Licorice is made from the Licorice root, considered of great importance in Chinese medicine and it is sold in long, dry, wrinkled pieces. It is used in a large number of prescriptions as a corrective and harmonizing ingredient. The extract is used in the composition of cough lozenges, syrups, and pastilles. White tree fungus is one of the foods richest in Vitamin D.

By making this soup, I learnt a lot doing this research and I’m very happy because I discovered that we have a lot of good food, each with its own story. I also learnt that many foods are healthy for us. We have also come to understand and know how people invented good things to eat and how these foods also keep us healthy. I use to enjoy this drink but I did not know it was so good and so healthy. I hope people from other countries will get to know about this food. It will help us all to be energetic everyday.

Seasonings:
Salt, sesame oil
pepper powder, cornstarch

Add ginger, green onion, garlic and chicken soup and boil. Chop up the carrots into square pieces, add carrots, corn, sweet beans and cook together. Then add the seasonings and cornstarch. Pour the chowder soup into the square-bowl. When it is ready, fill the crust with the stuff.

Why did I choose this recipe? This is a very special dish because it is a mixed culture specialty. To blend different cultural products is not an easy job. I thought of presenting it at this time, due to the reserved nature of the Chinese culture.

When I got the details to do this project, I came to understand and to learn about a lot of good things about Taiwanese specialties and also about our culture. It helped me also to understand more about my country. I have always dreamt of going abroad, especially to the States, but now I think there is no need: I found that there are treasures to discover in my own country.

The "Chowder in a Coffin-bowl" was invented in the year 1930 by a person named Shue Liu Yi, because of its appearance like a coffin. In the year 1948 this food was named "Wooden Coffin", it was a period of many taboos, people did not like it because it represented death but - because of that - it spread all over the Island and it was passed extensively from generation to generation. This food has no medicinal effects but it is really just good to eat.

Sesame is native to tropical Asian countries that can grow up to a height of three feet and is an annual herb. It is an erect plant with square stems that is covered with fine hair. Sesame is planted in the month of May and is harvested by fall or autumn. The nutritional value of this and other seed is that it contains protein, oils, lecithin, and minerals..

This recipe has great medicinal effects:
1. It stimulates urine flow and reduces swelling
2. It makes you feel calm
3. Only people older than 12 years should eat it. It is taken at lunchtime and dinnertime but if you have an ulcer, PLEASE DO NOT eat it.

To prepare ingredients for a vegetarian dish:
1. Soak the mushroom in water.
2. Cut into pieces
3. Fry all the ingredients adding white radish, adding soya sauce, salt, sugar and glucose

To prepare ingredients for meat-type dish:
1. Soak the mushroom in water
2. Cut into pieces
3. Fry all the ingredients adding minced meat, Soya sauce, salt, sugar and glucose.

Grandma wakes up every morning at 3:30 am to start making this pudding and she continues faithfully with her ingredients. The product is sold on grandma’s smile and honesty so every morning my house is a place where old people meet as a family, eating and talking together. Sharing "Rice Pudding" is our family tradition. This is the background of our upbringing. Seeing "Rice Pudding" makes me feel a deep gratitude towards it and all the goodness it represents to us as a family.

Rice dumplings represent one of our traditions, which are passed on from generation to generation. Rice dumplings have no medicinal effect, but they do provide us with nourishment.

Qu Yuan was a great politician and poet in the Warring States Period (476 BC - 221 BC). He was born into an aristocratic family of Chu State, one of seven powerful states at that time. Fully trusted by the king of Chu State, Qu Yuan served as chief assistant to the king. He carried out political reforms, set up strict legal system, and gave full opportunity to the able.

Threatened by Qin State, Qu Yuan advocated an alliance with other states, fighting against Qin with combined force. The ruler of Qin, who viewed Chu State as the number one adversary, schemed to undermine the good administration of Chu under Qu Yuan. He sent his men to bribe the brother and the favorite woman of the king of Chu, who were jealous of the authority of Qu Yuan. The two spoke ill of Qu Yuan to the king and the king took it for truth at last. Qu Yuan was exiled eventually.

