656919 Sun Oct 04 07:33:19 -0700 2009 10 19 Outer Boroughs 0 5077881 On a recent visit to Flushing, my tablemate (who was practicing her English) explained that my chicken-goji berry-herb soup was good for "renal" conditions. She added, herself and on behalf of the owner, that all the value was in the broth and that the chicken meat (grayish and unphotogenic) is not eaten. Based on the attached photos, of a poster outside the shop and of some menu items (I ordered the fifth), can anyone tell me more? Sun Oct 04 07:33:19 -0700 2009 14517 DaveCook 1 5077950 A quick search for the health benefits of goji berry indicates they are in fact a super tonic for the kidneys. Sun Oct 04 08:13:49 -0700 2009 5077881 24925 chow_gal 1 5078005 I don't read Chinese but I'm thinking what you had was black chicken soup (hence the grayish meat) with goji berries. There was probably some other stuff like ginger in it. In Oriental medicine, black chicken is thought to have many more health properties than regular chicken (in fact, I always make chicken broth using black chickens), nourishing the blood and strengthening the digestive system, Liver and Kidney. And when I'm talking about Liv and Kid, I'm referring them in the Oriental medical context where it goes beyond just the actual organ itself. Goji berries have been used in Oriental medicine for quite some time but only have been gaining popularity in America in the past few years. They're known for strengthening the liver and kidney and for benefiting the eyes. My MIL made me a great soup a few weeks ago consisting of chicken, goji berries, Chinese red dates and longnan and ginger. It was quite nourishing and filled me up quite well, even though it was just the broth I was drinking. Here's a short article that explains the traditional Oriental medical viewpoint of diet. http://acupuncture.com/nutrition/diettcm.htm Sun Oct 04 08:43:07 -0700 2009 5077881 10763 Miss Needle 2 5081610 The menu says "red jujube black chicken soup" (hong zao wu ji tang). Note that jujube (hong zao) and goji berry (gou qi) are not the same. What restaurant is this? Mon Oct 05 20:25:48 -0700 2009 5078005 13402 Joe MacBu 3 5081760 There was something in the soup that my tablemate struggled to explain, and that could have been a pitted jujube, softened by long cooking. She said it was fine to eat, and I did, learning nothing by it. I don't know the name of this place, but you'll find it inside 41-40 Main St., first stall on the left. On my first visit, an assistant (apparently, and not the proprietor) managed to convey that the owner is from Shaanxi province. Mon Oct 05 22:18:36 -0700 2009 5081610 14517 DaveCook 3 5082096 Jujube is also known as da zao. Here's a page that describes the properties of it. But the pic in the link is depicting the black date, not the red one that Dave ate (hong means red, I think). Black dates taste a lot smokier than the red one. http://tcm.health-info.org/Herbology.Materia.Medica/dazao-properties.htm And here's something that talks about goji berry (otherwise known as gou qi zi): http://tcm.health-info.org/Herbology.Materia.Medica/gouqizi-properties.htm Tue Oct 06 05:24:32 -0700 2009 5081610 10763 Miss Needle 1 5078164 I have yet to see any scientific evidence for any of these claims, or any like them. People should be very careful not to give too much credence to these primitive folk remedies. Some might actually be dangerous to the conditions they claim to teat. I love goji berries because they have a unique taste, bordering on sweet but almost 'dusty', if that makes sense. Better to focus on taste, It ain't medicine. Sun Oct 04 10:22:51 -0700 2009 5077881 94651 NYJewboy 2 5080697 to dismiss centuries' old medicine as "primitive folk remedies" is rather condescending. are you going to suggest that acupuncture and yoga don't help next? that people should just do it because they like to pricked with pins or contort themselves into pretzel shapes? Mon Oct 05 13:35:41 -0700 2009 5078164 293880 selenster 1 5082219 how did it taste, Dave?? Tue Oct 06 06:27:01 -0700 2009 5077881 11130 jen kalb 2 5082251 The thin amber broth didn't have a complex flavor, and it wasn't as concentrated as you might first imagine upon seeing that the serving bowl is also the cooking container, and that all the ingredients had been sealed in under foil. Tue Oct 06 06:40:53 -0700 2009 5082219 14517 DaveCook 1 5112559 that stuff is delicious and . . . i still eat the chicken in the soup. Sun Oct 18 12:53:49 -0700 2009 5077881 12656 bigjeff