I prepared this as homework for my "Herbs Practicum" final project, to create a "classical menu" based off Chinese medicine flavor principles. Here, I consider western herbalism from a Chinese medicinal flavor based perspective, and vice versa. Although I'm still experimenting with bridging these elements, this is a compilation of six basic formulas/ recipes that I love, wish to share, and hope you will enjoy and modify with gusto. Blogger re-formats Word docs funnily, so please refer to this Google docs version that you can download, share, save... and even comment on! Enjoy. :)
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Five Flavors
Infusions
and Ferments
Element
|
Flavor
|
Emotion
|
Season
|
Menstrua
|
Infusion/
Ferment
|
木Wood
|
酸Sour
|
怒Anger
|
春Spring
|
-
|
Kimchi (F)
|
火
Fire
|
苦
Bitter
|
喜Joy
|
夏Summer
|
Alcohol
|
Bitters (I)
|
土
Earth
|
甘
Sweet
|
思Sympathy
|
長夏Mid-summer
|
Sweet
|
Rose Honey (I)
|
金
Metal
|
辛Pungent
|
悲Grief
|
秋Autumn
|
Oil
|
Hot sauce (I/ F)
|
Vinegar
|
Fire Cider (I)
|
水
Water
|
鹹Salty
|
恐Terror
|
冬Winter
|
Water
|
Pickles (F)
|
辛散，酸收，甘緩，苦堅，鹹耎。
SW22: Pungent scatters, sour
gathers, sweet moderates, bitter consolidates, salty softens.
五味所入；酸入肝，辛入肺，苦入心，鹹入腎，甘入脾， 是謂五入。
SW23: Where the five flavors enter: sour enters Liver; pungent enters Lung; bitter enters Heart; salty enters Kidney; sweet enters Spleen.
五味所禁：辛走氣，氣病無多食辛；鹹走血，血病無多食鹹；苦走骨，骨病無多食苦；甘走肉，肉病無多食甘；酸走筋，筋病無多食酸；是謂五禁，無令多食。
Where the five flavors are prohibited: pungent goes to the qi; in qi diseases avoid eating too much
pungent. Salty goes to the blood; in
blood diseases avoid eating too much salty. Bitter goes to the bones; in bone diseases avoid eating too much
bitter. Sweet goes to the flesh; in
flesh diseases avoid eating too much sweet. Sour goes to the tendons; in tendon diseases avoid eating too much
sour.
We receive an abundance of food from the Earth,
particularly during the green season between spring and autumn. There are many
simple ways to process and preserve this bounty, including dehydration,
infusion, and fermentation. The listed infusions and fermentations are
organized by flavor, which corresponds with the five elements of Chinese
medicine, originally described in the Chinese medicine classic, the Huang Di Nei
Jing Suwen 5 (黃帝内經素問). Suwen 5 and 22 present
foundational information about flavor, while Gao Lin (16th century
poet and medical scholar) presents perspectives on interrelationships between
seasonality and flavor. Quotes from both are listed below, alongside each
preparation.
Store these preparations in cool dark places, only
dip clean utensils into the jar, and they can last all winter. For the
ferments, be sure to use clean jars, to prevent unwanted mold, and ensure that
only beneficial bacteria populate your fermentation.
Modify the recipes! Add what’s in your garden and
the landscape around you, and experiment with what herbs and spices you add,
and how they taste and feel. Food is medicine, and medicine is food. Celebrating
your unique bioregion in this way makes your microbiome, your gut microflora,
likewise diverse. Eat wild, eat local, and make your inner forest flourish!
Sour: Kimchi
“The flavor of Liver Wood is sour. Wood can
overcome Earth, which governs Spleen, which in turn is influenced by sweet
flavors. In spring, therefore, one should eat fewer sour foods and increase
one’s intake of mildly sweet foods to nourish Spleen qi.” – Gao Lin
肝苦急，急食甘以緩之… 肝欲散，急食辛以散之，用辛補之，酸寫之。
“When Liver suffers urgency,
eat sweet to moderate it… when Liver desires dispersion, eat pungent. Use
pungent to tonify it, and sour to purge it.” – Suwen 22
Ingredients:
-
1
medium Napa cabbage (cut into 2-inch-wide strips)
-
2 T
sea salt
-
3
scallions
-
Paste:
o
½
medium onion
o
½
apple
o
6
garlic cloves
o 1 T sweetener
o 3 tsp red pepper flakes
o 1 T soy sauce
Instructions:
1.
Massage
salt into cabbage, then let stand for 1-2 hours
2.
Collect
juices released from the salted cabbage, to make paste
3.
Blenderize
paste ingredients until smooth, then add red pepper flakes
4.
Massage
paste into cabbage until coated
5.
Pack
kimchi into glass jars, pressing down until brine covers at least 1 inch. Place
clean stone on top, to keep submerged. Cover loosely with a cloth or cap (to
maintain air flow)
6.
