Nina Simonds - A Spoonful of Ginger: Irresistible, Health-Giving Recipes from Asian Kitchens

THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK
PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF, INC.

Copyright 1999 by Nina Simonds

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada, Limited, Toronto.

www.aaknopf.com

Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A spoonful of ginger : irresistible, health-giving recipes from Asian kitchens / Nina Simonds ; full-page color photographs by Beatriz Da Costa ; black-and-white photographs by Don Rose and Michael Hodgson.

xii, 320 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 25 cm.

Originally published: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1999.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 301303) and index.

ISBN 978-0-375-71212-8

1. Cooking, Asian. 2. Diet therapyChina. 3. Medicine, Chinese.

TX724.5.A1 S54 1999
641.595 21

LC 98075735
eISBN: 978-0-307-95707-8

Black-and-white photographs copyright 1999 by Don Rose, except (center and bottom left), which are copyright 1999 by Michael Hodgson.

Cover photograph by Beatriz da Costa

Cover design by Ph.D, A Design Office

Published April 27, 1999
First Paperback Edition, April 2011
v3.1

Also by Nina Simonds

Spices of Life

Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats

Asian Wraps

Asian Noodles

China Express

Chinas Food

Chinese Seasons

Classic Chinese Cuisine

For my mentors, Wang Lee-Tee Eng, T. C. Lai, and Chun-Han Zhu,
who taught and inspired me
and for all the Asian women who generously shared their family remedies and recipes

No book is written without the input and support of teachers, colleagues, friends, and family. This book is no different, and I sincerely thank everyone for all their help. There are, however, some whom I must mention by name.

My food-as-medicine mentors, who are featured in the pages of this book, were particularly instrumental in helping me with this work: Dr. Chun-Han Zhu, Wang Lee-Tee Eng, the chefs and Mr. Li at the Imperial Herbal restaurant, Dr. Raymond Chang, Dr. Albert Leung, Dr. Henry Lu, Dr. K. K. Tan, T. C. Lai, and Daniel Reid. Bik Ng, Dr. Chin-Chi Zhu, and the Nam Buk Hong Herb store were also especially helpful. Special thanks to Katy and Steve Luis for their generous help and hospitality.

There are others whose books inspired and guided memost notably Paul Pitchford, author of Healing with Whole Foods; Cecilia Tan, author of The Family Herbal Cookbook; Aileen Yoh, author of Longevity: The Tao of Eating and Healing; Dr. Elson Haas, author of Staying Healthy with the Seasons; and Christopher Hobbs, author of Medicinal Mushrooms.

I am dearly indebted to Malla Linturi for the invaluable help and support she gave me and my family during her stay in America. Piia Kairento was indispensable in taking care of my son during my forays to Asia.

Julie Lutts, Francoise Fetchko, and Debby Richards are dear friends and tireless recipe testers.

Mat Schaffer deserves special mention for his astute editorial advice and friendship; and if not for him this book would not have its great title.

Thanks to Susan Bang, Lou Hammond Associates, the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, the Oriental in Singapore, and the Oriental in Bangkok for their generous hospitality and help.

Jane Dystel, my agent, has been extraordinarily supportive and helpful to me throughout all stages of this book and beyond.

A special thank-you and a hug to Judith Jones, my editor, who has been inspirational to work with. Ken Schneider, Paul Bogaards, Sonny Mehta, Virginia Tan, Carol Carson, Peter Andersen, and Karen Mugler at Knopf also deserve special thanks for their help and efforts.

At Ph.D, Michael Hodgson and his crew once again have toiled away and created a stunning and functional design for this book.

Thanks to Beatriz Da Costa for her exquisite photographs and Anne de Ravel, David Bonom, and Suzanne Shaker for their invaluable help in preparing and styling the food.

Roger and George Berkowitz and the staff at Legal Seafoods in Boston were extraordinarily supportive in bringing the Imperial Herbal experience to Boston for several months for a promotion, allowing me to work with the chefs and further my studies. Thank you! Thank you!

Throughout the years a number of colleagues have consistently supported me in all of my projects. I am especially grateful to Zanne Stewart and Kemp Minifie at Gourmet, to Jill Melton and Cynthia Lagrone at Cooking Light, to Fiona Luis at the Boston Globe, to Laurie Ochoa, Russ Parsons, and the food section staff at the Los Angeles Times, to Patsy Jamieson at Eating Well, to Anastasia Toufexis at Psychology Today (formerly at Self), to Marialisa Calta at the United Media, and to Nancy McKeon, Phyllis Richman, and all the food staff crew at the Washington Post.

Last but certainly not least, Id like to thank Don and Jesse Rose, who continually bring joy, love, and balance to my life.

It started with a stomachachenot a dull ache, but a horrible, searing pain, the kind that makes you double over in agony. That was 1972, and I had just arrived in Taipei to begin what would be a three-and-a-half-year sojourn in Asia studying Chinese language, culture, and food.

To celebrate my arrival, I had attended numerous banquets and had devoured EVERYTHING in sight with enthusiasm. Then I got a stomachache. I was immediately dispatched to my surrogate Chinese mothers favorite doctor, who, as it turned out, was trained in both Chinese and Western medicine.

Dr. Lin carefully examined my belly, gently prodding different areas. Then he asked me questions about what I had eaten in the last twenty-four hours. He made two columns, I noticed, identifying each item as either yin or yang. His frown deepened as the list of yin foods grew longer and longer. Finally, he told me that my stomachache was a result of too many yin foods. I now needed to counteract the condition with the help of herbs combined with yang dishes.

I was familiar with the yin>

In my case, he prescribed a regimen that included warm congee (rice porridge) with scallions and ginger, chicken soup with ginseng and ginger, and cinnamon lamb with garlic chives. I followed it faithfully, and within forty-eight hours my stomach was back to normal. I continued eating the foods he recommended for several more days and I began to feel healthier than I had in a long time.