how to invest in your skin + gut with food welcome to episode 1 of eat good, feel good, look good
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.
Alice Sun
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June 10, 2026
Investing in yourself includes the foods we choose on a daily basis, not just a morning routine or a savings account. So here’s what I’ve been thinking about what feeding my body to invest in my skin + gut health, so I’m eating good, feeling good, and looking good 💅
Welcome to the first recipe in this series i like to call “eat good, feel good, look good”, where the meals aren’t a “cleanse”, not a “meal plan”, not a restrictive list of foods you’re supposed to eat. Just sharing real good food that’s genuinely doing something for your skin and gut.
Why this recipe works…
The first is the broth. Cooking bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs under pressure releases collagen, which your skin’s going to drink up. Because we’re cooking it in a broth with veggies, your body is absorbing it with every bite.
The second are the seasonings and herbs used. Cardamom, fennel, and ginger are all traditionally used in Chinese medicine to support digestion, reduce bloating, and keep your gut moving the way it should. If you have a sensitive stomach, these three together are genuinely calming rather than inflammatory. The daikon in the broth is calming for your gut too, and the kabocha squash adds fiber and sweetness that rounds the whole thing out.
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This is what eating with intention to invest in ourselves can look like. Not perfect, just thought through.
Wash and dry your chicken (5) then sprinkle with salt (to taste), pepper (to taste), and five spice powder (3 tsp) all over.
Add the chicken to a cold pan skin side down, without any oil.
Turn the heat on medium and render the chicken fat out, letting the skin crisp up in its own fat.
Brown both sides then add to a pressure cooker along with the onion (½), cardamom pods (2 pods), fennel seeds (1 Tbsp), ginger (5 slices), daikon (½), and kabocha squash (½).
In the pot you’ve cooked the chicken, deglaze the pan with water (¼ cup) and the garlic cloves (5 cloves).
Pour everything into the pressure cooker then add enough water (3 cups) to cover everything.
Let it cook on high for 15 mins.
Release the pressure, remove the chicken thighs, and coat in a mixture of paprika (1 Tbsp), olive oil (1 Tbsp), garlic (1 Tbsp), onion powder (1 Tbsp), and salt (to taste) and pepper (to taste) on all sides.
Place chicken in an air fryer at 400 °F for 10 mins until the skin crisps.
Remove the onion, cardamom pods from the broth, and season with salt or miso paste (1 Tbsp) for the extra probiotics.
Serve with a bowl of rice, chicken, and plenty of the golden broth with veggies.
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