Susan Yen
L.Ac
Those who are not used to Chinese herbs often complain of its distinctive flavors. Hence, many wonder how it is possible to make savory everyday dishes using Chinese herbs. Generally speaking, herbs used in cooking tend to be fruit or root based, like chicken soup with ginseng and lycium berry. The reason is because they have a natural sweetness and when used fresh, they are actually quite bland.
During the winter months, Chinese like to fend off the cold by cooking with warming or tonifying herbs. A particular favorite is Shi Quan Da Bu, this name loosely translates to “ten complete” formulation. As the name suggests it consists of ten herbs, five boost the qi (energy) and five tonify the blood. This is an easy and delicious soup to make. Simply throw in the ten dried herbs and some chicken legs or whole chicken into a pot, add 8-10 cups of water and cook for 2 hours under mild heat. An even simpler way is to throw herbs, chicken and water into a slow cooker/crock pot and let it cook for couple of hours, and you’ll end up with body warming herbal chicken soup.
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