Making a Chinese Herbal Hormone Balancing Dinner
Entry 02: Alice's Chinese Apothecary Kitchen - Liver Support
Alice Sun•
Oct 28, 2025
Perhaps the reason these ancient Chinese herbal practices have endured for centuries is because they’re counterintuitive. They see the body not as isolated parts, but as a living ecosystem, a cycle of dependencies constantly shifting in balance.
My first introduction to Chinese medicine came through my own hormonal imbalances, not severe enough to earn a diagnosis, but enough to leave me with worsening cramps year after year. Through that experience, I learned to see my body differently…not as something that occasionally breaks and needs fixing, but as a network of systems relying on one another, each response connected to the next.
As I get closer to my period, I’ll always start to make sure my meals are more liver supporting, because a healthy liver is connected to a smoother cycle by playing central role in the balance of hormones. This salmon green curry dinner contains a bit of everything that’s recommended for the liver, from bitter greens, to fish, citrus, and ginger!
Here’s how to make it but if you want me to explain it - I've got this on Instagram and TikTok.
Alice Sun (@alicecsun) shares a unique view into her life through the ways she uses food to nurture wellness, cross cultural divides, and bring people together, all through the medium of storytelling.
Ingredients (10)
Ingredients (10)
Instructions
Prep onion (½) by roughly slicing into wedges and dice garlic (2 cloves).
Salt and pepper salmon (½ lb) on both sides and add to an air fryer at 375°F to cook for 10 mins.
To a wok on high heat, add in the onion (½) and garlic (2 cloves), cooking until fragrant.
Add in 1.5 tsp of the green curry paste, sauteing till fragrant, then add in the coconut milk (1 can).
Taste the sauce once the paste has been dissolved; add more curry paste 1 tsp at a time til you reach your desired flavor level.
For salt, drop in fish sauce (1 tsp), tasting to see if it needs more, then adding 1 tsp more at a time.
For sweetness, add in 1 tbsp of sugar first then a bit more to desired sweetness.
You can cook the broccoli rabe (½ lb) separately by boiling them in salted water for 5 mins or cooking in the sauce for the same amount of time.
Add the salmon to your serving plate, then spoon over the curry sauce on top along with the broccoli rabe.
Serve with a lemon wedge for that signature sour tanginess and enjoy with rice.
