+ When you eat both mushrooms and toufu together, they help “reduce excess eat and clear toxins”, along with assisting in the “increasing air intake and excreting saliva”. From a Chinese prospective, these reactions are beneficial to your body. A mushroom/toufu dish is also a good combination because they “reduce phlegm/mucus, are anti-cancerous, reduce blood fat and blood pressure.”

- “The meat of shrimp contains [a kind of non-poisonous] arsenic, but when combined with tomatoes it will  restore some arsenic properties, also known as ‘white arsenic’”, and so, this combination should be avoided.

I’m pretty sure this means sliced tomatoes combined with shrimp in a sauce pan, rather than shrimp and cocktail sauce. This doesn’t mean you should stop eating them since any food in moderation won’t hurt you.

Here’s a decent recipe for Sugar Snap Peas, Mushrooms, and Toufu! Take a look:

A simple mushroom and toufu recipe!

Ribs, Toufu, and Greens

It’s nice to be home! And I’ve been cooking various dishes to show my family that it is easy to cook healthy Asian food, one of the purposes of creating AsianLiving.me!

The first lunch I made included my now infamous Pork Ribs with Garlic and Black Bean Sauce, with spicy Toufu, and Spinach Greens. It was the first time my family had tried these dishes made at home, rather than at a restaurant.

The spicy Toufu was a little new for me. (It’s hard to do Toufu right!) So, let me summarize this basic recipe here:

1~ Put your oil of choice in a pan. Less fragrant oil is better; like vegetable or peanut oil. At the same time, prep your toufu by cutting it into small cubes, if it isn’t already cut. (Harder Toufu, which can be purchased at a local supermarket in the US, is easier to control and doesn’t break apart)

Toufu Cubes

2~ Dump your toufu in and stir continuously with a spoon or spatula (2-3 minutes). Brown your toufu by adding some soy sauce. This is also a good way to salt your food, so you don’t need to add any later.

3~ Toss in slices of green pepper and onions. Add scallions for additional color if you want. Stir around.

4~ Add chili powder to taste and a couple pinches of sugar. Keep stirring! *If the toufu is not too brown, feel free to splash some more soy sauce.

The final result is a spicy, savory toufu dish! People who aren’t health nuts can appreciate this dish along with those you just want to eat healthier meals. Add a meat of your choice if your guests need a little more convincing!

NEXT ARTICLE: Summer Cooking 2010: The Best Cauliflower Dish in the World? (coming soon)

气 [qì]

氣 (traditional character)

Qi Gong Pose

Meanings: Air, gas, breath, mood, smell, manner, anger, etc.

The more familiar of the two Qis (mmmm, cheese…) is something called “Qi Gong”  气功 – literally “air” + “results/success”，and known as “a system of deep breathing exercises,”[*] it is a form of meditation and has been used by martial artists and common people for hundreds of years. The image to the right shows the flow of Qi through the body, with the 3 “elixir fields.” These are basically places where energy is stored. The arrows show how energy flows point-to-point through the body, although it is not always in this direction.

Dantian Energy Flow

Trivia time! Where is the center of the human body? When I was first asked this question I pointed to my naval/waist area. Where did you point? In fact, according to Qi Gong, the center of your body is at your upper lip. Yep, its in your face! This comes from the idea that energy is draped over your body from the top.

Combining body movements and breathing exercises are key to this practice and can have great health benefits, similar to Tai Ji or “Tie Chee”. Due to better blood circulation, relaxed breathing, and reduced stress, these exercises are used for health maintenance by millions of people around the world. As you can imagine, the field of Qi Gong is extremely deep and could take a lifetime to understand fully.

Internal Heat

The other Qi which is more often used in daily language here in China, but has less literature written about it, is called Re Qi  or “Ruh Chee”  热气 – literally “hot” + “air”, and is similar to the scientific idea of pH-levels. When clarifying this with Chinese friends, they disagree that it is related to the amount of Acid or Base in your body; however, there’s really no other way to understand this better in English.

An expression used to say whether you have “excessive internal heat” in your body is “Shung Hor” [Shang Huo] 上火, literally “increase” + “fire.” Food and drink can increase and decrease the heat in your body, which is a normal topic of discussion at any meal, formal or informal. This happens when you’ve eaten too much strong food, especially salty, fried, or BBQ food. Too much “internal heat” causes pimples or small red dots on the skin.

Wang Lao Ji

The opposite phenomenon is called “Sheea Hor” [Xia Huo] 下火, literally “decrease” + “fire.” Because the internal heat normally increases for most people, we need to actively drink or eat things that can decrease internal heat. Chinese herbal tea, without sugar, is a great option. The most popular sugary one in the Chinese world, called Wang Lao Ji, is actually as famous as Coca-Cola. Foods famous for reducing internal heat include: watermelon, bananas, bitter melon, cucumber, rice, green beans, wheat, toufu, celery, cabbage, and many more!

Now you know a little more about  气!  ^o ^

Please comment below with questions about these concepts!

Well, we all avoided those too-healthy things and stayed in the safe zone. Phew! But what is so scary about soy milk? I drink it a few times a week now that I’m in Asia. Its popular with children here too. Its part of a balanced breakfast, which also includes porridge(congee), hard boiled eggs, scallions and salty tubers. It’s delicious with a little bit of sugar too. (And I’m sure its healthier than coffee!)

As I enjoy the Asian diet everyday here, I find that a lot of my Western diet starts to disappear. I only eat toast with peanut butter because I miss home sometimes. I only eat a large hamburger or pizza when I go on a pricey date with my girlfriend. I eat chips with salsa or dip when I’m home for Christmas. Sandwiches have lost their flavor for me. Salad is also flavorless, and is nothing more than uncooked vegetables in my mind. I’m not a health nut, I just like Asian food better.