Cookbook:Chinese Herbs

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Cookbook | Recipes | Ingredients

Chinese herbal blends encompass a variety of herbs from Chinese herbology. These herbs are typically part of a plant, such as the root, leaf, seed, flower, branch, etc. If you find the right climate and soil type, you can grow many of those herbs globally. Many are inexpensive.

Characteristics edit

Most of the herbs have a bitter flavor, although some may be sweet or neutral-tasting. They are often sold in dried form. Some herbs can be eaten after boiling because they soften, but most herbs remain too tough and cannot be eaten.

Procurement edit

When sourcing many of these herbs, especially from traditional purveyors, it is often best to use the Chinese names. There are a large number of synonyms of the herb names in Chinese, English, and Latin. This makes it even more essential to use the written form of the Chinese names to ensure accuracy—wherever possible, use the written Chinese form (金银花) to avoid miscommunication and/or mispronunciation, since there is no dialect form of the written language.

Some herbs are prone to adulteration, substitution, or both. Animal-based "herbs" are prone to substitution or adulteration, such as xiong dan (bear bile/gallbladder), which looks very much like niu dan (bovine bile/gallbladder) when dried, although niu dan is far less bitter in taste. Some products are simply unavailable because they are banned in many countries. These include tiger parts, such as hu gu (tiger bone), which is substituted by bobcat bone, and chuan shan jia (pangolin scales), which has no animal-based substitute. Niu huang (bovine gallstone) is unavailable in many Western countries and Singapore because of its potential impact on pregnant women, although pills with about 2% of niu huang are available in many Asian countries.

Consumption edit

Herbal tea edit

Raw herbs are traditionally taken orally by extracting their essence. This involves brewing the herbal blend in hot water to get a dark brown herb tea that never tastes good—one hour of brewing should be good enough. Honey or sugar may be added to make it taste less bad, and many people will drink one or two cups a day. The herbal blend can be conveniently modified by changing some ingredients to make it work for you.

Tablet edit

The herbs can be processed into tablet form by companies and sold as herbal formulas. Although convenient to swallow, tablets cannot be tailor-made for you. When an herbal tablet you bought does not work for you, you just have to toss it and buy another one.

Capsule edit

The herbs can be made into capsules at home by grinding to a fine powder and placing into empty gel capsules.

Blends edit

The following is a list of traditional blends and their components. They are not to be used for purposes of medical diagnosis or self-medication.

General Tonics edit

Qi edit

  • Asian ginseng (ren shen / 人参)
  • Codonopsis pilosula root (dang shen / 党参)
  • Atractylodes macrocephala rhizome (bai zhu / 白朮)
  • Chinese licorice root (Glycyrrhiza uralensis / gan cao / 甘草)
  • Chinese yam (Dioscorea polystachya / shan yao / 山药)
  • Jujube fruit (da zao / 大枣)

Yang edit

  • Deer antler (lu rong / 鹿茸)
  • Desert-broomrape (Cistanche deserticola / rou cong rong / 肉蓯蓉)
  • Barrenwort (yin yang huo / 淫羊霍)
  • Eucommia ulmoides extract (du zhong / 杜仲)
  • Dipsacus asperoides root (xu duan / 续断)
  • Golden chicken fern rhizome (Cibotium barometz / gou zhui / 狗脊)
  • Psoralea corylifolia fruit (bu gu zhi / 补骨脂)
  • Cordyceps fungus (dong chong xia cao / 冬虫夏草)
  • Sharp-leaf galangal fruits (Alpinia oxyphylla / yi zhi ren / 益智仁)
  • Gecko (ge jie / 蛤蚧)

Hair edit

  • Female ginseng root (Angelica sinensis / dang gui / 当归)
  • Walnuts (hu tao rou / 胡桃肉)
  • Rehmannia glutinosa root (shu di huang / 熟地黄)
  • Chinese knotweed root (Reynoutria multiflora / he shou wu / 何首乌)
  • Donkey hide gelatin (e jiao / 阿胶)

