Comfort Food

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period (770—476 BCE) of the Zhou Dynasty, ancient Chinese astronomers devised the solar terms according to the position of the sun every 15 degrees along the ecliptic, making each solar term a period of approximately 15 days. Each has its unique characteristics: for example, when spring thunder sounds during “Awakening of Insects,” all living things on the earth wake up; while at “Frost’s Descent,” winter is approaching and the weather is getting cold. In the past, farmers would organize their agricultural program according to the solar terms, and they became an agricultural calendar in the ancient Chinese world that has endured to this day.

The beautiful flavors of solar term foods are preserved in glass jars at Seed Design.

Solar terms in color

While the ancient Chinese used texts to explain the solar terms, Seed Design employs colors to interpret their characteristics. For example, sapphire blue is used to represent “Major Heat” (the hottest time of the year). While many might argue that the hottest day should be hot red, the company thought about the color of the sky after sunset, just before darkness falls. At that moment when the stars are just becoming visible, the sky is a deep sapphire blue. So the company cleverly uses xing­guan bao­lan (“stars in a sapphire blue sky”) to describe Major Heat, bringing a cool mood to a hot summer’s day.

“The solar terms can become an important part of people’s lives,” says Pink Kan, creative director at Seed Design. They are very important for Chinese people. In fact, they are our lives: we eat the produce that farmers cultivate according to the solar terms. By so doing, we come to appreciate the functions of the solar terms, the land, and the wisdom of our Chinese ancestors. Then we feel more confident in facing the world.

In order to explore the profound cultural expression of solar terms, Kan set up Seed Sight Lab next to Seed Design’s office to transform produce grown according to the solar terms into a range of delicious foods ready for the dining table.

Fresh chives, which are in season at “Start of Spring,” together with bean sprouts, omelet and fried sakura shrimps, all in a spring roll wrapping, becomes a dish called chun jiu zhi yue (“spring chives rendezvous”), which is full of the atmosphere of spring. Watermelon harvested at “Minor Heat,” diced and sprinkled with cheese, lemon zest and toasted pine nuts, becomes a dish that uses common local ingredients, but boasts an exotic tang.

Seed Design have edited their delicious solar term diet recipes into eight books, which are as much about the aesthetics of life as they are about healthy eating.

courtesy of Seed Design

Solar terms in daily life

Food produced according to the solar terms is not only good to eat fresh; it also makes delicious preserves through natural drying or pickling. “We divide the ingredients into fresh and preserved, and what’s important when cooking is to think about what fresh ingredients are suitable to cook with preserved, rather than what the dish is called” says Maya Ma, an employee of Seed Design.

Adding onions cooked in red wine to braised beef, or using sugared roses when cooking a dessert to enhance aromas, Seed Design aims to promote new ways of thinking about the interactions between fresh and preserved ingredients in order to create new flavors. A solar term diet can be simple, but is never boring.

In addition to ingredients that can be bought from the market, homegrown Chinese basil, rosemary or wild flowers and herbs can form an important part of a solar term diet. For Seed Design, the solar terms are not just related to food, but can also be an important part of people’s lives. For example, the ingredients make delicious food but create beautiful decorations for the dining table as well.

For special events, Seed Design uses seasonal herbs to create a circle on the dining table at each diner’s place, into which are placed the dishes of food, bringing a more natural environment to the dining experience. For Seed Design, the display of the food can be just as satisfying to a diner as its taste. It’s an attitude to food that integrates aesthetics with healthy eating.

Seed Design believes the solar terms are an important part of life, and bring a more natural “flavor” to dining. Their foods are displayed in decorative patterns. (photo courtesy of Seed Design)

Taiwan Way

If Seed Design is performing magic with people’s dining experiences, Taiwan Way has the goal of incorporating the concept of the solar terms into people’s lives.

One concept is that crops should be cultivated according to the natural solar terms. As modern agriculture places increasing emphasis on quick and efficient mass production, people are becoming concerned about damage to farmland, since modern techniques ignore the solar terms. As a result, a group of people in Taiwan have initiated a revolution to embrace more organic farming methods. Wu Mei­mao, founder of Taiwan Way, is one of the pioneers of organic agriculture for Taiwan’s Aboriginal communities.

Wu was originally engaged in research into the possibility of replacing chemical pesticides with microbial pesticides. But after she underwent surgery for cancer, an organic diet became a priority. At the same time, a Christian missionary in Hua­lien was planning to create job opportunities for Aboriginal people in agriculture. The missionary contacted Wu at the Development Center for Biotechnology to involve her in the project.

