Learn About Yin & Yang Balancing Act In Chinese Cuisine

Yin & Yang are the essential principles of China’s core philosophy and it applies in cooking too. In their medicine it is believed that the food may be separated into 4 Chis (its flow of energy): Warm, hot, cold and cool; then there’s yang, then mild-yin and finally yin.

Generally speaking yang develops the circulation in your blood & warms them up, & of course extra eating of yang foods especially eaten when the season’s different will promote continuous thirst, constipation, sweating when its night time and hot-flashes.

While yin foods satiate your thirst, it cleanses the systems & allows us to feel cooled, if it also eaten at wrong times it might also lead to lowering the metabolism & weakening the bodies.

Particularly in olden Chinese times, women who are pregnant are not advised in eating the yin foods category like crabs and watermelon since it heightens the chances of getting a miscarriage. Here are a few yin & yang food:

Beans and Grains

Mild-Yang (food that is warm): sorghum, sago, barley, black-rice, glutinous rice
Mild-Yin (food that is cool): oat, millet, buckwheat, green-beans, barley, wheat
Middle category: broad bean, lentil, mung bean sprout, kidney bean, sweet-peas, long string beans, rice-beans, soy-beans, sesame, sweet potatoes, corn, rice

Dairy and Meat Products

Mild-Yang (food that is warm): goat’s milk, mussels, lobster, shrimp, chicken, lamb, beef
Mild-Yin (food that is cool): abalone and duck
Yin: food that’s raw, escargots, squid, octopus, clam, crabs, duck’s eggs
Middle category: yogurt, cow’s milk, fish, scallop, pork, whites from eggs, and chicken’s eggs

Nuts and Fruits

Mild-Yang (food that is warm): mango, cherry, chestnut, walnut, pine-nut, papaya, lemon, long yans, lychee, dates, almond, peach
Mild-Yin (food that is cool): pipa, strawberry, orange, pear, apple
Yin: sweet melons, watermelon, kiwi, starfruit, banana, pomelo, persimmon
Middle category: hazelnut, peanut, coconut’s milk, pumpkin’s seeds, sunflower’s seeds, olive, grapes, pineapple, plum

Vegetables

Mild-Yang (food that is warm): pumpkin, onion, spring onions, parsley or coriander, leeks, garlic
Yang (food that is hot): pepper
Mild-Yin (food that is cool): needle mushrooms, mushroom, cucumber, winter-melon, lotus roots, gluten, tofu (includes soy-milk), cauliflower, artichoke, asparagus, spinach, choy shums, egg plants, celery, tomato
Yin: water chesnuts, bitter melons, straw mushrooms, seaweed, bamboo shoot, watercress, water spinaches, arrowhead, bok choy(Chinese cabbage)
Middle category: black-fungus & turnip (considered the mildest part of yin) taro, potato

Other Ingredients and Food

Mild-Yang (food that is warm): ginseng, sugar (red), caffeinated beverages like black-tea & coffee, alcohol, star-anise, cumin, wild peppers, nutmeg, cayenne, horse radish, thyme, turmeric, sage, rosemary, dill, clove, spices like young gingers
Yang (food that is hot): cinnamon
Mild-Yin (food that is cool): mint, chrysanthemum teas, beer, honey, green teas
Yin: salt, soy-bean paste, soy-sauce

This is Beneficial.

Based on Chinese beliefs, each one is innately born with yang, yin or anywhere found within the middle. Like when craving for too much spicy food you must have the yin body, or when you enjoy watermelon any time of the year, most likely you’re a yang.

The body’s current state of health indicates the yin-yang balance inside the body. Like always having feet and hands that are usually cold you’re a yin, or when you easily get soared throat and gets too temperamental you’re most probably a yang. Graphic and seasonal variations determine your preference of yin and yang foods.

Our Advice

During cooking food of the yin category usually the veggies add a general amount of ingredients with yang characteristics like coriander, ginger, spring onions, and garlic.
Eat foods that are in season: Allow nature to be our guide
Balanced diet: Allow yourself in eating different types of foods; surely the yin & yang definitely helps balance them out.