Welcome to Chongqing

Since I will soon be relocating to Chongqing (formerly Chungking), which just so happens to be Chicago's sister city, I thought I'd share a few snippets of the life and food there. There will be more as the years go by and I delve even further into yao shan (medicinal cooking) which is a big part of why I am going there. Chongqing lies in the heart of China in between the rich agricultural provinces of Sichuan, Hunan, Guizhou, and Hubei. It is the fastest growing city in China, which may really mean, in the world. Already there are 30+ million people living there and those figures don't account for a lot of unregistered people. The city is both inexorably new and old at the same time, a clash that makes for a vivid experience that literally slams into all your senses ... taste being one of them in the ma la (numb - spicy) variety of Sichuan cuisine.

Already on this short reconnaissance trip, I learned a few new medicinal kitchen tricks and recipes. I'm working on learning the 8 hour (sometimes it's 3 days) triple steamed Fritillaria bulb (Chuan Bei Mu) and Pear soup that I was lucky enough to taste at a very special welcome dinner for us. Because it was SO hot (Chongqing is referred to as the "furnace city" in the summer months) I did not partake in their own special style of hot pot, huo guo, but as soon as the Fall chill enters, I'm sure I'll be happily eating many a huo guo meal. For the time being, I'll leave you with a little taste of Chongqing, in no particular order..



La jiao, making chile sauce, the magnificent awakening smell led us there by our noses.


Huangjueping, artist community in Chongqing.




Zhen Zhu, pearls for making Zhen Zhu Fen (pearl powder), a TCM medicinal which treats heart, liver, and skin ailments.



View of the Jialing River from our future balcony.



Ginger outside a little noodle shop.



Winding mountain roads in the old part of Chongqing, Ciqikou.



The famous Sichuan Dandan mian/noodles, spicy and fragrant.



Year of the Rabbit, 2011.



Ciqikou, old part of Chongqing.




Jiefangbei, the new part of Chongqing, in the evening.




Umbrella culture to save yourself from the burning sun during the summer months.




Hillside vegetable garden, beautifully done.



Grape season.




Watermelons, xi gua, to cool you off.

Mulberry Magic

This last weekend I was lucky enough to be invited over to a friend's home on a bright sunny day to go wild and pluck as many mulberries, mulberry leaves, and mulberry twigs as I wished from her mulberry tree. Nevertheless, I was quite tame and only took a little for my home medicinal purposes as I'll be leaving to live in China again soon to continue my work and study on yao shan, a.k.a. medicinal cooking.



Mulberry trees grow rampant throughout Chicago and around the surrounding areas, and we are right smack in the middle to end of the fruiting season for them in the Midwest. If you are lucky enough to have a mulberry tree in your backyard where ever you may be, don't A) cut it down! and do B) use it for home remedies! In China, the mulberries I encountered are of the black mulberry species, Morus nigra (a much longer, tighter, sweeter fruit), whereas this mulberry tree (Morus alba, native to E. Asia but naturalized in urban areas of the E. USA) was fruiting white mulberries with purple spots as they matured and is still sweet but milder.



In Chinese Medicine, the mulberry tree is full of medicinal uses (a total of seven medicinals are derived from it). The bark, berries, leaves, twigs, silk worms & their droppings (silk worms feed on mulberry leaves), and a parasitic plant of the mulberry are all found in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Materia Medica.



Below is the list of the seven medicinals found on the mulberry tree, you can use Kamwo Pharmacy's online herbal directory to read more details :

Mulberry fruit/Sang Shen : tonifies yin and blood, moistens the intestines, replenishes fluids, use with caution in cold conditions

Mulberry Leaf/Sang Ye : releases wind-heat (i.e. sore throat, fever, headache), treats cough with sticky sputum, cools the liver (i.e. dizziness, red painful eyes, vertigo), cools the blood

Mulberry Twig/Sang Zhi : dispels wind-damp-heat, acts as a diuretic

Mulberry Root Bark/Sang Bai Pi : clears lung heat (i.e. cough with colored sputum), acts as a diuretic, used to lower blood pressure



Loranthi seu Visci, parasite of Mulberry plant/Sang Ji Sheng : tonifies liver and kidneys, protects the womb, nourishes blood, strengthens bones and tendons, expels wind-dampness, benefits the skin