In the course of his banishment, he produced a great many poems, expressing his concerns about the country and his dislike towards treacherous persons. On the breakthrough of Qin’s army into the capital of his country, Qu Yuan disappeared into the Mi Luo River in what is the Hunan Province today. At the news of his disappearance, Chu people, who held him in high reverence for his integrity and nobleness, rushed by boats to rescue him however, they failed even to find his body. They threw bamboo tubes of rice into the river as food for his spirit and that the fish would not eat his body.

Originally, to keep the river dragons from eating them, the packets were tied with coloured silk threads which dragons fear. In memory of Qu Yuan, every year on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, the day he drowned himself, dragon boat races which are said to represent the search for his body, are still held, and the Chinese people eat rice dumplings and drink Shong Hwang wine. This day is called Dragon Boat Festival.

Glutinous rice, 1 cup (200g) (cooked)
Calories: 169
Protein: 3.5g
Carbohydrate: 37g
Total Fat: 0.33g
Fiber: 1.7g
*Good source of: Selenium (9.7mcg)

We should take care of outer cleanliness and drink Wu Mei Soup to help kill the germs. Things that enter our body are often not good and make us sick. People who have stomach ache often should drink this soup regularly. Very few people have ever tried this soup; often small restaurants prepare it incorrectly. If you go to the Chinese pharmacy they will give you the right ingredients.

I am very grateful for the chance to learn things that I wouldn’t have had the chance to learn. The soup I chose made me understand how amazing herbs can be. Since at first I didn’t know what to choose, so I asked for the help of my parents and I started to learn more about this soup. Even though I found the task difficult at first, I had hope because I believed I would learn something that I could share with others. Finally my recipe is done and I am really happy.

Maybe you have heard about the "Four herbs soup", or maybe you have not, but it doesn’t matter, after reading this recipe, you will get to know it. Adding spareribs or pig intestines will make a very economical and tasty soup. I am told that pregnant ladies should avoid taking Yi Yi Ren. I suggest that in the summer time, because of the heat, we drink more light things, like a lot of fresh juice, according to the fruits in season. Since we also perspire a lot, we need to drink Yang In Tea to help us to recover energy. Try to avoid taking cold things.

The "Four Herbs Soup" is one of the Buddhist recipes used by the monks to cure their patients. "Satisfaction", "gratitude", "thoughtfulness", and "generosity" are the four types of spiritual medicine, defined as follows:

"Satisfaction": Sense of satisfaction, easy going, will not be greedy
"Gratitude": Thankful for all what the others give.
"Thoughtfulness": Have a positive view and understanding of things.
"Generosity": Kind to everyone and everything.

The Buddhists think that the "Four Herbs Soup" is very beneficial, both for the body and the soul and we should often have it at home. The soup is very light, very fruitful for oneself and for one’s neighbors. It helps people to be good towards others.

Lotus seed: bless the family with good sons year after year.

We believe that it has a lot of medicinal benefits, like refreshing one during hot weather. People who are not very mentally-balanced will find balance again and stomach ulcers (which slowly develop into a chronic disease) will be cured and it will help with nose and throat disease. If you have appendicitis or lung disease and you take the lotus root juice, we believe you will get better as it will help heal you.
Besides that, the Lotus root is also very nutritious, and contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin C, Iron, etc. That’s the reason why I chose to write and research this traditional recipe. I used a lot time to prepare it, but I realized I learnt a lot from this project. It was very meaningful to me to learn more about the foods we eat and how they can make us healthy.

You should have one piece of cheesecloth per mold, which should be big enough to fit squarely into the mold and cover the tofu inside. The next day, pour out the water, and pulverize the beans in a blender using enough water to cover the beans (you will probably need to do this in four to five batches).

