Fresh greens are essential for building the immune system. Every night I usually have a side dish of steamed or stir fried greens with other good anti-cancer ingredients, such as garlic, ginger and shitake or oyster mushroom. Steaming is better as less of the goodness is destroyed.
In TCM, vegetables and fruits which have lots of seeds (or flowers/florets) are considered particularly beneficial, so I usually use broccoli or kai lan which is the Chinese version; sometimes I add asparagus which is particularly good as it cleanses the kidneys, which govern the health of the body in TCM (it’s pretty obvious when you remember how it makes your urine smell). Pak choi or kale are also good.
If you want something more substantial you can add rice vermicelli noodles, which you pre-soak in boiling water before adding to the wok (if frying) or mix in with the steamed vegetables in a bowl after cooking.
Vicky's veg
100-200 g leafy green veg (depends how hungry you are!)
25-30 g shitake, oyster or other mushrooms
handful of asparagus (optional)
good handful of beansprouts (optional)
1 clove garlic thinly sliced
1 inch ginger peeled and thinly sliced
1 chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced (optional)
sprinkle of sesame seeds (optional)
dribble of sesame oil
dash of oyster sauce for seasoning (optional)
spring onions and coriander to garnish (optional)
1 dsp coconut oil (if stir-frying)
If stir-frying, heat the oil in a wok and lightly fry the ginger and garlic. You could also add the spring onions.
Add the washed green veg and sesame seeds, stir fry for a few minutes, then add and some water to moisten, and clamp a well fitting lid on the wok. This is essential to steam the veg rather than fry. All good Chinese woks work in this way.
If steaming, I simply place all the veg plus the sesame seeds, ginger, garlic and chilli in a hot water steamer and cook for 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the broccoli stalks.
To serve, mix in a few drops of sesame oil, or I -2 tbsp oyster sauce, and garnish with coriander and spring onions.
healthy living with cancer 