Yin edit

  • Japanese lady bell root (Adenophora triphylla / nan sha shen / 南沙参)
  • Beach silvertop root (Glehnia littoralis / bei sha shen / 北沙参)
  • Chinese asparagus root (Asparagus cochinchinensis / tian men dong / 天门冬)
  • Monkeygrass root (Ophiopogon japonicus / mai men dong / 麦门冬)
  • Noble dendrobium orchid (shi hu / 石斛)
  • Solomon's seal rhizome (huang jing / 黄精)
  • Scented Solomon's seal rhizome (yu zhu / 玉竹)
  • Japanese cornel fruit (shan zhu yu / 山茱萸)
  • Goji berry (gou qi zi / 枸杞子)
  • Chinese privet fruit (nu zhen zi / 女贞子)
  • False daisy (han lian cao / 旱莲草)
  • Chinese softshell turtle shell (bie jia / 鱉甲)
  • Chinese pond turtle shell (gui ban / 龟板)

Xiao Chung edit

  • Magnolia berry (wu wei zi / 五味子)
  • Japanese plum (wu mei / 乌梅)
  • Chinese sumac galls (wu bei zi / 五倍子)
  • Blighted wheat (fu xiao mai / 浮小麦)
  • Myrobalan nut (he zi / 訶子)
  • Pomegranate rind (shi liu pi / 石榴皮)
  • Nutmeg (rou dou kou / 肉荳蔻)
  • Lotus seed (lian zi / 莲子)
  • Fox nuts (gorgon seeds / qian shi / 芡实)
  • Mantis eggs (sang piao xiao / 桑螵蛸)
  • Cuttlebone (wu zei gu / 乌贼骨)
  • Areca nut (bin lang / 檳榔)

Bu Fei edit

  • Aster root (zi wan / 紫菀)
  • Stemona tuberosa root (bai bu / 百部)
  • Coltsfoot flower (kuan dong hua / 款冬花)
  • White mulberry bark (sang bai pi / 桑白皮)
  • Aristolochia fruit (ma dou ling / 马兜铃)
  • Flixweed seeds (ting li zi / 葶靂子)

Bu Xue edit

  • Notoginseng root (san qi / tianqi / 三七 / 田七)
  • Madder root (qian cao / 茜草)

Ching Xue edit

  • Hirudo leeches (shui zhi / 水蛭)
  • Szechuan lovage (chuan xiong / 川芎)
  • Frankincense (ru xiang / 乳香)
  • Myrrh (mo yao / 没药)
  • Turmeric (yu jin / 鬱金)
  • Zedoary (e zhu / 莪朮)
  • Red sage (dan shen / 丹参)

Zi Ke Shou edit

  • Crow-dipper rhizome (ban xia / 半夏)
  • Green dragon rhizome (tian nan xing / 天南星)
  • White mustard seeds (bai jie zi / 白芥子)
  • Inula japonica buds (xuan fu hua / 旋覆花)

Bu Qi edit

  • Buddha's hand (fo shou / 佛手)
  • Indian costus root (mu xiang / 木香)
  • Evergreen lindera root (wu yao / 乌药)
  • Nutgrass rhizome (xiang fu / 香附)
  • Orange peel (ju pi / chen pi / 陈皮)
  • Mandarin orange peel (ju hong / 橘红)
  • Green orange peel (qing pi / 青皮)
  • Bitter orange (zhi ke / 枳壳)
  • Immature bitter orange (zhi shi / 枳实)
  • Agarwood (chen xiang / 沉香)
  • Melia toosendan fruit (chuan lian zhi / 川楝子)
  • Corydalis tuber (yan hu suo / 延胡索)
  • Chinese garlic (xie bai / 薤白)

Bu Yin edit

  • Japanese cornel fruit (shan zhu yu / 山茱萸)
  • Barley malt (mai ya / 麦芽)
  • Young rice seed (gu ya / 穀芽)
  • Radish seed (lai fu zi / 莱菔子)
  • Dried chicken gizzard membrane (ji nei jin / 鸡内金)
  • Massa medicinalis fermentata (shen qu / 神麴)

