Dear Editor,

With Chinese herbal medicine on the rise, foods that are seen to improve our health are gaining in popularity. Please share some of the homegrown cures that I can consume?

Juliet Poon

Dear Juliet,

In a city like Hong Kong, where Chinese restaurants serve various homegrown cures on their menus, this is becoming a whole new nutritional style that is wholeheartedly embraced by the locals and you (it seems)!

Like tofu, the angled luffa absorbs the flavors of the foods it is cooked with. It is used in stir-fried and deep-fried dishes. As for health benefits, a helping of these vegetables can give you up to twenty percent of your required daily amount of vitamin C.

On the other hand, sea cucumbers are rich in the proteins, polysaccharides, Omega-3 fatty acids and marine trace minerals that provide the essential building blocks (and rebuilding blocks) that people need to live long, healthy, active lives. Often served at banquets, the sea cucumbers is gelatinous and is cooked in stews and braised dishes since the texture renders it extremely absorbent to flavours.

The wild mushrooms grown in Yunnan, especially the catathelasma as well as the sarcodon aspratus are also excellent examples of homegrown cures. The latter is said to be good at relaxing muscles and strengthening blood circulation as well as being an appetite stimulant while the former is full of iron and protein.

I hope that these health foods provide you with alternative remedies.

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