Let ferment
1-2 weeks until it reaches desired flavor, then cap and store
7.
Eat
with meals, or make a delicious sour soup with it!
Potential
additions/ modifications:
Red
cabbage, beets, Dandelion roots, Burdock root, carrots, Daikon radish,
seaweeds, mushrooms, curry flavor, sesame seeds, etc
Bitter: Bitters
(from
Thomas Easley/ Steven Horne)
“Heart’s
qi is abundant with Fire energy with its associated bitter flavor… Fire can
distress Metal; Metal energy governs Lung and the flavor associated with the
Lung network is pungent. During the summertime, therefore, one should decrease
bitter foods and increase pungent flavors to nourish the Lung.” – Gao Lin
心苦緩，急食酸以收之… 心欲耎，急食鹹以耎之，用鹹補之，甘寫之。
“When
Heart suffers [over-moderation], eat sour to gather it… when Heart desires
softening, eat salty. Use salty to tonify it, and sweet to purge it.” – Suwen
22
This
is your basic technique to make a tincture, or alcohol infusion. Alcohol is
especially good at extracting pungent, resinous, bitter, and acrid herbs, which
usually contain alkamides, resins, terpenes, and alkaloids. This, and other
alcoholic extractions, can be made with all herbs combined in one jar, or as
simples, then combined later (more flexibility, with simples).
Ingredients
(dried herbs, listed in parts):
-
2 Dandelion
root
-
2
orange peel
-
1 Angelica
-
½ Cardamom
-
½ Anise
-
50%
alcohol
Instructions:
1.
Fill
1/5 of glass jar with herbs
2.
Fill
jar with alcohol (cover herbs)
3.
Cover
jar.
4.
Let
sit 6-8 weeks, shaking daily.
5.
Strain,
rebottle.
Bottle
1-4 oz bottle to carry with you. Take 1-2 dropperfuls (1-2 mL, or ¼- ½ tsp), 15
minutes before eating to stimulate bile and other digestive secretions, to
prepare you for your meal.
Potential
additions/ modifications:
Gentian,
Wormwood, Yarrow, Oregon Graperoot, Juniper, Lemon Peel, Black Pepper, Ginger,
Fennel, Meadowsweet, Goldenrod, Vervain, Skullcap
Sweet: Rose Honey
脾苦濕，急食苦以燥之… 脾欲緩，急食甘以緩之，用苦寫之，甘補之。
“When
Spleen suffers dampness, eat bitter to dry it… when Spleen desires ease and
moderation, eat sweet. Use bitter to purge, and sweet to tonify it.” – Suwen 22
There
are five basic menstrua to extract edible and medicinal properties from plants:
water, vinegar, oil, sweet menstrua, and alcohol. Different menstrua extract
different properties. These are useful for both culinary, as well as medicinal,
preparations. The process for making any basic folk infusion is simple: fill a
jar with your plant, then fill it again and cover with your menstrua. Let sit
for 2-4 weeks, agitating the jar daily. Then strain (optional), rebottle, and
enjoy!
Ingredients:
-
Fresh
Rose Petals
-
Honey
Instructions:
1.
Fill glass jar with Roses (gather at the height of their bloom)
2.
Warm honey until liquefied (via double boiler or microwave)
3.
Cover Roses
with honey, with at least 1 inch over the top
4.
Cap
the jar and leave in a sunny place for 2-4 weeks
More
ideas:
Honey
is antibacterial, and filled with trace enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and more.
Pungent and aromatic plants extract especially well into honey. Aromatic spring
blossoms, especially nervines, are delicious in honey. A few possibilities
include Roses, Tulsi, Mints, Rosemary, Violets, Lavender, Hibiscus, and Lemon
Balm. Garlic honey makes a strong antibacterial agent. Pungent powders like
Tumeric, Black Pepper, and Ginger can be combined into a potent
anti-inflammatory honey paste.
Pungent: Hot Sauce
“The
organ network associated with [autumn] is Lung; this organ is abundant with qi
and has a particular affinity to pungent flavors… Metal can have an overbearing
action on Wood. Since Liver [is] the organ system associated with Wood, and
since this system is particularly affected by sour flavors, one should decrease
the intake of pungent flavors in the fall while increasing sour ones, since
this
will
nourish and protect Liver qi.” – Gao Lin
肺苦氣上逆，急食苦以泄之… 肺欲收，急食酸以收之，用酸補之，辛寫之。
“When Lung suffers counterflowing qi, eat bitter to
drain it… when Lung desires gathering, eat sour. Use sour to tonify it, and
pungent to purge it.” – Suwen 22
Oil-
based hot sauce
This
is your basic process for making an oil infusion. Oils extract aromatics,
pungent herbs, resins, and lipids particularly well. Consider the edible, as
well as topical potential applications of oils.
