Food

[Raine]

What do you eat (or avoid eating)? What's your diet profile (or ideal diet)? Got recipes?

 

What does the Taoist, Buddhist, or Spiritual diet consist of?

[thelerner]

I have a recipe collection in my Personal Discussion area, http://thetaobums.com/topic/26799-recipes-for-some-day/ . Nothing particularly spiritual there, though lately I've been experimenting with Curry in a Hurry type dishes. Things as easy as combining frozen dishes from Trader Joe's. I find spicy to be the most satisfying, healthy too.

 

Though often vegetarian I get the feeling such busy spiciness is the opposite of a spiritual diet, where a quiet mind and simple plate of plain whole foods tends to be the rule.

Edited July 28, 2013 by thelerner

[Taomeow]

Spiritual=bland?.. in every possible sense -- gastronomic, sexual, sensual, intellectual, aesthetic?..

 

Now that's a legacy of a few thousand years of instruction of the masses to the effect that enjoying something (god forbid) automatically makes them unworthy of something better.

 

However, newest discoveries of cognitive neuroscience confirm that healthy, most energy-efficient learning happens via pleasure, and unhealthy convoluted and highly wasteful of energy kind, via pain. I don't believe spiritual learning is an exception to this rule.

 

Of course if you want to try it both ways, spicy dishes is it. Pain AND pleasure. The lesson I found therein is,

 

spices of the world tell you something about the soul of peoples that use them. Compare Thai spicy with Mexican spicy, e.g.. There's a major difference there qi-wise. Thai spicy (if you go really high on a scale of 1 to 10 -- say 8) hits you in the midbrain and paralyzes all of your lower brain except for the amygdala (an organ in charge of extreme emotions, notably profound terror) and then goes away as fast as it came on, leaving you feeling reborn and tearfully grateful for having regained your life and breath. Mexican spicy of the same intensity, on the other hand, stays with you for a long, long time, easing off very slowly, very gradually. You're done eating, you would like to perhaps forget all about what you did to yourself twenty minutes ago, but it won't let you. It has heng...

[kaaazuo]

spices of the world tell you something about the soul of peoples that use them. Compare Thai spicy with Mexican spicy, e.g.. There's a major difference there qi-wise. Thai spicy (if you go really high on a scale of 1 to 10 -- say 8) hits you in the midbrain and paralyzes all of your lower brain except for the amygdala (an organ in charge of extreme emotions, notably profound terror) and then goes away as fast as it came on, leaving you feeling reborn and tearfully grateful for having regained your life and breath. Mexican spicy of the same intensity, on the other hand, stays with you for a long, long time, easing off very slowly, very gradually. You're done eating, you would like to perhaps forget all about what you did to yourself twenty minutes ago, but it won't let you. It has heng...

 

What about Indian spicy, Taomeow? There is Northern and Southern Indian.

[thelerner]

 

Spiritual=bland?.. in every possible sense -- gastronomic, sexual, sensual, intellectual, aesthetic?..

 

Now that's a legacy of a few thousand years of instruction of the masses to the effect that enjoying something (god forbid) automatically makes them unworthy of something better.

 

However, newest discoveries of cognitive neuroscience confirm that healthy, most energy-efficient learning happens via pleasure, and unhealthy convoluted and highly wasteful of energy kind, via pain. I don't believe spiritual learning is an exception to this rule.

 

You're done eating, you would like to perhaps forget all about what you did to yourself twenty minutes ago, but it won't let you. It has heng...

Hey, I like my food to be like my woman; hot and spicy , by spiritual food I was thinking in terms of monastic faire.

 

I just had something called a JB martini, vodka, elderberry liquor, sake, fennel bitters with a muddled seared jalapeno and cucumber in it. Spiciest martini I ever had, and damn good. They left the squashed jalapeno in the glass just to say, bite me; I dare you! After reading Taomeows write up on hot spices on the amygdala I'm sorry I didn't. Who'd of thought of muddling a seared hot pepper?

Edited July 28, 2013 by thelerner

[Raine]

thelerner, that's an incredably interesting martini. My son and hubby would love it!

[Taomeow]

What about Indian spicy, Taomeow? There is Northern and Southern Indian.

Not a big expert on things Indian... Haven't had Indian in a while -- nothing noteworthy in the current vicinity, so I couldn't tell. What's your opinion?

