According to the Chinese calendar

Black chicken, oh yeah, the crown jewel of women’s health in Chinese medicine and food therapy. Yes, the skin is black, the bones are black, and even the meat has a blue-black hue. In Chinese medicine, the color black is associated with the Kidneys, and the Kidney’s are the source energy for the whole body.

Kidney’s are also largely responsible for the reproductive system. So by association, and the law signatures, black chicken is also very good for the reproductive system. It is always recommended for women post partum, to nourish the body, and replenish qi and blood after giving birth. This same property of strongly nourishing Kidney qi and blood also make it great for the elderly or people recovering from serious illness. Black chicken is a Silkie chicken. Yes, those ridiculously cute ones with big fluffy bursts of pom pom feathers.  They contain double the amount of the amino acid carnitine than other chickens, and may be another explanation for it’s nourishing properties.

 The meat is a little gamey, but as a soup it makes a rich broth. The recipe here includes mushrooms and ginger, further increasing it’s immune enhancing properties. This recipe is also from the lovely blog of Henry McCann, and is great for anybody to eat during the colder days in January. The nourishment of qi and blood is important for anybody during the winter months, when we need build our stores of energy to use in the year to come.

Black chicken can be found in Chinese markets pretty easily. They are in the frozen section, often imported from Canada. I’ve never found them fresh, though I do have a dream of starting a Silkie farm and selling them to acupuncturists for their patients. If anybody’s got some land and would like to be a partner here in the bay area, hit me up.

Black Chicken Soup with Carrot

Ingredients:

• 1 black chicken
• 1 + 1 large carrot
• 1-2 oz mushrooms (such as shiitake, or dried Chinese mushrooms)
• 1-2oz water chestnuts
• ½ oz black wood ear mushrooms
• salt to taste

Preparation:

1. If using fresh water chestnuts first peel, wash, and cut into pieces; soak wood ear mushrooms until soft, and soak other mushrooms until soft (if using dried)
2. Cut up chicken into large pieces (leaving bones in), and cut 1carrot to chunks
3. Put chicken and carrots into a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, skim the foam off the top, and then simmer for 3-4 hours. Check water levels every so often, and add water to keep the levels above the chicken. You can also put this in the crock pot over night on low, or if you are an instant potter…use that. I like slow cooking my broth better, but if you prefer the pressure cooker, have at it.
4. Strain broth. Let chicken pieces cool for a minute or two, and then remove the meat and return to the broth.
5. Add mushrooms, water chestnuts, and another chopped carrot to the broth and chicken. Bring to boil once more, then simmer again for about 20 minutes.
6. Add salt to taste

In Chinese and Asian culture, food is also considered medicine. All foods have therapeutic qualities, even sugar. They are placed in the same categories that Chinese herbs are, with a “flavor” and a “temperature”. These flavors and temperatures dictate which organs and body functions the food will affect…and voila, food becomes medicine. This practice of using food as medicine can be called Chinese food therapy. Many of the herbs I use as in my practice, in granule form, are also common foods throughout Asia. For example: ginger, jujube dates, lotus seed, and goji berries.

Winter is a great time to utilize Chinese food therapy in our diets, when it’s important build and protect yang. Yang is our physiological fire. During the winter, we protect and nourish it so it will provide energy for the whole year.  (You can read more about winter yang protection here.)

This recipe strongly tonifies yang through just a few simple ingredients. Lamb is the main player, one of the warmest meats that also has a sweet flavor from a medicinal perspective. And it uses three food-herbs from the Chinese medical apothecary:

• fresh ginger (sheng jiang) -warm and spicy
• green onion (cong bai) -warm and spicy
• longan fruit (long yan rou) -warm and sweet

In Chinese herbal medicine, formulas are always prescribed. A single herb is almost never used. This is because flavors and temperatures of herbs combine synergistically in the body. In the case of this recipe, the flavors of spicy and sweet together create yang. So sweet lamb and longan, plus spicy ginger and green onion are a powerful combination to build yang. This recipe is from Henry McCann’s wonderful blog you can find here. The soup also nourishes the heart and calms the spirit, and builds qi and blood.

Chinese Medicinal Food – Lamb, Ginger and Longan Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Lamb (deboned and cut into chunks)
• 1/4 C Dried longan fruit
• 1/3 C Fresh ginger (peeled and sliced)
• 3 Green onions (chopped)
• Salt
• 1/4 C Cooking wine

Directions:

1. Put lamb in a pot with 3 cups water, bring to a boil and simmer for just about 2 minutes; strain out lamb and discard water to remove the fat
2. Place lamb back into pot with enough water to complete cover the meat (6-8 cups), the sliced ginger and scallions, dried longan, and a small amount of cooking wine
3. Bring to a rapid boil on high flame, then reduce flame to a low simmer and cook for about 2 hours; remove from heat and add salt to taste

The Cuts Less Traveled

If you haven’t tried cooking with the less popular cuts of meat…neck, knuckles, feet…you are missing out. Not only are they cheap, they are delicious and very nutritious. These uncommon cuts are full of collagen, marrow, and cartilage. These are necessary for our own healthy joints, brain function, nerve conduction, healthy skin and hair. It’s where supplement companies take their raw materials.  Then they dry them out, mix them with other chemicals and desiccants and turn them into expensive pills and powders. You can skip the middle men.

This hearty recipe is also great for the cold (sometimes cold?) winter months. This is when we warm and build our reserves for the budding of spring, and then the high activity of summer. This dish is straight from my favorite TV chef, Jacques Pepin, off his show Heart and Soul in the Kitchen that ran on PBS.

Since there is a copyright associated, I’m gonna give you the link here. Make this recipe, it’s more than fabulous.

Jacques Pepin’s Pork Neck and Beans Stew

In addition to the western perspective on the nutrition of this recipe, Eastern medicine also has an interesting take on how food affects your health. Below are some Chinese medical nutrition facts for this recipe. Foods are classified just as medicinal herbs are in Chinese Medicine. Each item has a temperature and an action on a body system or systems. We use these qualities to counter any imbalances causing disease processes in the body. This recipe is actually quite balanced, with cool and warm quality foods together. This is a more energetic perspective, vs. the material perspective which is more western.

Pork

Slightly cooling, acts on the Middle Burner (Stomach, Spleen, Liver, Gallbladder), moistens dryness in the organs, tonifies qi

Pork neck/vertebrae/cartilage treats your neck/vertebrae/cartilage.

Chicken Broth

Warm, strengthens qi, blood and essence, goes to the Stomach, Spleen, Liver and Kidney. Warms the blood.

White Beans

Neutral temperature, white color nourishes the lungs and large intestine, drains dampness

Leeks

Warm, pungent. Goes to the Liver and Lung, clears blood stagnation and Stomach fire

Garlic

Warm and pungent, warms the middle jiao, strengthens qi and yang, circulates blood. Kills worms

Tomatoes

Cold, nourish liver yin, cool the blood.

Carrot

Neutral temperature, cools dry heat of the lungs

Celery

Cooling, cools stomach fire

Thyme

Warm, strengthen Lungs and Spleen, expel cold mucus

Black Pepper

Warm/hot, expels mucus, warms the middle

Salt

Cold, dissolves mucus.