Dr. Hsing Liu Chou
Last Saturday, as part of its ongoing celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year, the Flushing Town Hall hosted a Festival of Herbal Tonic Soup, an historic introduction to and instructional demonstration of fortifying soups that have been traditionally administered to ?restore energy and recover balance.?? Much more than a quick lunch.
Dr. Hsing Liu Chou, a CUNY professor of Chinese cultural studies and Asian American history, as well as an artist, lead the discussion with an overview of the traditional Chinese perspective on physical composition and well-being.? He explained that the external (environmental) and internal (bodily) worlds are parallel and connected, and through knowledge of and attention to this connection, we can achieve proper balance of our yin and yang energies, where yin represents stillness and yang, activity.? Specifically, our five major organs are aligned with worldly elements:? the heart to fire, the kidneys to water, the spleen to soil, the lungs to metal (or gold), and the liver to wood.? When we bring the correct external elements into our bodies to ?feed? the corresponding organs, we achieve the right yin/yang balance.
And there are times in our lives when we need a little extra boost ? after the birth of a child, when it?s frigidly cold, during particularly trying periods ? and instead of cramming coffee or energy drinks into our systems, herbal tonic soups, utilizing simple elements that can easily be found in our grocery stores, present a fantastic alternative for physical and emotional health.
Madame Hwei-Yun Hsieh
The recipes were presented by two residents of Queens, Madame Hwei-Yun Hsieh, an esteemed home cooking artist who shared a soup popular in the Chinese and Taiwanese communities, Sesame Oil Ginger Chicken, and Kelby Leow, an herbalist and gardener, who demonstrated a traditional Korean soup, Ginseng Chicken.
The audience was served bowls of both and, as Dr. Chou promised, I definitely felt physically energized and emotionally positive afterwards.? We all associate chicken soup with healing, but while these recipes both include chicken, they?re not brothy; rather, the herbal elements ? ginger and ginseng ? lead the aromas and flavors.? They?re light and bold and, well, full of yang energy.
Sesame Oil Ginger Chicken Soup served with noodles
The ingredients are easy to find and the recipes are simple enough to try at home.? Following is Madame Hseih?s recipe for Sesame Oil Ginger Chicken Soup, which, when plated over noodles, serves 4 or 5.
Sesame Oil Ginger Chicken Soup
Makes 4 servings
4 chicken thighs with legs (about 14 ounces) (See Note)
1 piece of ginger measuring 4-5 inches
1 bottle (1.5 liters) Japanese sake (or other rice wine)
? cup black sesame oil
Note:? Birds purchased in Chinese or Korean markets are typically smaller and have considerably less fat.? Highly recommended is the black silky ?chicken,? which is actually a different species of fowl.
Using a sharp cleaver, cut chicken into 4-inch pieces; dry well with paper towel. Remove skin from ginger and cut into small pieces. Into a saucepot over high heat, pour the sesame oil. When you smell the sesame, stir in the ginger. When you smell the ginger, add the chicken.Brown the chicken on all sides. Pour in the sake and reduce heat to medium. Cook 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and tender. For stronger wine flavor, cover on the pot while cooking.? Serve the soup with cooked cappellini pasta or rice noodles that have been seasoned with a splash of sesame oil.
Special thanks to Gabrielle Hamilton.
?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? -Written by Anne Shisler-Hughes
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