 

I frequented an Indian place that was very good on the East coast, but that was before I trained my palate for hot spicy, so I ordered on the mild side. I used to be prejudiced against hot spices and attributed their attraction to the overall numbing-out of people's senses and folks seeking to feel something -- anything -- by going to all kinds of silly extremes. I still believe it's true for some people in some cases. But now I also know it's not the beginning, middle and end of the spicy story, it's just one possible chapter. Eating these foods can actually awaken the numbed-out feelings, it may start with just the palate but the overall exposure to non-bland and otherwise extraordinary sensations is beneficial, it can radiate into other areas and whet one's appetite for experimenting with more aspects and peculiarities of the "alive" state than what the current common denominator dictates. But I digress...

[Taomeow]

Hey, I like my food to be like my woman; hot and spicy , by spiritual food I was thinking in terms of monastic faire.

 

I just had something called a JB martini, vodka, elderberry liquor, sake, fennel bitters with a muddled seared jalapeno and cucumber in it. Spiciest martini I ever had, and damn good. They left the squashed jalapeno in the glass just to say, bite me; I dare you! Who'd of thought of muddling a seared hot pepper?

Holy shit. And here I am with my Rémy Martin for which I don't even have a lemon!

Edited July 28, 2013 by Taomeow

[kaaazuo]

Not a big expert on things Indian... Haven't had Indian in a while -- nothing noteworthy in the current vicinity, so I couldn't tell. What's your opinion?

 

Oh my goodness, Taomeow. Indian spicy is the original spicy. And the spirituality that goes with it is heavens above compared to Mexican and Thai. Just last week I was feasting on tandooris, tikkas and briyanis beside two naked voluptuous, full-breasted sex-temple Indian women (stone statutes) at Khansama in Serangoon Road, Singapore.

 

I frequented an Indian place that was very good on the East coast, but that was before I trained my palate for hot spicy, so I ordered on the mild side. I used to be prejudiced against hot spices and attributed their attraction to the overall numbing-out of people's senses and folks seeking to feel something -- anything -- by going to all kinds of silly extremes. I still believe it's true for some people in some cases. But now I also know it's not the beginning, middle and end of the spicy story, it's just one possible chapter. Eating these foods can actually awaken the numbed-out feelings, it may start with just the palate but the overall exposure to non-bland and otherwise extraordinary sensations is beneficial, it can radiate into other areas and whet one's appetite for experimenting with more aspects and peculiarities of the "alive" state than what the current common denominator dictates. But I digress...

 

Your spirituality needs awakening. It's not just chillies which are hot. They are not spicy in the real sense which is aroused by garam masala, pepper, and cummin and cinamon and cardamon and cloves and god-knows what else goes into the pot.

[Raine]

I have to agree, I feel more energized with the spicy spices of india. The only time I cook a meal anymore is making authentic indian foods withthe mindset they put into it, which is unbridled love and care for all that eat of it. The only thing I don't like is thier version os goat stew (too many bones).

[Taomeow]

Oh my goodness, Taomeow. Indian spicy is the original spicy. And the spirituality that goes with it is heavens above compared to Mexican and Thai. Just last week I was feasting on tandooris, tikkas and briyanis beside two naked voluptuous, full-breasted sex-temple Indian women (stone statutes) at Khansama in Serangoon Road, Singapore.

 

 

Your spirituality needs awakening. It's not just chillies which are hot. They are not spicy in the real sense which is aroused by garam masala, pepper, and cummin and cinamon and cardamon and cloves and god-knows what else goes into the pot.

I know and use all of these in my own cooking. "Not a big expert on things Indian" was a statement fueled by humility, not ignorance. I actually had an Indian food guru from Southern India for several years. He owned a little Indian grocery close to where I lived, and since I was almost the only non-Indian to shop there, he took interest in my interest and eventually started teaching me for real. Not just the mundane stuff like garam masala, but absolutely everything he carried -- amchur to neem to asaphoetida to kachoori methi to guggul to dishes with bitter melon (really tricky!), with extensive lectures on the healing properties of absolutely each and every item by itself and its vast and extensive combinations to achieve other effects. The guy was an encyclopedia and all the knowledge was first hand, from family taught by generations that went before. I made a habit of reserving an hour and a half for shopping there, it was a one-on-one transmission. I could teach Indian cooking because of that... but my palate leans toward China (I mean Chinese food in China, not American Chinese) , Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and oh, Taiwan! The mother of fusion! Don't dis my spirituality, bro, I cook like a pro.

