with a splash of sesame oil.

Special thanks to Gabrielle Hamilton.

?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? -Written by Anne Shisler-Hughes

Source: http://ediblequeensblog.com/2012/02/17/a-natural-boost-chinese-herbal-tonic-soups/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-natural-boost-chinese-herbal-tonic-soups

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