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Chinese Medicine Folklore

About once a month this section will outline what Chinese history has recorded about the medicinal value of various plants and foods. This Directory shall not be used as a substitute for bona fide medical advice from a licensed physician.

Soybean

The Soybean has long been pivotal to Chinese flavor and nutrition. These beans are never eaten raw as they cannot be disgested (they also possess a natural resistance to pests and blight) and could be poisonous. In the Chinese health tradition, the Soybean is highest. It is the one plentiful and inexpensive food with a well-deserved reputation for powerful nutritious value.

Centuries of cooks used creative methods to include them in food. The high protein value of the Soybean is the vegetarian Buddhist monk's delight.They have used Soybeans in many forms to keep them nourished. They have even flavored the curd to resemble various tastes.

Making a milk from Soybean is simple. Typically they are soaked for about a day, then ground to make a kind of mush. Be sure to use plenty of water. Strain the mush with cheesecloth. The resulting fluid is soybean milk. Its chemistry is similar to cow's milk, and has been used as a substitute for allergic infants et al.

To curdle the bean curd, boil the milk. Once boiled, mix in calcium sulphate to set it up. The curd will reform into a nice soft solid substance. Once it is hard enough, cut it into as many pieces as you like and wrap them in - you guessed it - cheesecloth. Apply a weight of any kind to help drain any excessive fluids. Over time the curds become firm. Once firm, they can be fried or deep-fried. If all of the liquid is removed the resulting curd can be preserved by cooking them in soy sauce, spices, etc.

There are many ways to prepare Soybeans. Many health books and recipe books have wonderful suggestions .

Should you boil milk curds over an extended period of time, a scum or cake forms on the top of the fluid. This "stuff" can be dried in the sun, cut, and made into sheets of curd. The remaining rich liquid, after further boiling, becomes thick and can be poured through a bamboo mesh to dry. The result is a dried bean curd.

All kinds of dishes are prepared from this dried curd. Mock chicken, various fish dishes, meats and vegetables, are creatiely combined to produce very flavorful foods. A good cook could easily fashion a plate of a dozen or so different meals completely from products made by the Soybean.

The Chinese Medicine Directory will continue to examine various natural uses of plants in its next installment of foods used in traditional Chinese health.

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Next Time

We'll review the relationship between Chinese Medicine and Garlic, Ginger and Mushrooms.

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