[Raine]

I know and use all of these in my own cooking. "Not a big expert on things Indian" was a statement fueled by humility, not ignorance. I actually had an Indian food guru from Southern India for several years. He owned a little Indian grocery close to where I lived, and since I was almost the only non-Indian to shop there, he took interest in my interest and eventually started teaching me for real. Not just the mundane stuff like garam masala, but absolutely everything he carried -- amchur to neem to asaphoetida to kachoori methi to guggul to dishes with bitter melon (really tricky!), with extensive lectures on the healing properties of absolutely each and every item by itself and its vast and extensive combinations to achieve other effects. The guy was an encyclopedia and all the knowledge was first hand, from family taught by generations that went before. I made a habit of reserving an hour and a half for shopping there, it was a one-on-one transmission. I could teach Indian cooking because of that... but my palate leans toward China (I mean Chinese food in China, not American Chinese) , Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and oh, Taiwan! The mother of fusion! Don't dis my spirituality, bro, I cook like a pro.

 

Would you mind putting up recipes and ingredient properties? I'd love to expand my knowledge.

[Chang]

Here are some details of the Ch'ang Ming or Taoist Long Life Diet as used by practitioners of the Li Family system. Basic Principles Nature

Taoism is at its heart a philosophy of nature. Millions of years of evolution have shaped us to be what we are, and throughout this time we have evolved eating natural foods. It is only relatively recently that diet has changed so much to include so many artificial foods. The more processed food, additives, chemicals and toxins there are in the diet the more difficult it is for the organism to cope and adapt. Processed foods may have had most of the natural goodness, fibre, vitamins and minerals removed in the processing, and they may have been stored in tins or packets for some months or longer, they are no longer fresh and wholesome to eat. Avoiding, tobacco, alcohol, coffee, tea, sugar, drugs, sweets and other artificial stimulants is also recommended, they contain toxins which clog up the body and put a strain on the organs plus they are unnatural stimulants which tax the body's natural processes. They are not balanced foods because they may appear to provide energy but in fact they are really only stimulating the body to use up some of it's own natural reserves, also they do not contain balanced amounts of protein, vitamins and minerals which the body needs as well as energy.

In the west the life style and dietary habits have contributed to the dramatic rise in such problems as heart disease, obesity, stress, cancer, arthritis and so on. The emphasis has moved away from prevention towards drugs and surgery. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure however, why try to fight a disease once it has taken root when with some simple guidelines we can avoid it in the first place? What is of primary importance is health, not doctors and medicines, and this can best be achieved through eating natural foods. Remember that the body regenerates itself, the skin tissue and organs take about 2-3 years, even the bones are replaced after seven years, and it is all built from what goes into your mouth. Nature can do its work but only if given the right tools. Ideally natural foods have been grown organically without the use of artificial fertilizers, chemicals or pesticides.

Environment

Each individual generally becomes adapted to the climate, foods that are eaten in a hot country may not be suitable for a colder climate. It is advisable to eat food that is grown locally and in season. Food that comes from a distance may not be fresh or may have been stored, but above all it is probably out of season. If you eat summer foods in winter then you are tricking your body into thinking its summer and not giving it what it really needs. Also bringing food from a long distance creates more pollution for the environment.

Eating in tune with the environment also means timing things properly, the body wants to rest at night so dont eat after 7pm. Breakfast like a king is the best way, and eat less later on in the day. Eating in front of the TV is also not a good idea, your stomach wants to digest the food and mental stimulation can distract the body away from its task and cause indigestion or even an ulcer. Also avoid drinking before meals as this dilutes the digestive juices. Variety is important, but try to eat more root vegetables in winter and leafy ones in summer.

Whole foods are also important, white bread or white rice has most of the vitamins and fibre which are essential for the diet removed. The B vitamins in wholemeal bread are important in dealing with stress and the natural fibre has a cleansing effect on the digestive system. So food must be found as far as possible in its natural state, but of course cooking is important too. In a balanced diet food should be neither raw nor overcooked. Too much raw food creates weakness internally due to too much cold energy in the centre or the stomach. Weakness in the limbs, anaemia, coldness, bad circulation, can all result from too much raw or cold food. For many thousands of years now we have adapted to cooked food unlike wild animals who do not live as long as we do. The best method is stir frying where the food is cooked very quickly and the flavours are sealed in with the oil. Steaming is another good method especially if the water is used in making a sauce so that none of the goodness is lost. Boiling vegetables is not a good method because most of the vitamins are destroyed in the heat or thrown away in the cooking water, this is like throwing the tea away and eating the tea leaves.

