Bites that Love You Back
Eating the Rainbow in the City and More Tidbits
Lunch with Mother Nature
Two crimson sprouts sprawl on the luxurious bamboo pith cushions, nonchalant.
Nature is partying in our city.
Vibrant purple Australian cauliflowers, crisp yellow Italian summer squash, and crunchy verdant green asparagus — snuggling in spongy white mycelium from Yunnan, jade tips peeking — all bathing happily in a sunlit, tasty broth.
Did the health-and-longevity-conscious Empress Cixi not order bamboo piths for her daily consumption? Their myriad benefits — replenishes qi and nourishes the yin — come with a light yet earthy flavor profile.
Oolong fragrance in the tea with fresh ginger and osmanthus drifts reassuringly. Warm food and beverages agree with the body even in warm weather. And nothing like the jolly little parcels in dim sum baskets to cheer anyone up.
Did you know the color of purple potato can be this exuberant? The bulging balls of translucent dumplings, steamed in traditional bamboo baskets, arrive with delicate kisses of yellow chrysanthemum petals. They are calling.
Why eat different colors? Wellness gurus know the drill of phytochemicals, responsible for the tastes and aromas of the plants:
- Red for lycopene
- Orange/yellow for carotenoids
- Green for lutein and folic acid
- Blue/purple for anthocyanins
- White/tan for allicin
Say what again? Never mind the complicated names. Eat them all so we may walk and talk like healthy humans, make healthy babies if we are so inclined, and age gracefully.
Colors mean a whole different culinary philosophy in Chinese wellness practices — each correlates to a body part and a natural element. The idea is to look for balance within ourselves and harmony with nature. Vague? Been working for a few thousand years.
- Red for the heart, relates to fire
- Yellow for the spleen, relates to earth
- Green for the liver, relates to wood
- White for the lungs, relates to water
- Black for the kidney, relates to metal
Emotions correspond with the state of internal organs.
So a person going through a temperamental, easily angered state is coined “too heaty in the liver” (肝火盛) and may need to cool off with balancing foods.
In Huangdi Neijing (475–221 BC), ancient medical text advised eating foods of 5 colors, 5 tastes, and 5 fragrances. There we go, the phytochemicals!
Half a century ago, dim sum wrappings were mostly white, yellow, or brown. Today, natural, fresh food coloring maximizes gourmet goodness. Red dragon fruit and beetroot juices make these crescent babies peachy-red. Nutrients count in every bite.
I’m happily omnivorous, especially when the meat comes in tender, fresh morsels. Carefully, I bite through the neatly pleated wrapping, minding my manners. And what do we know? A surprise burst of robust flavors brings sparks of joy. Juicy hand-minced pork and crispy luffa gourd are having an exquisite rendezvous in the mouth!
No shame in eating meat in moderation. Animal proteins are 90% bioavailable — compared to 60–80% from vegetables — without the hindrances by anti-nutrients in plants. To each their own.
Ah, something inside the baked temptation. Century egg — the black egg that originated from Hunan 6 centuries ago — boasts a long list of health benefits: Excellent source of selenium (protects against cell damage) and improves liver function. And I consider myself reasonably knowledgeable about Chinese food. Always more to learn. Shocking.
Black doesn’t always have to come from mushrooms and wood ears. Traditional century eggs are cured with strong black tea, lime, salt, and burned wood ashes, with a distinctive flavor profile transcending sweet or salty. And warm flaky pastry goes especially well with the creamy “black” yoke.
Ready for dessert?
Refreshing, mildly sweet, aromatic. The frothy cream of apricot kernels harbors no dairy. Soothing southern apricot kernels with a few of the bitter northern kind, hand-ground into a puree, strained and gently boiled. Japanese egg whites stirred in, adding to the smooth mouthfeel. The simple white works for the visual as well as the mind after the colorful medley.
Somehow white aesthetics pop up, like the luxurious white carpets and sofas popular in 1930s Hollywood, the admirable blank white cover of Vogue Italia April 2020, and artists’ white-on-white paintings in response to the world.
Two jewels of petite red date gummies present themselves like agate against the playful fountains outside the tall windows. Mmm…mwah! Pleasantly soft yet fortifying.
A few more sips of oolong. I’m good to rejoin the day ahead. Welcome, spring.
© Pseu Pending (Seu) 2022
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