Sara Jane Ho Instagram – Snapshots from my meals in China where each dish is both a work of art and a lesson in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Pic 1 – In TCM, purple and dark-colored foods (yam, cabbage, corn, cauliflower) correspond to the Kidney system and nourish Yin, build Essence (Jing), strengthen blood, and improve circulation. Purple indicates rich antioxidants, which TCM interprets as having heat-clearing, toxin-removing, and blood-invigorating effects.
Pic 2 – Youtiao – the long, deep-fried Chinese breadstick. In TCM, any food deep-fried and oily is damp-producing and phlegm-producing. Not for individuals with heat, dampness, or weak digestion.
Pic 3 – Bamboo shoot clears heat and resolves dampnesss. It also helps to regulate water circulation and resolve phlegm.
Pic 4 – Crab, and in the foreground is my guilty pleasure – foie gras pate sandwiched between peking duck skin and hawthorn chewy fruit.
Pic 5 – In Chinese fine dining your table setting has 2 pairs of chopsticks. The outer chopstick is your serving chopstick that you use to take food to your plate. The inside chopstick is what you use to eat and put in your mouth. Don’t get them mixed up!
Pic 6 – Abalone is used to nourish yin, calm the liver, clear heat, and improve vision, treating issues like headaches, dizziness, red eyes, and blurred vision.
Pic 8 – White tea (白茶) clears the lungs.
Pic 12 – I found a new chiropractor Dr Zhang near my house in Hangzhou who is young but gifted and the clinic is a hole in the wall. We shoot the sh*t about TCM.
Pic 13 & 14 – After feeling my pulse Dr Zhang recommended a TCM formula for kidney yang deficiency called Jinkui Shenqi Wan to warm, tonify, and restore Kidney Yang, improve fluid metabolism, and support Qi movement in the lower body.
Pic 15 – Dr Zhang told me to eat more black coloured foods to support my kidney yang. So right after my session I had a bowl of black sesame paste—often eaten as a warm, smooth dessert in Chinese cuisine (and some black sesame jelly cubes on the side). It is considered a superior longevity food in TCM.
Pic 17 – In Hong Kong my stepmum always drops off soup at my apartment. This carrot, lotus root, pork bone soup is a classic! | Posted on 16/Dec/2025 02:42:09