Silk worm/Jiang Can : extinguishes wind and spasms, releases wind-heat and stops pain, clears toxic phlegm-heat nodules, stops itching, relieves migraines

Silk worm droppings/Can Sha : dispels wind-dampness, harmonizes the stomach

*note, for those who aren't TCM practitioners some of the language used to describe the functions is specific to TCM, here is a key for a few of them ('tonify' = enhance, improve function of; 'wind-heat' = a cold presenting with heat signs; 'cool' = in TCM cooling herbs treat 'hot' conditions and vice versa ; 'wind-dampness' = can manifest as a moving arthritic pain ; 'dispels' = rids of/releases ; 'wind-damp-heat' = moving arthritic pain with heat signs; 'harmonize' = soothes)



For the purpose of using these at home, if you are a layman and not a TCM practitioner, there are a multitude of possibilities. You can simply eat the mulberry fruit to your delight, unless you suffer from loose stools or a 'cold' stomach. You can also make a medicinal wine out of the mulberry fruit, here is a recipe you can use to base it on. You can dehydrate the berries and powder them and make a tincture OR powder them to use in a hot tea for when you are suffering from a dry constipation or a scanty menstrual cycle. You can cut some twigs with the leaves attached and hang them to dry from somewhere up high in your kitchen (as I do) and then use the dried twigs or leaves for the purposes listed above. Usually, these medicinals are used in formulas in TCM in conjunction with other herbs, but using them individually for acute specific conditions can help as well in the forms of medicinal wines, teas, and tinctures.



As a general rule of thumb if you are going to use a tincture, the dosage would be a few drops (3-5) 2-3 times per day. If you are using a medicinal wine, then a small shot glass worth 1-2 times per day is sufficient. If you are using powdered herbs in a tea, 1-2 tsp/per cup of tea, 2-3 times per day. Dosages vary according to the condition, your size, and your constitution. For more complex or delicate conditions, please consult an herbalist or medical doctor.

Blue Potatoes - Happy 4th of July!

As the 4th of July weekend approaches (or for those not in the U.S., perhaps a warm weekend of barbecues?), consider the blue potato. Some time ago I wrote about the potato in all it's simple glory. Potatoes are neutral and sweet in the Chinese Medicine world. They are also mildly diuretic, tonify (boost) the digestive function, moisten the intestines, and contain easily accessible carbohydrates when it's difficult for your body to break down food. A blue potato has the additional benefits of being a blood tonic according to TCM nutrition. From a biomedical nutrition perspective they are high in anthocyanins, making them strong antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, 75% of which is retained after baking.



While potatoes are a root/Winter crop, you can find them year round as a staple as they store well in cool, dark, dry spaces. They are also an excellent party food as you can produce a variety of dishes using them. Blue potatoes in particular will spruce up a plate with their radiant color and your guests will thank you with a happy digestion after devouring them.



I often long for baked potato skins but rarely do I find them made in a way that seems tasty or "healthy" enough (they're usually packed with fake yellow cheese, synthetic bacon bits, and loaded with sour cream) so I thought I'd reinvent the baked potato skin for this 4th of July weekend as a party treat. It's simple. It's delicious. It's got great medicinal value.

Baked Blue Skins

Ingredients: blue potatoes, aged goat gouda, Greek yogurt, few slices of thick bacon, scallions or chives, red Hawaiian sea salt

Directions :

1. Cut potatoes in half length wise. Scoop out about 1/2 of center with a spoon (I like to leave a substantial amount of potato so it's not just the skin as the name indicates, but scoop out enough to be able to fill it with a bit of stuffing).
2. Lightly grease a pyrex or baking pan with grapeseed oil. Place skins face (cut side) down. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 mins until just barely soft (check with a knife by piercing), flip over face up and bake another 5 mins. This cooking time is indicated for medium sized blue potatoes, not large, adjust if they are smaller or larger.
3. Take out and fill with crisped and minced bacon, 1 thin slice of aged goat gouda which covers the holed center. Place back in oven at 350 degrees F for another 5 mins or until cheese melts.
4. Take out and let cool. Add a dollop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of scallions or chives with a smattering of red sea salt. If you can't get your hands on that, just use plain sea salt, the purpose of this is more for the red, white & blue effect.

Happy 4th of July!