Ingredients:
-
1 C EV
olive oil
-
1-4 T
chili pepper flakes
(if fresh peppers, then dehydrate first)
-
Optional:
o
Dash
of sesame oil
o
½ tsp
dried garlic/ onion
Instructions:
1.
Fill
jar with all ingredients
2.
Let
sit for 2 weeks
3.
Straining
optional
Other
oil infusion possibilities:
Culinary:
Rosemary, Garlic, Sage, Dried Tomatoes, Onions, Dandelion fl
Topical:
St Johnswort fl, Comfrey lvs, Chapparal lvs and fl, Plantain lvs, Pine resin
~
Vinegar-
based hot sauce: just
infuse all ingredients in vinegar, instead of oil. Voila! Vinegar infusion!
Other
vinegar infusion possibilities: fresh Nettles, Dandelion fls, Mugwort lvs, Rose
petals
~
Fermented
hot sauce
Ingredients:
-
1 C
hot peppers (chopped)
-
2
garlic cloves (smashed)
-
Brine:
o
1 C
water (purified)
o
½ T
sea salt
Instructions:
1.
Add
ingredients to glass jar
2.
Cover
with brine
3.
Cover
loosely and let sit 2-3 days. Stir daily (to prevent mold formation on top)
4.
When
it’s cloudy and smells sour, blenderize then refrigerate
Notes:
Handle
hot peppers with gloves, and do not touch eyes, nose, face, or other mucous
membranes for a few hours afterwards, even after washing with soap. Inhale with
care, especially if cooking with, or blenderizing, hot peppers. Modulate your
spiciness by adding more or less peppers. De-seeding peppers makes them less pungent,
though overly-spicy hot sauce can be diluted later by adding more oil, or using
smaller quantities.
You
can cook with the hot sauce oil, adding it in at the end of a stir-fry, or by
adding the vinegar or fermented hot sauce into salads, soups, and other
preparations.
Pungent: Fire Cider
(from
Rosemary Gladstar)
Another
vinegar infusion: the ultimate immune
system boost. Make in autumn, and take 1-2 T a day, especially during cold/ flu
season, or when feeling run-down.
Ingredients:
-
½ C
fresh horseradish root (grated)
-
½ C
fresh ginger root (grated)
-
¼ C
garlic (mashed)
-
1
medium onion (chopped)
-
2
jalapeno peppers (chopped)
-
1
lemon
-
2 T
rosemary leaves (or any other herbs you wish to add)
-
Apple
cider vinegar
-
2 T
honey (optional)
Instructions:
1.
Fill glass
jar with ingredients
2.
Cover
ingredients with apple cider vinegar
3.
Cap
the jar, placing wax paper under the lid (so the metal doesn’t corrode)
4.
Shake
daily for 4 weeks (or longer)
5.
Strain,
add honey to taste, rebottle, enjoy!
Potential
additions/ modifications:
Tumeric
rt, Astragalus rt, Burdock rt, Oranges, Juniper berries, local terroir
(cheers!)
Salty: Pickles
(From
www.FermentedFoodLab.com)
“One
should nourish Heart qi by decreasing salty foods and increasing bitter ones...
because the winter months are associated with Kidney water which in turn is
affected by salty flavors.” – Gao Lin
腎苦燥，急食辛以潤之,開腠理，致津液，通氣也… 腎欲堅，急食苦以堅之，用苦補之，鹹寫之。
“When Kidney suffers dryness, eat pungent to
moisten, open [pores], deliver fluids, and [open qi passages]… when Kidney
desires consolidation, eat bitter. Use bitter to tonify, and salty to purge
it.”
– Suwen 22
Ingredients:
-
2 clean
Mason jars (1 L each)
-
10
small cucumbers (or whatever you wish to pickle)
-
1 T
garlic (roughly chopped)
-
1 T
peppercorns (whole)
-
4 bay
leaves
-
2 dill
head fronds (fresh)
-
2 tsp
black tea leaves, or 2 grape leaves, or 3 oak leaves (for astringency, to make
crunchy)
-
Brine:
o
2 T
sea salt
o
4 C
water
o
1 T
apple cider vinegar
Instructions:
1.
Fill
jars with ingredients
2.
Cover
ingredients with brine
3.
Submerge
pickles with a clean stone or other object (at least 1 inch of brine over
pickles)
4.
Loosely
cover with lid or cloth (to allow airflow for Lactobacillus to thrive)
5.
Check
after 4-5 days (pickles are ready when they smell and taste great, brine turns
cloudy, and cucumbers turn yellow or olive green.)
References
- Huang
Di Nei Jing Su Wen (黃帝内經素問) quotes translated by Michael Givens, from
“Flavor, Temperature and Other Practical Foundations of Chinese Medicine,” 2013
- Gao
Lin quotes from “Promoting Health and Relaxation during the Four Seasons,”
translated by Heiner Fruehauf, 2006
- “The
Modern Herbal Dispensatory,” by Thomas Easley and Steven Horne, 2016
(Photos from Google searches)
