Sitting the Month

A nourishing and restorative guide to eating well after childbirth, with 88 recipes supported by traditional Chinese medicine.

In Taiwan and across the Chinese-speaking world, the transition period into motherhood is treated with such reverence that it has its own name: zuò yuè zi—to sit the month. New mothers are expected to rest for a full month to heal, aided by a diet of warming herbal dishes to help repair the womb and reenergize the new mother. Inspired by her own experience “sitting the month,” Clarissa Wei gives readers 88 recipes adapted for home cooks and informed by Chinese medical doctors and herbalists. Egg Drop Seaweed Soup and Salmon Miso Soup help to detox the body; Scallion Oil Chicken and Black Vinegar Pork Knuckle Stew are thought to support tissue repair; Ten Tonic Supreme Soup, the mother of all postpartum recovery broths, is designed to combat deep fatigue. Sitting the Month returns care and love to the early stages of motherhood, promising nourishment for all stages of life.