Medicinal cuisine originates from China’s traditional dietary and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) dietary therapy culture. It is a delicious food made under the guidance of theories from TCM, culinary arts, and nutrition, strictly following medicinal cuisine recipes that combine Chinese herbs with certain food items of medicinal value, using unique Chinese cooking techniques and modern scientific methods to create dishes with appealing color, aroma, taste, and presentation.
Medicinal Cuisine
In simple terms,
the combination of medicinal materials and food ingredients to create gourmet dishes is a product of the integration of traditional Chinese medical knowledge and culinary experience.
Medicinal cuisine embodies the concept of “medicine in food”
where medicines are treated as food, and food is endowed with medicinal properties.
Medicines leverage the power of food, and food enhances the efficacy of medicines.
The two complement each other, benefiting one another.
It possesses high nutritional value
and can prevent and treat diseases, promote health, and prolong life.
In Shuangxi Town, Pingnan, Fujian,
the locals are adept at using mountain plants and herbs
to prepare their medicinal cuisine.
Pingnan’s traditional medicinal cuisine has a history of over a thousand years,
representing the crystallization of the Pingnan people’s practices in healing and health maintenance,
and is a continuation and promotion of traditional Chinese medicine.
Pingnan County is located in the middle section of the Jiufeng Mountain Range, with towering peaks and intersecting valleys. The region experiences mild winters and summers without extreme heat, and the significant temperature difference between day and night, along with the warm and humid primitive forests, nurtures over 1,000 species of wild medicinal materials, of which more than 400 are used by people.
Using herbs in food, the concept of food and medicine being of the same origin is the wisdom of the Pingnan people in nourishing life.
(Heir of the Song-style Old House in Shuangxi, Song Zhiping)
First came the culture of medicinal cuisine, then came the city of Pingnan. The medicinal cuisine of Pingnan has a history of a thousand years.
With high mountains and cool waters, the primitive forests crisscross,
the climate is unpredictable and many diseases are prevalent, thus medicinal cuisine is used to address these issues by utilizing naturally grown herbs from the mountains and fields, knowing what to cook and how to use them.
This can resolve pathological conditions and regulate the body.
Herbs like Houttuynia cordata (fish mint), Schisandra chinensis (five-flavor fruit), and Artemisia argyi (mugwort) are common in the diet of the Pingnan people. They come from the mountains, embodying the wisdom of the locals who rely on the mountains for sustenance. In their time spent with nature, people resist it while also enjoying it, continuously gaining wisdom for survival and reproduction.
Freshly harvested herbs are processed
in a race against time, just to retain the essence of the forest’s breath contained in the herbs.
In the entire Pingnan County, most of the common people use medicinal materials.
TCM emphasizes the interdependence and balance of all things, which creates an indescribable subtle connection between different food ingredients and herbs.
【Houttuynia cordata and Eel Soup】
Cut the eel, add ginger and homemade red and green wine to remove the fishy smell, and steam it. After 20 minutes, add fresh Houttuynia cordata and steam again until the Houttuynia cordata changes color, then it is ready to serve.
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Houttuynia cordata is effective in clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling and healing sores, promoting diuresis and eliminating dampness, clearing heat and stopping dysentery, and strengthening the stomach and aiding digestion. It is used to treat conditions such as excess heat, toxic heat, dampness, and febrile diseases affecting the lungs, as well as sores, abscesses, hemorrhoids with bleeding, and heat accumulation in the spleen and stomach. Modern pharmacological studies indicate that it has antibacterial, antiviral, immune-boosting, and diuretic effects.
【Schisandra and Small Intestine Soup】
Boil the Schisandra chinensis to remove oxalic acid and precipitate impurities, then add the small intestine and cook thoroughly, resulting in a refreshing and detoxifying Schisandra small intestine soup.
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The oil from Schisandra has a fresh lemon fragrance and can be directly used in candies, pastries, chewing gum, ice cream, beverages, sauces, seasoning oils, and baked goods. Studies show that Schisandra oil has strong antibacterial effects against various molds such as Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium citrinum, and others.
【Artemisia and Chicken Soup】
Cooking chicken with Artemisia argyi is also easy; cut the rooster into pieces and cook it together with Artemisia slices until fully cooked.
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Artemisia argyi is effective in dispelling wind and dampness; promoting diuresis and harmonizing the body; invigorating blood and detoxifying. It is used to treat conditions such as rheumatic joint pain, lumbar and leg soreness, kidney deficiency with edema, diabetes, stomach pain, trauma, fractures, hemoptysis, epistaxis, malaria, skin ulcers, osteomyelitis, and deep abscesses.
The secret of Pingnan’s medicinal cuisine lies not only in the art of pairing medicinal materials with food ingredients but also in the harmony between humans and the natural world. It is a mutual dependence with plants that soothes life, healing the body with each soup and dish, nourishing the soul with each mountain and water. This wisdom is passed down among the people of Pingnan and is also the source of the enduring vitality of the Chinese people.
————Source: Southeast TV
