Asian flavors get the qi flowing

                             Our Vietnamese community will celebrate Tet, the new year, on Feb. 16 to welcome the year of the dog. This is a good time to explore Port Arthur’s markets brimming with spices, noodles and vegetables to enjoy.

                             My Mexican-American mother-in-law became known for New Year’s egg rolls and we enjoyed those flavors this year in her memory. This season always gets me in the mood to organize my pantry and I brought pickled ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce and canned seafood front and center to combine with rice and vegetables over the next few weeks.

                             Ellen Goldsmith’s Robert Rose book, “Nutritional Healing with Chinese Medicine” is aiding me on this culinary adventure.  I’m reading up on foods that are considered warming, drying, etc. and how they have been used over centuries to treat ailments and get your qi, something like your life force, in balance.

                             For instance, heartburn can be treated with cooling foods such as mushrooms and avocado, and fortunately for us southerners, okra.

                             If your digestion is poor, go to ginger tea and carrots and slow down your eating.

                             The winter foods recipe section includes Brothy Salmon and Ginger Soup, as salmon nourishes the nervous system; Trout Steamed with Green Peas and Lemony Herbed Rice, for people who often have cold hands and feet; and creamy cabbage salad. Tofu helps make that salad creamy and the cabbage is good for the stomach and spleen.

                             Cabbage is something we southerners have on hand now because of our New Year’s Day tradition that eating more cabbage means more money in the next year. Here’s something new to do with your greens.

            Darraghcastillo@icloud.com