Chinese medicated cuisines
Chinese medicated cuisines come from traditional Chinese diets and diet therapy. It is a cuisine made from the combination of traditional Chinese medicine and food with medical value. The cuisine is cooked with unique Chinese fine cooking techniques and modern scientific methods.
Unlike traditional Chinese medicine and a normal diet, medicated cuisines not only enable people to enjoy delicious food but help with nourishment and treating illnesses. It is said the production and application of traditional medicated cuisines is both a science and an art.
Characteristics of medicated cuisines
Act according to circumstances
“Act according to circumstances” means one should take into consideration the patient’s habits, health status, symptoms, time of season and geographic characteristics when using medicated cuisines to treat illnesses. After determining the illness type, one can conduct appropriate diet therapy based on the corresponding principles.
Combine prevention and treatment
Medicated cuisines not only treat illnesses but prevent illnesses as well. They play a prominent role in treating and preventing illnesses. For example, if children have “eight delicious food” for 30 days that is composed of eight kinds of edible traditional Chinese medicine including yam, lotus seed and hawthorn, 97 percent of them will have an increased appetite and grow faster.
Delicious medicine easy to take
It is often said good medicine tastes bitter because most traditional Chinese medicine tastes bitter. Some people, in particular children, refuse to take medicine because of its bitterness. However, medicated cuisines are known for their flavor of food. Medicated cuisines can also be made through careful choice of medicine, mix of medicine and food and advanced cooking techniques. Therefore, delicious medicated cuisines are indeed easy to take.
Role of medicated cuisine
Treat illnesses
Some illnesses can be treated by medicated cuisines. For example, cinnamon twig decoction is used to treat mild colds due to exogenous attack and malnutrition. In addition, when people are rendered at any stage of an illness, they can also have medicated cuisines to cure their illness.
Keep healthy
A number of medicated cuisines have been widely used to stay healthy. Today, there are many kinds of health foods in markets which are mainly composed of nutritious diets and medicated cuisines with multiple health care functions. Among them, the most widely used are ginseng, Chinese caterpillar fungus, yam, Tuckahoe, licorice, Chinese angelica and fleece-flower root. These nutritious foods and medicated cuisines are unique Chinese specialties.
Diversify people’s daily diet
Delicious cuisines with medical value are very popular among people. Since medicated cuisines boast Eastern features and food culture, they can be used on many occasions including at home, when receiving guests and travelling. Medicated cuisines have a positive and far-reaching effect on enriching health food, improving cooking, beautifying peoples’ daily lives and promoting Chinese food culture.
