Issue 57 - Tse Qigong Centre

PreservedEggsSometimes called Thousand YearOld Egg, these have a delicious butunique flavour.Preserved eggs are not to everyone’stastebuds but eaten with rice soupor as a condiment with a simplesauce, they can be very delicious. Theproper name for preserved eggs isSonghua Dan which means pine flowereggs. They are so called because whenshelled, the solidified but semitransparenteggs show flowery patters.The more numerous the patterns, thehigher the quality of the egg.Songhua are normally made ofduck eggs. The traditional folk recipe wasto soak the fresh eggs in quicklime mixedwith salt and water. Now eggs are soakedfrom 40-60 days inliquid consisting ofcaustic soda, salt and tealeaves. Another method thatis followed in certain regions isto wrap the unshelled eggsindividually in a clay mixture containingquicklime, salt and grain husk, and theywill become quite edible in 2-3 weeks.Some Westerners have been told to callthem “hundred year old” or even“thousand year old” eggs. This isdefinitely an exaggeration which hascaused some to shy away from this tastybut peculiar Chinese food.One method of preparing the eggis to mix a bit of Chinese rice vinegar withminced ginger root and soy sauce andthen sprinkle this on the sliced egg. Thishelps to remove the slightly astringenttaste of the egg.From “Things Chinese and Their Stories” by DuFeibao and Hong SuChinese herbalism has beenaround for many centuries and is afascinating subject. Chinese herbs areused to restore the balance of Yin andYang forces in the body. Illnesses areclassified in terms of excess or deficiencyof Yin and Yang and treated accordinglywith herbs that have their own particularactions.It is said that each drug (herb) hasits own nature which includes neutral,hot, warm, cool and cold. So if someonehas too much fire or Yang in the body,then a herb that has cooling propertiesmay be used to restore balance. Thereare five flavours of herbs whichcorrespond to the Five Element theory.Concise BookChineseReview Book Reviewboth Pinyin and Latin followed by a briefMateria MedicaShandong and Technology PressThese flavours are:- acrid herbs are sweatinducing and promote the ciruclationof Qi and blood; sweetherbs invigorate theMiddle Jiao and relievepain; sour herbs are usedto treat some chronicillnesses; bitter herbsare used to clear heatfrom the body and stopthe uprising of Qi inthe body; and lastlysalty herbs whichrelax the bowels andsoften tumours inthe body.This book iswritten for foreign readers andso the names of the herbs are given inBook Review Book Reviewdescription and a black and white linedrawing illustration of the plant. The herbis further described through its flavourand what its actions on the body are.Lastly a detailed description of indicationsof when the herb may be used along withthe names of other herbs which it mayused in conjunction with.If you know nothing about herbs,you can follow the classification indexof either actions of the drugsor finding the particularcondition. However, this is notreally a how to guide but moreof a reference tool for thosewanting to learn more or forthose already practising asherbalists. Considering thevastness of the subject, a lot ofinformation is packed into thisbook. It makes a good supplementto other more detailed guides, butit would have been even better ifthey had included the Chinesecharacters.£13.95/$18.95Qi Magazine 35