These simple rules are only really manifestations of a few simple natural principles and become self evident once they have been put into practice for a while. It is simply building a strong basis for health using a time tested traditional approach. There is a way forward its just a matter of looking at things in a different light and thinking for yourself. Anything you eat, there is a natural form of it somewhere, you just have to look, because once upon a time- and it wasn't so long ago - all the food was natural.

 

Here is an excerpt from 'The Taoist Art of K'ai Men' by Chee Soo (pages 36-41)

 

The Importance of Good Health.

Why do we eat? Is it because we are hungry or like the flavour of certain things, or do we eat just for the sake of eating — clock-watching in other words? Lunch is at one, tea at five, dinner at eight, and it becomes a ritual, whether we need the food or not, and whether we are hungry or not. Because of this, few people realize the importance of eating and drinking correctly, and never fully appreciate that most illnesses are caused through bad and senseless eating and drinking habits.

Eating is essential to us, of course, and the pleasure of eating is important too, but we should all understand that the whole of our life revolves around our food intake and breathing, which matter to us not only physically but also mentally and spiritually. Through correct eating habits and learning to understand what is and what is not good for us, we can ensure that the body maintains constant good health, and that we grow older without looking old or feeling or being old within ourselves. Many sages of ancient China lived to be 130 to 200 years old, which in itself is a great encouragement to cultivate the correct eating habits.

Proper eating enables the bones, tissues and organs of the body to remain strong and healthy, and so ensures that the Yin and Yang are in balance within the body, and that ill health is foreign to it. For this to be the result, it is necessary to take into account not only the type of food eaten, but also when it is eaten and how it is chewed and digested.

Nowadays, most people expect to have colds and influenza in the wintertime, and, when they are beyond the age of forty or so, to suffer from various aches and pains — including, possibly, rheumatism and arthritis. This is completely the wrong attitude to take; and no one eating the Ch'ang Ming (Taoist long-life therapy) way need expect ill health at all.

Very few people also realize that, through sensible eating and drinking habits, and in some cases the added use of herbs, the majority of illnesses and diseases can be cured quite quickly and the deterioration of the body stopped in just ten to fourteen days. We are born as a part of nature and nature herself grows and cures all things.

As far back as the reign of the Yellow Emperor this was understood. The Nei Ching, which is reputed to have been written by the Yellow Emperor and to be the oldest medical book in existence, is the classic work on Chinese internal medicine, and it states that "Yin is active within and is a guardian of the Yang, whereas Yang is active on the outside and is the regulator of the Yin" — equating harmony of the Yin and Yang with health and constant youthfulness, and disharmony with ill health, disease or death.

Even our foods are either Yin or Yang, though it would take more than a lifetime to understand the subject completely, in all its details. It is, however, possible to give some general guidelines as to what should or should not be eaten, and this the rest of this chapter sets out to do. The recommendations given are based on the sort of food and drink generally consumed in the West, but this does not make them any the less valuable to those who wish to attain the depths and the full benefits of K'ai Men and the constant good health that goes with it.

Processed foods.

Stay away from all foods that contain chemical additives (artificial colouring, flavourings, preservatives, and the like), none of which do the body any good. They tend, too, to make food too Yin or too Yang, which is to be avoided at all costs.

Fruit.

Though apples are Yang, fruit comes within the general category of being Yin, and should therefore be eaten in very small quantities. Especially stay away from all tropical fruits, such as oranges, figs, pineapples, avocados, papayas, mangoes and bananas, for they are very Yin indeed. A woman who has been eating the Ch'ang Ming way for about three years, is pregnant, and at some time eats some tropical fruit and consumes two or three pints of liquid may suffer a miscarriage from no other cause than that. Anyone who happens to be ill should not eat fruit at all, and it is quite wrong to give fruit as a present to invalids.

Vegetables.

Use only those that are locally grown and that happen to be in season at the time. If they are organically grown, then that is better still. Pulses, such as peas, beans and lentils, are especially good, since they are rich in protein, iron and many vitamins.

Herbs.

Though herbs tend not to be used to the extent they once were, they are cheap and very useful. There are many, such as sage, thyme, parsley, mint, dandelion, burdock, basil, and bay leaf, that can be added to food and soups, and they all have excellent qualities. A number too, can be used to make drinks (for instance, mint tea, and dandelion tea and coffee).

Rice.

White rice has been polished, and in some cases bleached, so it is much better to buy brown rice, which, though it takes a little longer to cook, does retain its vitamins, which are normally lost in processing. The short-grain variety is the best.

Seaweed.

Seaweed is rich in minerals, proteins, vitamins and enzymes. It can be eaten all the year round, and there is a wide variety of different types available, many of them very delicious.

