Though Chinese Medicine may be readily available in the kitchen, it should always be used responsibly. Please consult a professional herbalist for a proper diagnosis and treatment plan before treating specific conditions with these recipes.

What makes a Chinese medicinal a suitable food?

Before choosing to cook with a Chinese medicinal, you would want to know if it were edible or toxic. If edible, familiarize yourself with the medicinal’s therapeutic action. For instance, is it warming or cooling in nature? Does it bind or disperse? Etc. Lastly, you would want to make sure the medicinal is palatable—good, bland, or at the very least, tolerable.

Directly edible Chinese medicinals

• Long Yang Rou
• Da Zao
• Shan Yao
• Bai He
• Yi Yi Ren

Benefits of medicinal foods

• Palatable and easy to take
• Convenient for children
• Can be taken as preventative medicine

How to cook medicinal foods

Always cook your medicinals in a way that is consistent with its therapeutic action. For instance, if you were to pan fry lily bulb (bai he) you would be compromising the herb’s medicinal effect.

Choose food pairings aimed towards your dietary goal, choosing yin or yang foods when appropriate.

Balance the taste and therapeutics, diluting down strong-flavored ingredients when necessary.

Post-partum Qi and Blood Deficiency

(black chicken soup)

• Dang Shen 15-30g
• Huang Qi 15-30g
• Lu Rong 6-10g
• Shu Di Huang 30-45g
• Gou Qi Zi 15-30g
• Shan Yao 15-30g
• Yu Zhu 15-30g
• Da Zao 15-30g
• Black Chicken (Wu Ji, Silkie Chicken) ~1 lb size
• Sheng Jiang 30g

Wash and cut into small pieces the fresh ginger. Put all the ingredients in a large pot with 4 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and cook for about three hours. Discard the herbs, but keep the meat and broth to eat. Add salt to taste when serving.

Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection

(winter-melon soup)

• Winter melon 2lb
• Pork bones 1lb (optional)
• Che qian cao 60g
• Bai mao gen 60g
• Yi yi ren 60g
• Mi Zao 5pcs

Leave skin on winter melon, cut into small pieces. Blanch pork bones before use. Put all the ingredients together in a large pot with 5 quarts of cold water. Bring to a boil, then turn down low and simmer for about 3 hours. Discard the cooked herbs and drink the broth. Add salt to taste.

Childhood Bedwetting

(accumulated dampness)

• Shan Yao 60g
• Qian Shi 45g
• Lian Zi 60g
• Fu Ling 30g
• Mi Zao 5pcs

Put the herbs in a pot with 5 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to low and cook until there is 1 cup left (about 1 hour). Discard the cooked herbs and drink the broth.

Elderly Constipation

(deficiency type)

• Rou Cong Rong 45g
• Luo Han Guo 12g
• Sheng Di Huang 45g
• Huang Jing 45g

This combination addresses the multiple deficiencies including essence depletion.
Place 8 cups of cold water and herbs together in stainless steel pot. Cook on medium level heat for approx 1 hour or until 2-3 cups remain. Discard the cooked herbs and drink the broth.

Low Libido, Lower Back Pain,& Impotence in Men

(kidney yang deficiency oxtail soup)

• Oxtail 1½lbs
• Shu Di Huang 30g
• Shan Yao 50g
• Niu Xi 15g
• Du Zhong 15g
• Guo ji 15g
• Huang Qi 30g

Use hot water to clean 1.5 pounds of oxtail - wash until water runs clear, then rinse again with cold water. Blanch oxtail and get rid of water. Put all the ingredients together in a large pot with 6 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and cook for 3 or 4 hours, cook down to 2 quart of soup. Discard the herbs, keep the broth and meat to eat. Add salt~5g or to taste when serving.

Hair Loss

(yin and blood deficiency)

• He Shou Wu 15g
• Shu Di Huang 30g
• Hei Zhi Ma 30g
• Suo Yang 12g
• Huang Jing 10g
• Da Zao 15g
• Long Yang Rou 15g
• Sheng Jiang 10g
• Black Chicken 1 med size (optional)

Wash and cut into small pieces the fresh ginger. Put all the ingredients in a large pot with 4 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and cook for about three hours. Discard the herbs, but keep the meat and broth to eat. Add salt to taste when serving. Refrigerate or use a soup ladle to remove the fat.

Red Eyes, Irritability, Easily Angered

(excess liver heat)

• Xia Ku Cao 250g
• Ju Hua 100g
• Huai Mi 15g (optional)
• Bing Tang (Qnty as needed)

Rinse herbs and discard water. Put all herbs in large stainless steel pot with 6 quarts of water. Bring to boil and let simmer for 60 minutes. Add bing tang (cane sugar) to taste. Let cool; refrigerate to serve.