Chinese Cooking — Healing Food, Staying in Balance

There was a time when I did all my meals in a wok. At that point in my life, it went like this: one pan, throw a lot in it, combining cheap fixings of broccoli and chicken, copious amounts of brown rice and you were living large. But now with my yogic lifestyle, which includes Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which utilizes acupuncture and herbs, and my following of an Ayurvedic lifestyle as well, I decided to reinvestigate the healing aspects of Chinese cooking. Of course, my wok days were not really Chinese cooking at all. I found this site: http://www.dhyansanjivani.org/chinese_food.asp that breaks down the role of food in traditional Chinese culture entitled Chinese Food Therapy. Like in Ayurveda, knowing your body’s constitution and the nature of the food in order to eat optimally is what it’s all about. Eating well in Chinese culture is their nirvana. Also eating seasonally is key in Chinese cuisine. And the deeper I dug in my research of Chinese Food Therapy, the more it linked it back to TCM.

There is the yin and yang of Chinese cooking that reinforces balance: balance in color, flavors, and textures. And the yin yang theory extends beyond balance to food properties: some foods are yin – having cooling properties, while others have warm, yang properties. The challenge is to consume a diet that contains a healthy balance between the two. Bottom line, we are what we eat and anyway we can achieve balance through food plus exercise is truly beautiful.

Chinese Cooking