Pour the bean mixture into a very large pot and add enough water to double the quantity of liquid. Bring the liquid to a low boil and lower the temperature, skimming off any foam that collects on the top. Boil for 20-30 min. stirring (and skimming) constantly. While it is boiling, dissolve the bittern (the leftover "stuff" that is formed when you extract salt from seawater) in a small quantity of water.

Place a piece of cheesecloth in a colander, and pour the liquid through it into a large bowel. The liquid that passes through is called "soy milk" and will become the tofu. The solid material that remains in the cheese cloth is useful for various dishes.

For each of the molds, fit the cheesecloth squarely into the corners. When the temperature of the soy milk cools to 70C (158F) pour in the bittern and stir gently. When the tofu starts to separate from the water (almost immediately), pour the mixture into the molds and cover with cheesecloth.

Next, place the plastic wrap covered newspapers on top of the tofu (it should fit squarely) and place weights on top to press out the liquid. After about 30 min., remove the tofu from the molds. This should be done under water in a large pot or tub. Store the tofu submerged in water.

That was the first discovery of making tofu. Since he was very interested, he started to analyze how to make genuine tofu. In this way the knowledge was spread among the people. Today’s tofu is made by machines but its nutritive qualities will never change.

It is said that people commonly prepare an abundant offering to this god on the day of his departure so that he will say some kind words in heaven on their behalf.

This story has been passed down through the generations. After the Chinese lunar new year celebrations, these cakes are usually preserved by drying them in the sun. They are eaten in several ways as breakfast food and also as snacks.
There are a lot of types of sweet pudding made during the Chinese New Year but the one that I like most is this one. For the same reason I chose to write about it, even though it was difficult to fine its origin. After the celebration of the 24th day of the 12th month of the Lunar Calendar this sweet cake could be use as another dish. It helps us too make a family reunion. It is nice to listen to this stories and the little taboos as some are very funny. I never knew there were such interesting stories around our food.

After reading this story I hope you have the desire to try the New Year’s Cake? Just buy the ingredients mentioned above. Try to make it and see!

If fried: Heat enough oil to cover the spring rolls. Deep-fry the rolls until crisp and golden brown (4-5 minutes). Drain on paper towels

I enjoyed doing this report, I had the chance to make foreigners know about and taste the nice food of Taiwan. I hope they try to cook it and they might even introduce it in their own restaurants.

Everyone who had passed through our country has tried this food I’m sure that through this recipe other students will have the chance to share it with us in their country and so tell others about this good food found in Taiwan, the home of excellent spring rolls

After a minute it will be all in one. Continue fry it for 4 minutes.

Chinese cabbage is also called Napa cabbage. This produce has loose leafed, green to slightly pale leaves that are tender and juicy. When selecting one, avoid the light-colored heads with flowering at the end of the cabbage – it means it has been grown too long.

Resource: http://www.produceoasis.com/Items_folder/Vegetables/Nappa.html

Today, when someone gets sick, we immediately go to see a doctor and take medicine, and so little by little medicine takes the place of the natural resources.

Only when medicine cannot do anything anymore, people will think of what our elders used. Medicine may cure the sickness faster but in the long term they will bring side effects to the human body, so I hope everyone could, when get sick will try to use natural things to cure them. Don’t depend too much on medicines please! I did research on ginger as I believe it has good medicinal uses and these are some of the things that I learnt that ginger can help with.

Ginger:
1. Combats nausea and vomiting. 2. It is antispasmodic, antiseptic
3. It relieves flatulence and indigestion. 4. It acts as a circulatory stimulant. 5. It induces sweating. 6. It’s an expectorant (it relaxes blood vessels) and it increases blood flow to the skin.

* "Ai" means bitter almond and, "Yu" means bush-cherry seed.

How to prepare tapioca:
1. Boil water (6 parts water to 1 part tapioca)
2. Pour tapioca into boiling water
3. Stir lightly so it will not stick to the bottom
4. When tapioca floats to the top, cover the pot and continue to boil for 25-30 minutes stirring it every 10 minutes
5. Let it sit for 25 minutes covered after cooking for 25-30 minutes. Drain the water from the cooked tapioca and run lukewarm or cold water over the pearls.

