Chinese food therapy is a mode of dieting rooted in Chinese beliefs concerning the effects of food on the human organism, and centered on concepts such as eating in moderation. Its basic precepts are a mix of Taoist Wuxing theory and concepts drawn from the modern representation of traditional Chinese medicine.
Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures and made into a variety of shapes. While long, thin strips may be the most common, many varieties of noodles are cut into waves, helices, tubes, strings, or shells, or folded over, or cut into other shapes. Noodles are usually cooked in boiling water, sometimes with cooking oil or salt added. They are often pan-fried or deep-fried. Noodles are often served with an accompanying sauce or in a soup. Noodles can be refrigerated for short-term storage or dried and stored for future use.
A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes.
Manti is a type of dumpling popular in most cuisines of the South Caucasus, Balkans, Central Asia, and Afghanistan. Manti is also popular among Chinese Muslims, and it is consumed throughout post-Soviet countries, where the dish spread from the Central Asian republics. The dumplings typically consist of a spiced meat mixture, usually lamb or ground beef, wrapped in a thin dough sheet which is then boiled or steamed. The size and shape of manti vary significantly depending on geographic location.
Traditional Mongolian medicine developed over many years among the Mongolian people. Mongolian medical practice spread across their empire and became an ingrained part of many other people's medical systems.
The history of Chinese cuisine is marked by both variety and change. The archaeologist and scholar Kwang-chih Chang says "Chinese people are especially preoccupied with food" and "food is at the center of, or at least it accompanies or symbolizes, many social interactions". Over the course of history, he says, "continuity vastly outweighs change." He explains basic organizing principles which go back to earliest times and give a continuity to the food tradition, principally that a normal meal is made up of grains and other starches and vegetable or meat dishes.
Mongolian cuisine predominantly consists of dairy products, meat, and animal fats. The most common rural dish is cooked mutton. In the city, steamed dumplings filled with meat—"buuz"— are popular.
Güllaç is a Turkish dessert made with milk, pomegranate and a special kind of pastry. It is consumed especially during Ramadan.
Baklava is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. It was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine.
Hu Sihui was a Chinese court therapist and dietitian during Yuan dynasty. He is known for his book Yinshan zhengyao, that became a classic in Chinese medicine and Chinese cuisine. He was the first to empirically discover and clearly describe deficiency diseases.
The Wushi'er Bingfang, or Recipes for Fifty-Two Ailments, is an ancient Chinese medical text that was discovered in 1973 in Mawangdui in a tomb that was sealed in 168 BCE under the Han dynasty. The text was copied in seal script on sheets of silk around 215 BCE, under the Qin dynasty, but might have dated from even earlier. Modern editors chose its title because the text starts with a list of fifty-two ailments for which recipes are given. The formulary presents more than 250 exorcistic and drug-based cures for ailments such as warts, hemorrhoids, inguinal swellings, and snake bites. Among other medical treatments, the text also recommends lancing and cauterization, but mention neither acupuncture nor moxibustion.
Shuanggudui is an archeological site located near Fuyang in China's Anhui province. Shuanggudui grave no. 1, which belongs to Xiahou Zao (夏侯灶), the second marquis of Ruyin (汝陰侯), was sealed in 165 BCE in the early Han dynasty. Excavated in 1977, it was found to contain a large number of texts written on bamboo strips, including fragments of the Classic of Poetry and the Songs of the South, a text on breathing exercises, a "year table" (年表) recounting historical events, a manual on dogs, a version of the I Ching (Yijing) that differs from the received one, and artifacts including the oldest known cosmic board, a divinatory instrument. Like Mawangdui and Guodian, two other tombs from the area of the old state of Chu, the Shuanggudui find has shed great light on the culture and practices of the early Han dynasty.
The (1406) Jiuhuang bencao, written by the Ming dynasty prince Zhu Su (朱橚), was the first illustrated botanical manual for famine foods—wild food plants suitable for survival during times of famine.
During the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) of China, many scientific and technological advancements were made in areas such as mathematics, medicine, printing technology, and gunpowder warfare.
Tang Shenwei, courtesy name Shenyuan, was a Chinese physician of the Song Dynasty. He compiled an influential pharmacopoeia, Zhenglei bencao (證類本草).
The Yinshu (引書) is an ancient Chinese medical text from the Western Han dynasty discovered in 1983 as part of the Zhangjiashan Han bamboo texts.
Sülen are the so-called "boiled pot" dishes of ancient Mongolian cuisine. They are the most significant category of dishes attested to in the Yinshan Zhengyao (YSZY), making up 12.3% off the 219 recorded recipes of the Khan's court. The texture of dishes cooked by the boiling pot method varies from pilafs and very thick stews to soups, all the recipes in Juan 1 of the YSZY were made using the same base mutton and cardamom broth as a cooking liquid.
Beiji qianjin yaofang, literally Essential Formulas Worth a Thousand in Gold for Emergencies, is a Chinese medical text by Sun Simiao first published in 652. A sequel was published in 682.
Liu Juanzi Guiyi Fang, also known as Shenxian Yi Lun, is a Chinese medical text allegedly written by the titular Liu Juanzi and published during the Northern and Southern dynasties in 499. The original text comprised ten volumes and is no longer extant; an abridged version by Gong Qingxuan was published sometime in the Song dynasty.
The Xinxiu bencao, also known as the Tang bencao, is a Chinese pharmacopoeia written in the Tang dynasty by a team of officials and physicians headed by editor-in-chief Su Jing. It borrowed heavily from—and expanded upon—an earlier monograph by Tao Hongjing. The text was first published in 659; although it is now considered lost in China, at least one copy exists in Japan, where the text had been transmitted to in 721.
