Chinese Medicated Cuisines

By Song Yanyan | chinaculture.org | Updated: 2012-05-16 17:52

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.