Wu has worked in organic agriculture for 16 years. She has contributed to many Aboriginal communities across Taiwan, and has earned the epithet of “tribal mother.” Wu has helped Aboriginal farmers to find the right crops for their local climates and environments. For Wu, the solar terms are a normal part of life for ordinary people, and so as long as people are engaged in natural farming, the earth will return the investment with abundance. For example, during the period of “Frost’s Descent,” persimmons grown in the Ata­yal village of Pi­ya­way in Tao­yuan City’s Fu­xing District are ripe for harvesting; after “Major Snow” in early December, it’s a good time for Chinese cabbages grown by Ata­yal farmers in the mountains to be pickled. People can make the most of a natural lifestyle if they follow the solar terms.

Seed Design believes the solar terms are an important part of life, and bring a more natural “flavor” to dining. Their foods are displayed in decorative patterns.

Authentic flavors

Wu established Taiwan Way as a social enterprise, stressing the authentic flavors of local Taiwan produce and providing advice to help the Aboriginal peoples develop processing techniques for their agricultural products. The company also helps to revitalize local varieties, looking for stories from the local Aboriginal communities relating to their traditional crops and farming techniques. For example, Limnophila rugosa is a semi-aquatic herb that grows in the Amis village of Ti­daan (Shi­ti­ping) in Hua­lien County’s Feng­bin Township. Flourishing in an environment fed by fresh spring water, it’s a Taiwanese endemic species that is used by the village elders to brew alcoholic spirits. As Wu observed and explored their ancestral wisdom, she was able to guide the community to appreciate the value of the species, helping the young to see job opportunities in their own community and encouraging them to return to their hometowns.

Cultivation according to the solar terms doesn’t mean that crops will grow faster. In fact, this mode of farming may create more work for the farmer. It’s an attitude of respect for and protection of nature. For example, processing of the roselle cultivated by some Aboriginal communities in Tai­tung County is a simple but time-consuming process involving a great deal of manual work to harvest the calyxes and remove the seed capsules. Pickled honey roselle, which uses the fresh roselle calyx mixed with sugar and honey, and roselle biscuits, baked from dried roselle ground at low temperatures and wheat flour, are examples of solar term products developed by Taiwan Way and Aboriginal communities working together.

The over-commercialization of farming has meant that many have abandoned traditional cultivation methods and have lost touch with nature. “Taiwan Way aims to bring people close to the soil again,” says Wu. Naturally cultivated crops are given an appropriate time period for growth, time to absorb all of the rich minerals supplied by the soil, bringing out all the deep, full flavors of naturally farmed food. To highlight the enormous differences between natural cultivation and technology-based farming, earlier this year Wu opened a restaurant in Tai­pei’s Zhong­zheng District called Original Food.

Original Food is based on the concept of a solar term diet, eating only locally produced food in season. The restaurant uses only fresh seasonal ingredients from Aboriginal communities, prepared simply, for its delicious solar term meals. It’s early winter, the right time for a special soup that uses seasonal taro, and fermented soybean paste with pineapple, all stewed together with pork ribs and simple seasoning. People from the neighborhood are regulars at Original Food, regarding the restaurant as their home kitchen away from home.

Apart from offering solar term meals, the restaurant also features various pickled solar term foods displayed in jars along the wall, with produce such as pickled peaches made in the “Grain Full” period, and Taiwanese chrys­an­themum (Dendranthema indicum) in the “Minor Snow” period. Through simple preservation techniques, people can enjoy seasonal produce anytime without having to cultivate crops in inappropriate seasons.    

We are all organisms nourished by the earth, and we can all benefit from the wisdom of our ancestors. A deep understanding of the solar terms helps us to learn how to live well, and to understand our roots. People are far better nourished by their own local resources. We hope that the wonderful flavors of the solar term diet can be enjoyed by increasing numbers of people, and hope also that the Chinese solar term culture will proliferate forever.

With a rich cultural foundation springing from the solar terms, Seed Design is able to explore creative uses of local foods in its research lab.

Cultivation according to the seasons and climate is an inheritance from ancient Chinese ancestors. The solar terms have been used for millennia as an agricultural calendar.

Wu Meimao has encouraged organic farming among Taiwan’s Aboriginal communities for many years. This year, she opened a restaurant called Original Food to deliver the simple but rich flavors of solar term food.

Wu Meimao has encouraged organic farming among Taiwan’s Aboriginal communities for many years. This year, she opened a restaurant called Original Food to deliver the simple but rich flavors of solar term food.

Wu Meimao has encouraged organic farming among Taiwan’s Aboriginal communities for many years. This year, she opened a restaurant called Original Food to deliver the simple but rich flavors of solar term food. (photo courtesy of Taiwan Way)

If farmers work hard to cultivate crops according to the solar terms, the earth will return the investment in abundance.

If farmers work hard to cultivate crops according to the solar terms, the earth will return the investment in abundance. (photo courtesy of Taiwan Way)