The practice of using medicinals in cookery as part of dietary therapy or for the pleasure of the palate. Medicinal cookery differs from regular medicinal therapy not only by the use of regular foodstuffs but also by limiting medicinals to those whose flavors combine well with foodstuffs and are pleasant to the palate. Since a large proportion of these fall within the category of supplementing medicinals, medicinal cookery tends to be used to supplement insufficiencies rather than eliminating evils. Supplementing medicinals, whether they supplement qì, blood, yīn, or yáng, tend to be sweet in flavor, and hence highly suited for use in the preparation of pleasantly tasting dishes.
The medicinals most commonly used in medicinal cookery are astragalus (Astragali Radix, 黄芪huáng qí) and jujube (Jujubae Fructus, 大枣dà zǎo), which boost qì, and cooked rehmannia (Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata, 熟地黄shú dì huáng) and lycium berry (Lycii Fructus, 枸杞子gǒu qǐ zǐ), which supplement blood and yīn. All of these are sweet and pleasant-tasting. When they are added to a soup, they create a delightful centerpiece to a hearty, healthy meal.
Ginseng is also often used in medicinal cookery, for its powerful supplementing qualities and its unique flavor. The fine roots are used for economy. Ginseng is often combined with jujube (Jujubae Fructus, 大枣dà zǎo) and chicken to make Ginseng and Jujube Chicken (rén shēn dà zǎo jī).
Medicinal cookery is, however, by no means limited to supplementing medicinals. Coix (Coicis Semen, 薏苡仁yì yǐ rén), for example, looks and tastes very much like barley, although it is slightly larger. Coix has properties and actions similar to those of poria (Poria, 茯苓fú líng), but is more widely used in medicinal cookery, probably because it can be eaten. It is used as a foodstuff; it often appears in sweetened gruels made of multiple grains and seeds referred to as Eight Gem Gruel (bā bǎo zhǒu). Chinese angelica (Angelicae Sinensis Radix, 当归dāng guī), which is used both to supplement and quicken the blood, is prized in medicinal cookery for its excellent medicinal qualities, and also, like ginseng, for its unique flavor. It notably appears in combination with cooked rehmannia (Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata, 熟地黄shú dì huáng), white peony (Paeoniae Radix Alba, 白芍药bái sháo yào), and chuanxiong (Chuanxiong Rhizoma, 川芎chuān xiōng) in the above-mentioned Four Agents Decoction (四物汤sì wù tāng), which is an effective remedy for blood vacuity and blood stasis.