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

Tong Sum and Red Date Tea

I caught an interesting cooking show on TV last night. On Astro's Asian Food Channel (Channel 703), I watched a show on TCM. It was a Taiwanese programme where the host and hostess spoke in Mandarin and sometimes a smattering of Taiwan Hokkien. The show featured 3 recipes each segment, using TCM herbs with the herbalist host explaining about the uses of the specific herbs. Then the lady hostess would cook up a dish, usually a main course, using the herbs. While I am not very interested in making dishes like prawn balls with Chinese herbs (it seemed just too much work!), I liked the 2 other recipes they showed. One was a milk beverage with herbs (I can't recall what now). But the other one was easy. A tong sum and red date tea. Tong sum or dang shen is a mild herb which resembles a dry, gnarled twig the size of a finger. It is called the poor man's ginseng in some instances because it shares similar properties with the more expensive ginseng. Dang shen is actually a root wh

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

Snow Fungus, Longan, Goji Berry & Red Date Dessert For Lungs & Liver

Just last week I made this dessert because I was rummaging in my kitchen and found some snow fungus. This is a classic dessert that any Cantonese would know. I was just surprised at myself that I haven't made this dessert in a long time. Maybe because I didn't have the key ingredient - snow fungus - at hand! What is Snow Fungus? It is technically a fungus that grows on dead bark or tree stumps just like wood ear fungus. Snow fungus or silver ear, snow ear or white wood ear is known as Tremella fuciformis and yes, it is an edible fungus. The pleasanter term is mushroom if that makes you feel better. As most mushrooms go, they contain vitamin D, zinc, calcium, and folate. Benefits of Snow Fungus Snow fungus is said to have anti-ageing effects due to the presence of superoxide dismutase , an enzyme that acts as a potent antioxidant throughout the body, particularly in the skin. It is best known in TCM for nourishing the lungs and we know how important this fact is right now whe

The Soup Queen

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