Ancient Wisdom, Modern Kitchen: Recipes from the East for Health, Healing, and Long Life

This book totally lived up to my hopes. The recipes are easy and mostly quick to prepare, and all the ones I've tried have been very tasty. For each one, the authors explain what it does from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective (e.g., strengthens the kidneys, drains dampness) and which health issues you can use it for (e.g., losing weight, or recovering from illness). You can use the index to look for a recipe by ingredient or by health issue. They also give you variations on each recipe. I have even made up my own recipes based on the information/ingredients presented in the book.Ancient Wisdom, Modern Kitchen is written from the perspective that food = nutrition = medicine. You can enjoy it simply as a cookbook of East Asian dishes, or as a component in a healthier lifestyle (the recipes are mostly quite low fat and feature lots of veggies, herbs, and whole grains), or as therapeutic for specific conditions.The only drawback--and this isn't a problem with the book but with trying to eat an Asian-style diet in the USA--is that some of the ingredients can be hard to source and rather expensive. The authors do their best to help by giving you pictures of ingredients that may be unfamiliar, as well as showing their names written in Chinese so you can recognize them from the packaging. I happen to live in a city without a good Asian market though, and have found it difficult to get some of the herbs locally. They can be ordered online, but some (like ginseng) can be really pricey. However, this is your health we're talking about, so it's up to you whether that's worth the cost. Most of the recipes can be made without hard-to-obtain ingredients and they'll still be tasty food, albeit maybe not as medicinal. I just gradually add things to my pantry, one at a time.For Westerners who might be wondering how these Asian medicinal ingredients will taste, the ones I've been able to get my hands on have been mild and pleasant tasting. I routinely add astragalus root, jujubes (Chinese red dates), maitake and/or shiitake mushrooms, pearl barley (Job's tears), and goji berries to my soups and stews now, and no one who has tried them thinks there is anything weird about the taste. I think they add good flavor, but in a subtle and not overpowering way. Ginseng is also very tasty. If you already like Chinese, Japanese, or Korean food I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Yes, this is a beautifully written book, and so filled with the wisdom the title promises.Unfortunately, I did not find the recipes useful. I want to be able to go down to the local Western supermarket and find the ingredients on the shelves. I did not want to search for ingredients in exotic out-of-the-way specialty stores. Some of the ingredients I didn't even recognize.Also, I am on a Low-Salt diet. I am trying to stay out of the Chinese restaurants because of the liberal use of salt and thought I could recreate the delicious Chinese food experience at home. I know I could modify each recipe to suit my special needs, but it did seem almost every recipe uses salt or soy sauce for flavoring. I am disappointed.

I have bought several books on Chinese medicine and cooking. This is the best one so far. The recipes are easy to understand, easy to make. We have made a couple of them, they are tasty as well. I especially like the section that describes who the recipe is good for, and the section for those familiar with Chinese medicine. The entire book is valuable, not just the recipes. The introduction, the 100 Asian ingredients, the appendixes, resource list, all very helpful. I am very happy with this book.

I am a licensed acupuncturist and practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and I prescribe various recipes from Ancient Wisdom, Modern Kitchen. My patients love the recipes and information as much as I do. Food is medicine, and the first part of the book describes different foods' qualities and healing properties. The pattern differentiation of each recipe reflects the individualized treatment strategies used in Chinese Medicine. The miso tahini green bean recipe is one of my favorite dishes ever, and I make it at least 1-2x/week in the warmer months. I just ordered a few copies for wedding gifts. Yuan Wang and Warren Sheir were 2 of my favorite teachers at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, and having this resource allows their teaching presence to remain in my life.

I have had this book about 3 weeks now and I decided to write a review to encourage people to take a leap and buy it! The recipes are delicious! What I like best are the mineral-rich broths, and that they use the soaking liquids in the recipes. For lunch today, I had Cool-as-a-Cucumber Salad, Terrific Tofu and Mushrooms, Seaweed-Sweet Potato Simmer, and brown rice. I could not get anything that good at any Chinese restaurant I know of. I have also made and recommend: Vitality Fish Soup, Flu Season Soup, Mushroom Brown Rice, Move-the-Qi Daikon Salad (great with added mung sprouts), Outstanding Oatmeal, Meditative Mint, Ginger, and Tangerine Tisane, Immunity Building chicken stock, and the Togarichi Topping. If you like Oriental food, this is a somewhat different approach with great results! Thanks to the authors for their thorough work.

I love this book for the fact that most recipes in it are very simple yet most delicious. I also like the little notes/stories which accompany the recipes. The book is a treasure of information and good food recipes.

Love this book...!!! It is my companion in my kitchen. This is a great book and I use it as a reference, especially the second part of the book with the 100 Chinese ingredients. It is a great start to eating healthy. I used to refer to the recipes in this books but after sometime in not finding some ofthe ingredients in our Asian supermarket half an hour away, I refer to the ingredients of the book part as my base. For many nights now I have made serious changes to our diet and in just a few days, I can feel better. My husband loves my cooking too...

Firstly I hesitated to buy this book but as my husband was diagnosed with cancer I started to cook from this book ( and about 15 others:)))). We were really surprised by the taste of recipes. All of the foods come out well and my husband enjoyes them. You can replace meat with tofu or some mushrooms ( especially shitakii is very good) or just some soaked beans and grains together for complete protein.So now when we need to go to London we shop in China Town quite a lot and even pay less :)))

Delicious recipes!

Especially good book for those who consider food medicine. I already use some the ingredients mentioned, so I am already familiar the benefits. In the recipe section I found new ways to prepare my favourites.

a really useful book, well written, organised and easy to use as a source of knowledge for remedies that come right out of your kitchen! I took it out of the library first, but quickly realised that l wanted to have this book on my shelf.

An excellent cookbook to help you have a more balanced and nutritious diet for you and your family. The authors created recipes that are based on traditional Chinese medicine using ingredients that are readily available in supermarkets in western countries. I found this cookbook very helpful.