Grains.

Brown rice, barley, wheat, oats, millet, maize, rye and other types of grain are valuable for producing energy and may be consumed in a wide variety of ways: for example, as breakfast cereal; in bread, cakes, biscuits, waffles, and so on; and as the basis of various beverages. By browning grain in a frying-pan, then adding water and boiling the mixture, a very pleasant drink can be made (adding a little honey or soya sauce to taste).

Fish.

Once a week is more than often enough to eat fish, and this applies to other seafood as well, such as shrimps, prawns, oysters and crab. This is because these are all Yin foods. Especially stay away from salmon, mackerel, swordfish and shark (i.e. red and blue fish), which are extremely Yin.

Meats.

Eat no red or blue meats (for instance, lamb, veal and beef) and no pork, snails, rabbit or similar meats. Poultry and game-birds may be eaten, but meat is by no means essential, since all the nourishment the body needs may be obtained from grain foods and vegetables.

Most meat is, of course, full of chemicals from the foodstuffs that the animals are given to eat, the fertilizers used on the land, the antibiotics put into the animals by the vet, and the dyes, colouring and preservatives added by man after the animal has been slaughtered. In addition to all that, meat is very difficult for the stomach to digest, since the fat and gristle content over­works the digestive organs, and the toxins take a long time to get out of the circulatory system, so putting a great strain upon it.

Potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines.

These are distant cousins of the deadly nightshade, share some of its properties, and so are best left well alone.

Salt.

Ordinary rock salt contains little or no goodness whatsoever, but sea salt (which is much stronger tasting) contains various minerals and traces of iodine. Anyone fifty or more years old should consume less salt than a person of under fifty.

Sesame salt.

This is normally referred to as sesame-seed salt and not only very tasty sprinkled over food, but also very nourishing. It is made up of one part salt to ten parts sesame seeds. First roast the salt; then roast the seeds until they begin to pop; and, finally, mix the two together and grind them (with a mallet and pestle or a pepper-mill) into powder.

Coffee, chocolate, teas.

It is about time that people became more fully aware of the harmful effects of coffee and ordinary tea. They both contain caffeine, tannin and many other harmful ingredients, and because they also act as a stimulant they throw added strain upon the heart. Chocolate, on the other hand, is prolific in oxalic acid, which is a cause of acne in children and reduces the amount of calcium entering their bodies.

Chewing.

To take some of the strain away from the digestive organs, chew your food really well — about fifty to a hundred times per mouthful. If you can make each mouthful turn into water before swallowing, this will benefit your health enormously.

 

Increase your consumption of these foods :

• Whole grain foods: Wholemeal bread, Brown rice, Barley, Oats, Buckwheat, Rye, Maize, Millet, Quinoa, anything made with Wholegrain flour: Pasta and Noodles; Biscuits; Cakes; Shredded Wheat; Muesli etc.
• Fresh locally grown vegetables in season, organic if possible, steamed or stir-fried is best, or frozen vegetables.
• Vegetarian food such as: Beans; Nuts and Seeds (roasted); Soya Bean curd (Tofu); Vegetarian mince, etc.
• Free range white meat such as Chicken or Turkey; eggs; non-fatty white fish or Seafood, Prawns.
• Soya Milk, Rice Milk, Skimmed Milk, Soya Yoghurt, Low fat yoghurt, Low fat vegetarian cheese.
• Seaweed: Nori; Kelp. Natural Soya sauce: Tamari or Shoyu. Vegetable cooking oils and fats, unhydrogenated.
• Fruit which is local and seasonal preferably cooked or dried: Dates, Sultanas, Raisins, Figs, Apple, Strawberries.
• Sea salt only, in strict moderation, or Gomasio - sesame seeds and sea salt as a condiment.
• Herbs, herbal teas and coffees, Caro, Barleycup, China Tea: Green or Black.
• Honey, in moderation, unrefined sugar only if you must.

