Asian Soup Cultures (3/3)

And what about soup's role as a tonic? These soups, which usually combine long-simmered foods and medicinal herbs, are designed to balance the yin (cooling) and yang (heating) forces that affect the body. Thus a Chinese grandmother might demand to look into the eyes and at the tongue of her grandson to deduce his nature that day: if he was "wet and cold," she'd create a yang soup, such as chrysanthmum flowers and sugar to soothe and warm him. If he was "hot," she'd give him a yin soup, such as winter melon soup--or a sweet dessert soup of poached pears, honey, and lemon balm to cool and cleanse him. All foods, in fact, are classified according to their yin/yang properties: For example, oranges, winter melon, pork, and dried figs are YIN--meaning they can reduce inflammation and help lower fevers. Whereas ginseng, quail, dried longans fruit, azuki beans, and medicinal roots and berries are YANG--meaning they can promote blood formation and circulation and improve vitality. A word to the wise--the elderly should beware yin foods...and embrace yang ones. Source: http://soupsongs.com Soup Jokes Chicken Noodle Soup is American’s favorite. To adapt to the American taste palate, there are variations of Asian chicken noodle soups. The Tonight Show – Talk show host Jay Leno As Jay Leno cracks, "I tell you, this bird flu is pretty scary. See, this shows you how times have changed. Remember when you'd give someone with the flu chicken soup? Well, now the chicken in the soup can give you the flu." ------------- ------------------------------------ -- Diner: “Waiter！ Come taste the soup.” -- Waiter: “Where is the spoon?” -- Diner: “I gottcha!” http://www.soupsongs.com