Winter has arrived in Taiwan. Another cold front sweeps down across the island. Thousands of motorists and shoppers bundle up in heavy jackets, gloves, and ski-caps. The soup restaurants are packed with customers. The empty night markets leave stall owners no choice but to close early. The temperatures on the island are still well above freezing, but Taiwan's moist air and lack of central heating make the
weather seem deceptively colder. It is on days like this that many Chinese turn to steaming broths and stews specially prepared with Chinese herbs to warm the body and fend off colds.
The Principles for Eating to Keep Warm
The Chinese believe that to lead a healthy life, the body's internal positive and negative forces must be balanced. Any imbalance causes illness. To rebalance the body, the Chinese turn to certain foods, each of which have certain properties, including moist,dry,cool,warm, draining,and nourishing
According to Chinese medicine, people with poor circulation should pu by eating foods like ginseng, shrimp, and eel. Garlic, pears, and tea will drain the body of disease. During the winter, most people take special care to eat nourishing or pu foods to boost the body's strength to combat disease and resist infection.
Chinese beliefs in the benefits of pu and other herbal medicines date back centuries. In traditional Chinese agrarian society, farmers had to work extremely hard during spring, summer, and fall. But during winter, the weather was too cold to work or grow food. The farmers desperately needed rest, and they would pu--or eat particularly nourishing foods --while they rested to prepare their bodies for spring.
Traditional Chinese herbalists sell all the herbs needed for winter eating.
Certain foods heat up the body. Without heaters, foods high in nourishment were the best way to protect against getting sick. Today, the knowledge of yao shan or the use of herbal medicines in cooking, is not taught in school, but is widely known because this knowledge has been passed from generation to generation.
I first learned about this form of Chinese herbal medicine one evening after work. On arriving home, I found my girlfriend tucked under our bed comforter. The heater was on and the apartment wasn't very cold. But when I touched her feet to warm up my hands, I was surprised to find they were colder than my hands. I asked her why her feet were so cold. She replied that her constitution is not good, so she needed to eat especially nutritious food to help her body to heat up.
Herbal Soups to Chase Away Cold
That night we met some friends at a night market. Off the main road, away from the massive wave of shoppers, tourists, and peddlers, lay a small restaurant in a narrow alley. Outside the restaurant, a row of boiling soups let off a rich fragrance. The specialty is yao tun soup--a type of soup made of meat and herbal medicines to heat up an internally cold body. The soup incorporates 10 different types of herbs, including Chinese wolfberry--an orange-red dried fruit, rather like a currant, that is brimming with vitamin A. Ginger, basil, and a choice of pork or lamb are usually found in yao tun soups.
Another popular medicinal soup is tang kuei (liguisticum) soup.It helps create new blood and improves circulation. The two most common types of tang kuei soups have duck or lamb mixed in the soup with thin noodles. Our friend J. C. and his wife decided to pass on soup and invited us back to their house to try their 'sesame oil chicken'.
This nourishing specialty is free-range, mountain chicken stewed in a sesame oil soup with aged ginger and rice wine. J. C. explained to me that sesame oil chicken also warms up the body by making the blood circulate. "If your hands and feet are cold, just drink a little sesame oil chicken and they will immediately warm up," he said.
The women brought out the soup and placed it on the table. The room suddenly filled with a pungent smell that made the air seem edible. I thought their children would all wake up and rush into the dining room, but they remained fast asleep. We sat down and began to eat.
Most of these nutritious dishes can be tasted at one of Taipei's many night markets. If you fancy trying your hand at making them yourself, recipes (in Chinese) and the herbal medicine ingredients required can be bought at one of the many Chinese pharmacies to be found on Tihua Street, in West Taipei.
However you get to try these winter specialties, winter eating in Taiwan has much to offer to visitors and locals alike. It is more than just eating. Chinese winter foods provide a very social atmosphere and a different eating experience altogether.
