Everyone who appreciates Chinese delicacies will probably have heard at least one claim purporting that a particular type of food or medicine promotes longevity or wondrous health benefits. Some are understood to be mere myths, while others are taken very seriously, almost religiously. Are any of these foods, herbs and plants actually all that beneficial though?
Bird’s nest.
“Chinese medicine won’t leave any chemical residue. There are no steroids or any additives,” said Manop Lertsuthiruck, president of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Association of Thailand. “The drawback is that you have to consume quite a lot. You have to build up [the dosage] to see any improvements. And, if you can use it according to the nature of your body, all chronic disease can be cured.”
Here, Manop offers his insights into the most well-known Chinese food and medicines available in Thailand.
Fish maw
Contrary to popular Thai belief, fish maw is actually the air bladder of a fish rather than its gut. This gas-filled bladder helps fish to maintain buoyancy and control position in the water.
Fish maw is mainly used in soups or stews and sometimes in a stir fry. It is quite an easy dish to find in Chinese restaurants and street stalls around Bangkok. Many, however, believe that some cheap fish maw soup is actually made using pork skin as a substitute. It still retains the name, although obviously the texture is quite different. Genuine, high-quality fish maw can cost almost 1 million baht per piece.
“Fish maw is suitable for anyone weak or old,” said Manop. This, he believes, is due to the power from the air bladder that allows the fish to swim. Once it has been harvested, according to Manop, it can absorb the power of the universe and transfer that power to the consumer. However, for fish maw to yield such favour, it has to have been harvested and kept for over 20 years. Fresh ones aren’t known to really give any benefits.
Lingzhi
Slice of Lingzhi.
Lingzhi is a type of mushroom grown especially in East Asia. It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 2,000 years and can be found in various locations. According to Manop, however, the benefits procured from lingzhi differ depending on the altitude that they are found.
If grown at high altitude — over 600m above sea level — the taste of lingzhi is comparatively light, not bitter. There are some cases where cancer patients get better after regularly eating lingzhi, said Manop. Moreover, lingzhi is good for detoxifying the liver.
Lingzhi that grows at a lower altitude is good for anyone wanting to regulate their blood pressure and blood sugar level. It also helps in reducing fat and liver enzymes.
Manop also added that the mushroom is the definition of the elixir of longevity.
Goji berry
Also known simply as goji, this berry, when dried, looks like a red raisin. It has a sweet and sour taste and is quite a common ingredient in Chinese cuisine. In most cases, goji berries are added into stew soups — which are allegedly tonics — along with other types of Chinese herbs.
“Goji is the elixir of life,” proclaimed the expert. “When you eat it continuously and build it up in your body, it will keep your eyes open and alert and will eradicate fat in your liver.”
Manop suggested that drinking 40g of powdered goji mix with water regularly helps reduce overall fat and weight. It is also good for improving eyes and kidneys. Sour gojis are also believed to have more beneficial properties.
“The sour kind works better in detoxifying your body. For those who have a lot of fat in the liver, or in fact anyone wanting to be slimmer, then the sour goji is better.
“We’re quite lucky that the price of goji hasn’t risen yet as it’s so widely grown,” he added.
Bird’s nest
This is the edible kind, of course, unless you prefer to put twigs in your sweet soup. This gelatinous delicacy is made from hardened saliva of edible-nest swiftlets, usually found in Southeast Asia.
“Bird’s nest, according to Chinese medicine, is not considered that important,” said Manop. “It’s more of a supplementary diet.”
Bird’s nest has a Yin — or cooling — property and is said to help those who have problems with ulcers in the throat, larynx and lungs. Another benefit, said Manop, is that it can improve skin condition, especially in those battling with acne.
On its own, bird’s nest is tasteless, but full of protein. It is often added into the sweet soup we see in the Chinatown neighbourhood of Yaowarat. A bowl of sweet bird’s nest soup can cost as little as 50-200 baht for the cheapest range.
The better quality ones, with the shape of the nest still intact, obviously cost more than the soups with strands that can be tried at street stalls. High-end quality nests can cost up to 100,000 baht per kilo — rightly deserving its claim as the Caviar of the East.
Due to the industry’s high value, the consumption of bird’s nests has been turned into a large scale business venture. Some companies build large properties and decorate the interior to resemble dark caves, so that birds may go in and create their nests. Other traders go right into caves — the birds’ natural habitat — and take the nests whilst the birds are away.
The swiftlets have to keep rebuilding their nests once they have been looted by human hands, leading many to wonder whether this constitutes an indirect act of animal torture.
Goji berries.
Fish maw.
