Yin and Yang in Food

You are bound to have heard of the Chinese principles of Yin and Yang. Yin is said to be representative of dark, negative and feminine, while Yang is positive, bright and masculine. These philosophical beliefs make up the core of Chinese culture and are integral to all parts of Chinese life. While it may seem as though Yin and Yang are opposing energies that would not be compatible, they are instead considered to be a complementary partnership. The concept of Yin and Yang is so important in China, that if something goes wrong, it is believed that the two elements are imbalanced or in conflict.

With this idea of needing a perfect balance that stems from Yin and Yang, the principles are added to the culinary world, as a way to find balance and harmony on your plate. To make the concept more ‘foodie’, many chefs replace the terms ‘Yin and Yang’ with ‘Hot and Cold’. The words hot and cold, somewhat deceptively, do not refer to the actual temperature of the food served, but rather the characteristics held by the food.

Attributes that make food ‘cold’, or Yin, include having a green colour, being bitter or sour in flavour, grow in water or are fruit and veg that are in season in the winter. Examples of these within popular Chinese foods are seaweed, bean sprouts, cabbage, watercress and crabs.

Yang is the ‘hot’ food, and this means that they can be red in colour, sweet or spicy, grow in soil or are grown during sunny times of the year. This includes produce such as ginger, chilli, rice, duck, eggs and peanuts. So an example of a balanced meal combining the Yin and Yang would be a crab omelette, incorporating the cold/Yin crab with the hot/Yang eggs!

The ideas of Yin and Yang extend further than the food in the kitchen though, with cooking methods also influenced by this philosophy! Water-based cooking, such as boiling, steaming and poaching are seen as Yin methods, while the hotter stir-frying, deep-frying and roasting are the Yang.

The balance from the food types can then bring your health back into equilibrium. If you eat too much of one type of food, then you must eat the opposite type to correct the imbalance. For example, by yin-yang principles, it is believed that too much ‘hot’ can cause rashes, high blood pressure and hot flashes, which can be alleviated through eating a few more cold/yin foods! Conversely, too much cold can lead to depression, fatigue, cold symptoms and muscle aches, which can be helped with a little warm food.

If you are looking to find a little more balance in your diet with some Chinese food in the UK, then take a look at the range available online at Oriental Mart.