Reduce your intake of these:

• White bread, White flour, White rice, Refined or Processed, Tinned and Packet foods
• Chemical additives, Colourings, Preservatives, Flavourings, Fruit acids, (remember to read the label).
• Red meat: Beef, Pork, Veal, Lamb, Bacon, Sausages, Meat products or extracts.
• Red or blue fish - Tuna, Salmon, Mackerel, Swordfish, scavengers such as Crab.
• Poultry or fish that is high in fat - Duck, Goose, Haddock.
• Boiled, fried or poached eggs. Scrambled or in omelettes is better, or in baking.
• Dairy products - Full fat milk, Cheese, Butter, Lard, Dripping, animal fat products.
• Alcohol, Tobacco, Coffee, Sugar, Sweets, Chocolate, Drugs, Artificial vitamins, supplements etc.
• Spices, Pepper, Mustard, Curry, Vinegar, Pickles, Rock Salt.
• Nightshades: Potato, Tomato, Aubergine.
• Rhubarb, Spinach (high in Oxalic acid)
• Ice cold food and drink especially Ice Cream, Cream, Carbonated drinks etc, Raw and uncooked food .
• Fresh fruit which is out of season or imported from a different climate, Tropical fruit drinks.
• Deep fried food. Grilled, Braised, Roasted or Stir fried food is better.

Always remember -

• Buy fresh, organic, locally grown, seasonal whole foods whenever possible.
• Avoid cold food and cold drinks. Cold baths, showers or swimming in cold water.
• Reduce your fluid intake as much as possible, avoid drinking before a meal.
• These basic guidelines are only to be followed in consultation with your teacher.
• If you have a health problem consult your doctor before changing your diet.

[kaaazuo]

Don't dis my spirituality, bro, I cook like a pro.

 

No dissing, Taomeow. Just telling you that when it comes to spirituality in food, the Chinese don't cut it. Chinese cuisine is rather hedonistic and developed in the imperial kitchen to titillate China's emperors. To the Chinese, eating food is a celebration of material success.

 

As you know, spirituality brings about a heightened awareness that comes with sensual acuity - not just taste and texture of food but also its fragrance and visual presentation - a mind obliterating trip that blows the self away.

 

One other culture, other than India's, that breathes spirituality into its food is Japanese. It's so zen sitting before a Japanese chef and watching his priest-like seriousness as he slices with precision shashimi-grade fish that I wash down with warm saki. As a martial artist, I am always alert, ever-ready for that sudden thrust of his bocho in my direction, and this adds to the meal.

[Taomeow]

Chinese don't cut it? After having invented that bocho you're so prudently wary of?

 

"Chinese cuisine" is a combination of words that means nothing, actually, unless you specify the regional, tribal, ethnic, social milieu of consumption, the time period (which for some recipes that are still going strong spans millennia), climate zone, elevation above sea level, proximity to the coast line, religious affiliations (some Chinese Muslims cook Indian like there's no tomorrow), etc.etc.. It is not just the biggest body of food knowledge in existence, it also empirically contains all the rest within it. There's regions in the mountains where traditionally they have grown grapes for wine for centuries, and made real classy wines with these, which the rest of the world thinks are a French thing. "The rest of the world" including the rest of China that is not familiar with this particular region and its traditions. They hardly eat any seafood in Xi'an and almost nothing but on the island of Lanyi. And on and on.

 

And what can be more spiritual than understanding the qi of foods and its interactions with the qi of the human body? I've seen many a menu in many an ordinary restaurant where an item will be presented as "nourishing the lungs" or "opening the pericardium meridian" or "supplying yang qi to the kidneys." I guess our understanding of "spiritual" may be on different pages. I don't find things that disconnect one's spirit from one's body particularly spiritual, which is why I'm not into Indo-European spirituality to begin with.

[Taomeow]

Would you mind putting up recipes and ingredient properties? I'd love to expand my knowledge.

But it's way big! What types of foods are you interested in? There's so many approaches to take -- say, "what are the popular Indian ways to cook lamb," or "what kind of foods help cure diabetes," or "what utensils do you use if you don't have a tandoori oven at home," and on and on. To get a lot of it, you would need to invest a lot of time (years), and to get a little, you would have to specify what's of particular interest to you!

Edited July 28, 2013 by Taomeow

[Raine]

But it's way big! What types of foods are you interested in? There's so many approaches to take -- say, "what are the popular Indian ways to cook lamb," or "what kind of foods help cure diabetes," or "what utensils do you use if you don't have a tandoori oven at home," and on and on. To get a lot of it, you would need to invest a lot of time (years), and to get a little, you would have to specify what's of particular interest to you!

 

I've invested years. Okay, how about what you were saying in the post above.. what are the best foods and preparations for optimizing chi (any culture). I would choose wild foods, from sea, woodlands and rivers. What about you?

[Taomeow]

I'm with you. These are the best, hands down.

