My Favourite Traditional Chinese Medicine Books

Here's a peek at some of my favourite herb books on my bursting bookshelves! Many of these books can be bought or sourced from any good bookstore like Borders, Popular, Kinokuniya and MPH.

I refer to these books a lot as they're full of information and one read cannot glean them all. Books by DK (www.dk.com) or Dorling Kindersley are fantastic - they come with colour photos and that's always helpful when I am trying to figure out which herb is which!

Slowly build up your books on TCM and herbs as there are plenty out there. Get them with hardcover if you can - they're sturdier and last longer because you will be referring to them a lot in your study of herbs off and on.

I started collecting these books about 5 years ago and am still slowly building up a collection. I cross-refer when I am unsure (and refer online when I am really stumped!). But books, unlike websites, can be picked up anytime for a quick perusal. Switching on my laptop takes much longer!

If you have a good book on TCM, please share with me!

Secrets of Chinese Herbal Medicine
By Penelope Cody (2001)
Published by DK Books
*Small and compact, easy to refer to. Full of colour photos and quick for a refresher on popular herbs. Bought this in Kinokuniya KLCC many years ago!

Chinese Herbal Secrets
By Stefan Chmelik (1999)
Published by Avery Group
* A large book but again, full of enjoyable colour photos. The illustrations are good too.

Practical Chinese Medicine
By Penelope Cody (2000)
Published by Godsfield Press
* Always a handy reference, Cody writes well and explains in detail. Much recommended.

Chinese Food System for Health & Healing
By Henry C. Lu (2000)
Published by Pelanduk
* A bit complicated and hard to understand. Needs some mental workout but good list of hot/cold food categories.

The Chinese Way to Healing: Many Paths to Wholeness
By Misha Ruth Cohen (1996)
Published by Perigee Books

New Cantonese Cooking: Classic and Innovative Recipes from China's Haute Cuisine
By Eileen Yin-Fei Lo (1988)
Published by Viking Group
* An old book I found at a garage sale going for a song! Full of real Cantonese recipes.

Longevity: The Tao of Eating and Healing
By Aileen Yeoh (1989)
Published by Times Books
* My first book...a bit pricey but a good reference, always. Aileen is Malaysian by the way.

Herbal Secrets for Total Health
By Letha Hadady (1996)
Published by Vermilion

Goji Berry, Chrysanthemum & Red Date Tea

I've been making this simple tea for a few times already. Not sure if I had shared this before but all it needs are 3 ingredients - dried goji berries, dried red dates and dried chrysanthemum bulbs. This sugar-less concoction is good for health especially if you want to maintain immunity. It's even more important these days what with the pandemic and Covid-19. But it is also a pleasant brew - no boiling needed. All you need is a handful of goji berries (washed and soaked for 5 minutes in water), 3-5 large dried red dates and a teaspoon of dried chrysanthemum flowers (these are the small heads of flowers, not the usual type for making chrysanthemum tea). Put all the ingredients in a teapot and pour in boiling water. Let it sit for 10 minutes and voila, you have made yourself a healthy tea without sugar. It has a natural sweetness from the red dates and goji berries. And once you have drunk all the tea, you can continue adding more boiling water for a second b...

Corn Silk That You Should Never Throw Away

The next time you buy fresh corn still in its husk, you should never throw away the corn silk. Most people throw away the husk and silk, thinking that they're useless but I can tell you, corn silk is great for your body. Save the corn silk to make a healthy tea. Just place all the silk into a pot, cover with 500ml of water and simmer for 10 minutes on low heat. Turn off the heat and pour yourself a steaming cup of sweetish corn silk tea that tastes a little like corn. Corn silk or Yu Mi Xu is a natural corn fibre that is also used in Native American medicine. It contains flavonoids that give corn silks their colour and have antioxidant properties. I t is considered an important medicinal plant, able to induce diuresis and excrete dampness according to TCM. Corn silk is helpful towards Kidney, Bladder, Liver and Gall Bladder. meridians Therefore it clears damp heat, bloating, rheumatism, skin eruptions, gout, wasting and thirsting disorder, hepatitis, cholelithiasis, ch...

24 Herb Tea - Bitter, Foul-Tasting But Oh So Good For You!

Was out running a couple of errands this entire afternoon and ended up buying groceries at the nearby supermarket. If I had a choice I wouldn't go into this decade-old supermarket because it's small, cramped and you tend to knock into other shoppers with your trolley (yes, the aisles are that narrow). Nic and I figured that we might as well buy our groceries since we were in this vicinity and he did need some coffee. Finally we ended up with a trolley full of cheese, butter, coffee and noodles. Anyway, I was getting thirsty after all the errands and shopping. We decided to stop and have a drink at this stall which sells Chinese herbal tea. This uncle who mans it is actually a Hong Kong native who has been living in Malaysia for a long time. He drives a little white van which he parks at the corner of a junction and opens up for business. You see, he sells hot and cold Chinese herbal teas of all types - the kind that is slowly boiled and brewed. It's common to see Mal...

The Soup Queen

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