A delicious take on the traditional

Tag: chinese yam

Singapore Tourism Board and Eu Yan Sang, one of Singapore’s accredited traditional Chinese medicine companies, treated members of the press to a night of exquisite Indian dances and unique dining experience at the Bahia Rooftop in Hotel Intercontinental, to promote TCM not only as a scientifically accepted medical method but also a tasty add on to our daily meals.

Joanna Wong of Eu Yan Sang said that the age of medical halls with closets full of roots, dried leaves and strange-looking plants is over. The 3,000-year-old method of healing guided by the Theory of Yin and Yang has adopted a scientific approach with the use of modern equipment.

Wong added that there are 6,000 types of herbs and less than 600 are commonly use, while 100 of these are suitable for food. But she also cautioned that people should be mindful about self medication because there is a tendency of over dosage. They also follow three principles in TCM. First, they see food as medicine and if you take it every day, you can live for a long time. Second, a good understanding on the taste and its effect to the body. Third, one should eat according to the season.

“The understanding of your own body is very important,” said Wong. She also reminded us that there might be not so familiar taste in the food, but it’s all edible and very good for the body.

Edible, safe and tasty

The dinner was conceptualized by Chef Goh Wooi Cheat of Hotel Intercontinental, who is also a certified TCM chef. Chef Wooi previously worked in the Regent Singapore before he moved to the Philippines. According to Wong, they edit on some ingredients to make the menu beneficial for health maintenance.

Starting off the meal is an inviting combination of Chinese yam, shredded roasted duck and chicken, strips of melon and mango topped with crispy almond. The intense orange color of mango and the aroma of the Chinese yam and melon made the dish a tempting appetizer, which convinced me that the meal, can after all be delicious. Like Wong said, the appetizer proved to be very refreshing. She also explained that it makes you ready for more food as the Chinese yam, strengthens and improves digestion. It also support the respiratory process, tonifies and stabilizes the kidney.

The next meal is a double-boiled American ginseng soup with red dates, fish maw and chicken. The presence of American ginseng and chicken insides combined with red dates produced a bitter-sweet taste

For this recipe, Wong explained that the ingredients are Qi-nourishing food, especially the American ginseng and red dates or hongzao. TCM believes that diseases are caused by disruption of the Qi, or the flow of energy throughout the body. Meanwhile, the fish maw contains the same nutritive properties as the ginseng, as it has nutritive fluids for the Yin. The soup is also recommended for a good night sleep since it reduces stress.

Steamed filet of codfish in lotus leaf with codonopsis root, Solomon’s seal, Chinese wolfberries and ophiopogon root is perhaps the tastiest fish dish I’ve ever tasted on such a simple way of cooking.

The codfish is so soft that its meat will melt in your mouth, so delightful that I wanted to order a cup of rice, only that it will be served after another meal. Despite the odd taste produced by two different roots, the Chinese wolfberries (little red fruits with similar taste as grapes) created a tinge of sweetness enough to dissolve the odd taste. This dish is said to be good for digestion and suitable for children who have no appetite, as well as for old people recuperating from an illness.

The poached spinach with Chinese wolfberries in shark’s bone stock would be my least favorite because of the slimy texture. This time, the Chinese wolfberries didn’t work its magic to inspire my taste bud to like the food. Though, its nutritional value is actually worthy of the try.

Chinese spinach is rich in ions while the shark bone supports skin healing and is very good for beautifying the skin, while the wolfberries is goof for maintaining good eyesight. It also moistens our entire complexion.

It is still a wonder why they served the rice last, and though I forgot to ask, I presume that they don’t want us to get full so easily. Indeed, taking the steamed, sticky rice with eight treasures will certainly make you heavy even by taking only a few spoons.

Nonetheless, the last dish is already a meal on itself with the presence of lotus seed, gingko nut, diced mushroom, carrot, water chestnut, liver sausage, Chinese sausage and roasted meat in it, very much like the yang chow you would order in a Chinese restaurant, but with more nutrients and exceptionally yummy, although I can’t go for more than one cup. Lotus seed helps calm the spirit while giving you vitality and the water chestnut is very good for removing excess heat.

For dessert, we were served with chilled mormodica fruit with snow fungus (a kind of mushroom) and dried longan. Though it sounds nasty and the snow fungus looks like some fresh seaweeds, it certainly taste the opposite. The dessert didn’t use any sugar because of the natural sweetness of the mormodica fruit so even diabetic patients can take it, and the snow fungus nourishes the nutritive fluids and improves the appetite.

All about balance

‘‘We want to sesnd two messages to the public, first that Chinese herbs should be termed as Chinese medicines because there are a lot of medicinal herbs which didn’t come from China and second, that traditional Chinese medicines can also be cooked and are very tasty.

It can also enhance the texture of the food,” said Wong.

Although at first I was a bit hesitant to believe their claim, since traditional medicine and appetizing meals doesn’t always go together (with memories of bitter gourd, smelly garlic, among others), Lynelle Snow of Singapore Tourism Board have quite convinced me that the menu is edible and safe to eat.

”TCM is all about balance. It follows three body categories, hot, cold and neutral. If you are hot, you should take cold food to neutralize it,” she explained. Snow herself is a believer of TCM based on her experience when she was a kid. Her grandmother use to give her a brown soup made of herbs, which she termed as “cockroach soup.”

‘‘TCM and Western medicine is complementary so there’s no competition,” she said when asked about the challenges between the two medical practices.

As parting words, Wong reminded the guests that one should know his body’s constitution and how it changes, to be able to take these traditional Chinese medicines in their food. It is also important to consult a certified TCM practioner to determine your body’s warmness or dampness and what are the suitable herbs that you can take.

‘‘Traditional Chinese medicine is all about health maintenance,” she said.

Well, put these dishes served at my dining table for health maintenance, I wouldn’t mind eating traditional medicine every day.

Like what the old people say, if it’s natural you can’t go wrong. Just keep in mind, keep everything in moderation, its all about balance.