As for preparation, combinations, particular choices, I'd take one of the two Chinese approaches I've studied. (I've studied pretty much all the rest too, but like the taoist ways best.) One is broadly taoist and comes from my taoist teacher. The other one is a combo of culinary and TCM and comes from many books I've read on the subject. Of the noteworthy ones I would recommend books by Henry C. Lu, which are pretty comprehensive. I would avoid books by Western popularizers (this includes ethnic Chinese who have been educated primarily in the Western nutritional and medical paradigms and prejudices), none of whom can stay away from their own agenda, whatever that happens to be. I also use the food combo chart from the Peasant Calendar, to the extent I can and need to -- it's been published for a couple thousand years unchanged, and some of the items there are impossible to identify today, which is just as well since I've never seen them and neither did most modern Chinese. But others are current -- e.g. not to eat persimmons with shellfish (both are usually on sale at exactly the same time at our local Asian market, so that's noteworthy.) A Chinese friend who happens to be a foodie coming from a long line of foodies translated it for me or identified what he could from the pictures (it's illustrated with drawings, since originally it targeted a largely illiterate population.) If TTB behave, I'll make it public someday.

Edited July 28, 2013 by Taomeow

[Raine]

I'm with you. These are the best, hands down.

 

As for preparation, combinations, particular choices, I'd take one of the two Chinese approaches I've studied. (I've studied pretty much all the rest too, but like the taoist ways best.) One is broadly taoist and comes from my taoist teacher. The other one is a combo of culinary and TCM and comes from many books I've read on the subject. Of the noteworthy ones I would recommend books by Henry C. Lu, which are pretty comprehensive. I would avoid books by Western popularizers (this includes ethnic Chinese who have been educated primarily in the Western nutritional and medical paradigms and prejudices), none of whom can stay away from their own agenda, whatever that happens to be. I also use the food combo chart from the Peasant Calendar, to the extent I can and need to -- it's been published for a couple thousand years unchanged, and some of the items there are impossible to identify today, which is just as well since I've never seen them and neither did most modern Chinese. But others are current -- e.g. not to eat persimmons with shellfish (both are usually on sale at exactly the same time at our local Asian market, so that's noteworthy.) A Chinese friend who happens to be a foodie coming from a long line of foodies translated it for me or identified what he could from the pictures (it's illustrated with drawings, since originally it targeted a largely illiterate population.) If TTB behave, I'll make it public someday.

 

That would be cool, sounds very intreging. I'll have to expand my research in the areas you've mentioned You've definitely peeked my interest. TY very much.

[kaaazuo]

And what can be more spiritual than understanding the qi of foods and its interactions with the qi of the human body? I've seen many a menu in many an ordinary restaurant where an item will be presented as "nourishing the lungs" or "opening the pericardium meridian" or "supplying yang qi to the kidneys." I guess our understanding of "spiritual" may be on different pages. I don't find things that disconnect one's spirit from one's body particularly spiritual, which is why I'm not into Indo-European spirituality to begin with.

 

Perhaps, I was focused on the gastronomical aspect of Chinese cuisine. But why would you consider sensually exciting food spiritually jarring casting the body to the South Seas and the soul to the Western regions? I think the problem with Chinese food, from the point of view of the spiritual, is the Chinese chef whose culinary tradition has always served the top 1%.

 

Instead of serving up fish still twitching, in a spicy sweet sour sauce, to emphasize its freshness, a succulent piece of white fleshed Chilean Sea Bass sitting, like a lotus, in a light soya vinagrette, and top with a stark green scallion garnish would easily relegate the Japanese style to second place. For that we need Iron Chef French, Hiroyuki Sakai.

 

Oh, we can lace the sauce with ginseng to make it Tao-like.

Edited July 29, 2013 by kaaazuo

[Taomeow]

I know for a fact that you don't need a chef to eat exquisitely. This said, during the rare periods when the masses weren't being either deliberately or carelessly starved by the emperors, peasants in China ate better than emperors, because the emperor was never served anything fresh and seasonal. The imperial pantry was stocked with absolutely all non-perishables in existence plus whatever could be obtained fresh regardless of the season (like meat and poultry and eggs), so on a whim the emperor and his circle could order anything they knew of at any time of day or night and the chefs would immediately get to work producing it. This made it all-important for the chefs to make sure the emperor doesn't ever taste anything fresh and seasonal because should he demand it off season, the chef will have to say no and that's a death sentence. Peasants didn't have this problem. The aristocracy, feudal lords, mandarins, merchants, scholars, doctors, government officials and the rest of the well-to-do, even less so. Cookbooks in China were written by the most celebrated and successful of writers, and the genre was considered serious, on the same level as the most profound works of philosophy, medicine and history and WAY above not only all fiction but also most religious texts, with the exception of the canonized ones.