It was interesting to know more about this drink, because the youth of Taiwan like it very much. If you visit Taiwan you can’t help but notice the unique bubble teashops on every corner. This drink is like coffee or soda is to the U.S. This drink is very popular. Bubble Tea originated in Taiwan in the early 1980’s at a small tea stand.

It is a cup of refreshing tea and it is perfect for summertime. Some people will add fruit flavoring to the tea. You need to shake it well in order to have a good taste. A clear cup with small balls on the bottom easily identifies the bubble tea drinks. In order to drink it you need a fat straw so that the pearls can be sucked up with the drink and then eaten. If you have never tried it, don’t hesitate to make this. You will enjoy it.

Stir fry the meat and remove it. Bring half pot of water to a boil. When the water is boiled put the glutinous rice flour and wait until it floats to the surface and remove it Add the mushroom, dry shrimps, garlic and red onions (stir fry first all these ingredients). Add the sliced meat and seasonings and the chicken soup and the glutinous rice balls. Before serving, add some parsely leaves.

But they are all made by using glutinous rice flour. Since the glutinous rice balls will float on the surface of the water when they are ready, it was known before, as "floating boat". In the Ming Dynasty people use to call it "Yuan Shiao".

In the pyramids of Egypt a book was found by E. Pspyrus relating about the existence of Aloe Vera. The book is now in one of the University in Germany. It was re-edited in 1550 B.C which make us clear that Aloe Vera was already known 3600 years ago or maybe even earlier. Hippocrates, a known person in the field of Medicine, used it for medicinal treatments.

The medicinal effects of Aloe Vera include the fact that it is anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, anti-viral, anti-fungal and it has anti-bacterial activity. It decreases cholesterol and triglyceride levels. It cleanses, tones and regenerates the entire gastro-intestinal tract and acts as an immune modulator. It enhances healthy cell proliferation in skin, liver, nerve and blood cells and is also used after insect bytes and skin burns. It can work as a deodorant and helps to reduce high blood pressure.

Aloe helps make peoples’ bodies healthy as it helps to purify the whole body. It helps prevent you getting sick easily. If one eats healthy food, this makes the body healthier. Do not keep this knowledge just to yourself. Let other people know it and share to as many people as possible so that everyone will benefit from it. It is well recognized internationally and in many European Countries and the United States the plant Aloe Vera juice is used to make different kinds of healthy drinks. It is also used as a nutriment supplement.

There isn’t very much in terms of knowing the origins of the coriander plant although it is generally, thought to be originated from Europe and the Mediterranean. Experts have dated this plant back to at least 5,000 BC. having been referenced to Sanskrit writings, and seeds that were place in Egyptian tombs.

In the traditional families we have to light 7 candles, offer to the ancestors 5 kinds of fruits and people will eat this kind of congee. In this 7 kind of vegetables people see the symbol of their desire for the New Year. When I saw this recipe in a book I was curious about it, especially the effects it may have on those who take it. After reading different books, I discovered how wise people are, and it was amazing to see that there is a story and value behind each dish.

I am very thankful to the teacher who gave me this chance to work on this paper and the mutual collaboration with other classmates. It was a very meaningful experience for me. Vegetable Congee is known for its medicinal qualities and it is believed to have antibacterial properties. It also helps digestion, gives strength and helps the circulation of the blood. It also relieves stomach pain and will lowers blood sugar levels.

People who eat a lot of meat, especially, should drink it. I am happy to present this drink to everyone.

Chinese Name: Shan Zha, Bilogical Name: Crataegus Innatifida
Common Name: Hawthorn Fruit

Description of plant: A deciduous, thorny tree with small leaves, white flowers and berries, growing to 8m. Produced mainly in China in Gansu and Shandong Province. The only part of the plant that can be used is the fruit which is a sour pleasant taste.