Feng Shi edit

  • Japanese angelica shoots (du huo / 獨活)
  • Chinese clematis root (wei ling xian / 威靈仙)
  • Stephania tetrandra root (fang ji / 防己)
  • Gentian root (qin jiao / 秦艽)
  • Chinese quince (Chaenomeles speciosa / mu gua / 番木瓜)
  • Taxillus chinensis branch (sang ji sheng / 桑寄生)
  • Eleutherococcus gracilistylus root bark (wu jia pi / 五加皮)
  • bai hua she 白花蛇 Agkistrodon seu Bungarus
  • Tiger bone (hu gu / 虎骨)
  • Black-striped snake (wu shao she / 烏梢蛇)
  • cang zhu 蒼朮 rhizoma Atractylodis
  • hou po 厚樸 cortex Magnoliae Officinalis
  • huo xiang 藿香 herba Agastaches
  • pei lan 佩蘭 herba Eupatorii
  • sha ren 砂仁 fructus Amomi
  • bai dou kou 白豆蔻 fructus Amomi Rotundus
  • cao guo 草果 fructus Tsaoko

Feng Han edit

  • su geng 苏梗 caulis Perillae
  • zi su ye 苏叶 folium Perillae
  • xiang ru 香薷 herba Elsholtziae
  • jing jie 荆芥 herba Schizonepetae
  • fan feng 防风 radix Ledebouriellae
  • jiang huo 薑活 radix Angelicae Dahuricae
  • bai zhi 白芷 rhizoma seu radix Notopterygli
  • cang er zi 苍耳子 fructus Xanthii
  • xin yi 辛荑花 flos Magnoliae
  • bo he 薄荷 herba Menthae
  • niu bang zi 牛蒡子 fructus Arctii
  • can tui 蝉蜕 periostracum Cicadae
  • dan dou chi 淡豆豉 semen Sojae preparatum
  • ju hua 菊花 flos Chrysanthemi
  • ge gen 葛根 radix Puerariae
  • Bupleurum chinense root (chai hu / 柴胡)
  • sheng ma 升麻 rhizoma Cimicifugae
  • ma huang 麻黄 radix Ephedrae
  • gui zhi 桂枝 ramulus Cinnamomi

Zi Shue edit

  • zhu ma gen 苧麻根 radix Boehmeriae
  • bai mao gen 白茅根 rhizoma Imperatae
  • ce bai ye 侧柏叶 cacumen Biotae
  • huai hua 槐花 flos Sophorae
  • da ji 大蓟 herba seu Radix Cirsii Japonici
  • xiao ji 小蓟 herba Cephalanoploris
  • di yu 地榆 radix Sanguisorbae
  • xian he cao 仙鹤草 herba Agrimoniae
  • Hyacinth orchid rhizome (Bletilla striata / bai jiang / 败酱草)
  • Madder root (qian cao / 茜草)
  • ai ye 艾叶 folium Artemisiae Argyi
  • pu huang 蒲黄 pollen Typhae

Yi Yin edit

  • fu ling 茯苓 Poria
  • zhu ling 豬苓 Polyporus Umbellatus
  • ze xie 澤瀉 rhizoma Alismatis
  • yi yi ren 薏苡仁 semen Coicis
  • che qian zi 车前子 semen Plantaginis
  • hua shi 滑石 Talcum
  • mu tong 木通 caulis Akebiae
  • jin qian cao 金钱草 herba Lysimachiae
  • tong cao 通草 medulla Tetrapanacis
  • shi wei 石苇 folium Pyrrosiae
  • yin chen hao 茵陈蒿 herba Artemisiae Scopariae
  • bi xie 萆薢 rhizoma Dioscoreae Septemlobae

Xia Huo edit

  • shi gao 石膏 gypsum Fibrosum
  • zhi mu 知母 rhizoma Anemarrhenae
  • tian hua fen 天花粉 radix Trichosanthis
  • lu gen 芦根 rhizoma Phragmitis
  • huang lian 黄莲 rhizoma Coptidis
  • huang qin 黄芩 radix Scutellariae
  • huang bai 黄柏 cortex Phellodendri
  • zhi zi 梔子 fructus Gardeniae
  • long dan cao 龙胆草 radix Gentianae
  • xia ku cao 夏枯草 spica Prunellae
  • ku shen 苦参 radix Sophorae Flavescentis
  • jue ming zi 决明子 semen Cassiae