Now if we compare gastronomical experiences in the fish department, I will have to say that I come from the land of river fish, and much of it I caught myself in my own day, and pan-fried it over and then under golden onion rings at a campfire, with a handful of dry wild cherry leaves thrown into the fire for a bit of smokiness, with a side of wild lingonberries mixed with wild strawberries and a few Porcini mushrooms and a potato baked in the ambers, seasoned with raw butter obtained from the friendly cow next door, and any chef anywhere, Chinese, Japanese, French or Zulu, is yet to come close... so don't think that what you can get at the best of restaurants (and I've been to some of the best) is the golden standard.

Edited July 29, 2013 by Taomeow

[kaaazuo]

I know for a fact that you don't need a chef to eat exquisitely. This said, during the rare periods when the masses weren't being either deliberately or carelessly starved by the emperors, peasants in China ate better than emperors, because the emperor was never served anything fresh and seasonal. The imperial pantry was stocked with absolutely all non-perishables in existence plus whatever could be obtained fresh regardless of the season (like meat and poultry and eggs), so on a whim the emperor and his circle could order anything they knew of at any time of day or night and the chefs would immediately get to work producing it. This made it all-important for the chefs to make sure the emperor doesn't ever taste anything fresh and seasonal because should he demand it off season, the chef will have to say no and that's a death sentence. Peasants didn't have this problem. The aristocracy, feudal lords, mandarins, merchants, scholars, doctors, government officials and the rest of the well-to-do, even less so. Cookbooks in China were written by the most celebrated and successful of writers, and the genre was considered serious, on the same level as the most profound works of philosophy, medicine and history and WAY above not only all fiction but also most religious texts, with the exception of the canonized ones.

 

Good argument.

 

Now if we compare gastronomical experiences in the fish department, I will have to say that I come from the land of river fish, and much of it I caught myself in my own day, and pan-fried it over and then under golden onion rings at a campfire, with a handful of dry wild cherry leaves thrown into the fire for a bit of smokiness, with a side of wild lingonberries mixed with wild strawberries and a few Porcini mushrooms and a potato baked in the ambers, seasoned with raw butter obtained from the friendly cow next door, and any chef anywhere, Chinese, Japanese, French or Zulu, is yet to come close... so don't think that what you can get at the best of restaurants (and I've been to some of the best) is the golden standard.

 

Lingon berries? Are you Scandinavian or what? Cooking alfresco also? Maybe we should have a cook off - one gourmet chef against another? And it it's a tie, we can settle it once and for all through martial art.

[Raine]

Have a cook off. I was hoping people would share thier recipes on this thread

[Taomeow]

Good argument.

 

 

Lingon berries? Are you Scandinavian or what? Cooking alfresco also? Maybe we should have a cook off - one gourmet chef against another? And it it's a tie, we can settle it once and for all through martial art.

Lingonberries also grow in the northern parts of Eastern Europe.

 

All right, let's have a cooking contest -- and if a touch of szechuan pepper doesn't do it, a touch of dim mak it is!

[Taomeow]

Have a cook off. I was hoping people would share thier recipes on this thread

 

I mostly cook without recipes, but if you are comfortable with imprecise measures (a pinch, a handful, a tad, etc.), just tell me what you fancy and I'll try to tell you how to make it.

 

Let's start with methods and utensils. I don't use anything electrical. No teflon either, or aluminum. It's a wok or a pan for rapid-fire dishes, and an assortment of clay pots (notably a Romertopf) for slow-cooking no-watching-over-it dishes, also heavy enameled cast iron ones for similar purposes but these go on top of the stove rather than in the oven (the choice depends on the season -- I don't use the oven during the summer months, but love to in winter). I own three Chinese cleavers, of which one is a present from a pro and is reputed to be the best in the world. This one cleaver is enough to replace most of kitchen equipment, it can cut and slice anything as though it's a gob of emptiness, grind, flatten, tenderize, mince, even puree. I seldom use anything else, except when I'm making pico de gallo, for which I have a special alligator cutter, and which I like to mix (the pico de gallo, not the cutter) with mashed avocado and sunflower oil and rice vinegar diluted half and half with water (that's Mex-Rus-Asian, technically -- most of my cooking is fusion.) But you can make pico de gallo with an ordinary knife too if you have the patience.

 

I eat some of my foods raw, mostly sashimi. I don't eat grains except when I have a great big craving for tamales, which happens once in a blue moon. I can give you a recipe for my tamales if you like but they do involve what few Americans eat-- pork back lard.