Healing Herbal Soups: Boost Your Immunity and Weather the Seasons with Traditional Chinese Recipes: A Cookbook

by Rose Cheung and Genevieve Wong

Soothe your soul and boost your immunity with these easy and delicious soup recipes that incorporate Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Combining the trends of culinary medicine and seasonal eating and adding a dash of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Healing Herbal Soups is the first book of its kind to focus on boosting immunity and weathering the seasons, by a mother-daughter, Chinese-American duo. Rose and Genevieve have been making Chinese herbal soups in their kitchens all their lives. They made broths to help their bodies adapt to the seasons, and now, for the first time, they're translating these traditional recipes-all of which have been vetted by Dr. Shiu Hon Chui, a preeminent TCM doctor, researcher, and professor-into English.

Healing Herbal Soups provides a complete herbal encyclopedia and more than fifty tasty recipes-with full-color photographs-that mix herbs with meat and vegetables to create healing broths. These easy-to-follow recipes are here for you whenever you feel unwell, or if you're just looking to add healthy soups to your weekly meal rotation. Armed with an introduction to TCM and special sections on tea, ginger, and ginseng, as well, at last, you can feel less dependent on Western concoctions of drugs and chemicals, and start using traditional Chinese herbs right in the comfort of your own home.

• ISBN10: 1982176113
• ISBN13: 9781982176112
• Publish Date: 25 November 2021 (first published 21 September 2021)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 224
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Healing Herbal Soups is a collection of healing herbal soups by Rose Cheung and Genevieve Wong. Due out 21st Sept 2021 from Simon & Schuster on their Tiller Press imprint, it's 224 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

This collection is based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and is designed to heal and support better health and a healthy immune system through herb based broths and infusions. These are not intended for tasty eating purposes and most of them won't taste especially appetizing. The authors have not included annotations or links to research showing the efficacy of these medicinal soups, but given the long history of TCM and the increasing use in association with western medicine (even the WHO is now supporting TCM in clinics around the world, especially in underserved populations), many westerners are turning to TCM for help with health problems. There is, in addition to the recipes, much information given about qi (energy), acupoints, and meridians.

The authors have, in conjunction with a TCM practitioner, translated these traditional recipes from Chinese and made them available to readers. The first part of the book explains the concepts and basic precepts of TCM along with the traditional view of pathogenesis and the origins of illness. They've included a primer on the ingredients used in the book and some suggestions on how to source them.

The second section of the book contains the recipes, grouped by season: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter as well as a section devoted specifically to immune boosting soups and drinks. Each of the recipes contain a description and background, uses, ingredients in a bullet list with weight measurements in ounces, and step-by-step preparation instructions. Ingredients are listed with English and Chinese names. Tips are listed in a footer bar at the end of the recipe. Most of the recipes are to be strained; those recipes where the solid ingredients can be eaten are specified.

Many of the recipe ingredients will require a large specialist grocery or Asian herbalist supplier.

There are quite a lot of interesting recipes and I intend to give them a fair try. There is little photography included in the book and the internal photographs are black and white (in the advance copy I received for review) with a retro-traditional vibe.

Four stars. Interesting concepts and well written recipes. This would be a good choice for library acquisition, alternative medicine adherents, and readers who wish to support and expand on more mainstream western science.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.