Jie Tu edit

  • jin yin hua 金银花 flos Lonicerae
  • ren dong teng 忍冬藤 caulis Lonicerae
  • lian qiao 连翘 fructus Forsythiae
  • pu gong ying 蒲公英 herba Taraxaci
  • zi hua di ding 紫花地丁 herba Violae
  • da qing ye 大青叶 folium Isatidis
  • qing dai 青黛 indigo Naturalis
  • ban lan gen 板蓝根 radix Isatidis
  • chuan xin lian 穿心莲 herba Andrographitis
  • yu xing cao 鱼腥草 herba Houttuyniae
  • shan dou gen 山豆根 radix Sophorae Tonkinensis
  • she gan 射干 rhizoma Belamcandae
  • ma chi xian 马齿莧 herba Portulacae
  • bai tou weng 白头翁 radix Pulsatillae
  • hong teng 红藤 caulis Sargentodoxae
  • qin pi 秦皮 cortex Fraxini

Jie Re edit

  • shui niu jiao 水牛角 cornu Bubali
  • sheng di huang 生地黄 radix Rehmanniae
  • xuan shen 玄参 radix Scrophulariae
  • xi jiao 西角 cornu Rhinocerotis
  • bai jiang 败酱草 herba Patriniae
  • mu dan pi 牡丹皮 cortex Moutan Radicis
  • chi shao 赤芍 radix Paeoniae Rubra
  • zi cao 紫草 radix arnebiae seu lithospermi

Jie Shi Re edit

  • qing hao 青蒿 herba Artemisiae Annuae
  • bai wei 白薇 radix cynanchi Atrati
  • di gu pi 地骨皮 cortex Lycii Radicis
  • yin chai hu 銀柴胡 radix Stellariae

Xie Tu edit

  • Rhubarb root/rhizome (da huang / 大黃)
  • Sodium sulfate (mang xiao / 芒硝)
  • Senna leaf (fan xie ye / 番瀉葉)
  • Hemp seed (da ma ren / 大麻仁)
  • Euphorbia kansui root (gan sui / 甘遂)
  • Bush cherry seed (yu li ren / 郁李仁)
  • Peking spurge root (da ji / 大戟)
  • Daphne genkwa flower (yuan hua / 芫花)
  • Morning glory seed (qian niu zi / 牽牛子)

Nei Wen edit

  • Cinnamon (肉桂)
  • Tetradium ruticarpum fruit (wu zhu yu / 吴茱萸)
  • Wild ginger (xi xin / 细辛)
  • Sichuan peppercorn (hua jiao / 花椒)
  • Clove (ding xiang / 丁香)
  • Galangal (gao liang jiang / 高莨姜)
  • Fennel seed (xiao hui xiang / 小茴香)
  • Dried Chinese aconite root (fu zi / 地肤子)
  • chuan wu tou 川乌头 radix Aconiti
  • wu tou 乌头 radix Aconiti Lateralis Preparata
  • Kusnezoff monkshood root (cao wu tou / 草乌头)
  • Dried ginger root (gan jiang / 乾薑)

Sa Chong edit

  • Rangoon creeper fruit (shi jun zi / 使君子)
  • Areca nut peel (da fu pi / 大腹皮)
  • Omphalia mushroom (lei wan / 雷丸)
  • Chinaberry bark (ku lian pi / 苦莲皮)
  • Pumpkin seed (nan gua zi / 南瓜)
  • Hairy agrimony buds (he cao ya / 鹤草牙)
  • Carpesium abrotanoides fruit (he shi)
  • Wood fern rhizome (guan zhong / 贯眾 / 贯仲 / Dryopteris crassirhizoma)
  • Torreya grandis seed (fei zi / 榧子)

Shui Mien edit

  • Fossilized bones (long gu / 龙骨)
  • Jujube seed (suan zao ren / 酸枣仁)
  • Polygala tenuifolia root (yuan zhi / 远志)
  • Platycladus orientalis seed (bai zi ren / 柏子仁)

Bu Gan edit

  • Oyster shell (mu li / 牡蠣)
  • Pearl (zhen zhu / 珍珠)
  • Mother of pearl (zhen zhu mu / 珍珠母)
  • Red ochre (dai zhe shi / 代赭石)
  • Bell goat horn (ling yang jiao / 铃羊角)
  • Gastrodia elata rhizome (tian ma / 天麻)

Bu Xin Ren Shi edit

  • Deer musk (she xiang / 麝香)
  • Cattle gallstone (niu huang / 牛黄)
  • Borneol (bing pian / 冰片)
  • Storax balsam (su he xiang / 苏合香)
  • Japanese sweet flag rhizome (shi chang pu / 石菖蒲)