Showing posts with label Homecook. Show all posts Showing posts with label Homecook.

Show all posts Friday, August 10, 2012 Bowles Mint Jelly

This is a scheduled post. This jelly is something either you like it or you dislike it. Youll like it if you like the smell of Bowles mint, or vice verse. Hubby requested some jelly as water soluble fiber to his diet. Here comes the new flavor for him since I have lots of home grown Bowles mint leaves harvested. Hubby did not comment much, but he finished up the jelly in few days time.

Bowles Mint Jelly

Ingredients: 5 tbsp of agar-agar powder 1600ml water 20 Bowles mint leaves, rinsed under running water brown sugar to taste Steps: 1. Boil 1600ml water in a pot. Add Bowles mint leaves when boiling. 2. Leave it simmers for 5 minutes. 3. Mix in the agar-agar powder. Add brown sugar to taste. Leave it simmers for 3 minutes. 4. Remove the Bowles mint leaves. Off the fire, and leave the agar-agar mixture to cool for few minutes in the pot. 5. Pour it into jelly moulds. Cool it to room temperature. 6. Chilled for 2 hours before serving. Posted by Little Inbox at 8:00 AM 1 comments Labels: Dessert/Beverage, Homecook, Vegetarian Monday, July 30, 2012 Baby Food - Kiwifruit Brown Rice Cereal

This is a scheduled post. Daddy fed baby kiwifruit while he was having it. Baby kept on approaching her daddy asking for more after tasting it. This is the body language to express her liking to one food. Hence, this weekend, kiwi fruit is added to her diet. It is rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, fiber, potassium and folate. It is also contains dietary fiber and antioxidants. Kiwifruit Brown Rice Cereal

Ingredients: 5 tbsp of brown rice cereal hot water (add accordingly) half of kiwifruit flesh, mashed

Steps: 1. Mixed up brown rice cereal with hot water. 2. Leave it cool for a while. 3. Top up the cereal with kiwifruit. 4. Serve warm. Posted by Little Inbox at 9:45 PM 3 comments Labels: Baby Food, Homecook, Rice/Grains Tuesday, July 17, 2012 Spinach and Meat Porridge

This is a scheduled post. A good way to add iron to babys diet is by feeding her spinach. The iron content in this green leafy vegetable is the richest among the others. From the info I got from a program, a newborn baby is having iron in her body through her mother. The iron will be used up for red blood cell production by the time the baby is 6M. So, its necessary to add this element to babys diet after you start feeding baby solid food since the source of iron in infant formula is no longer able to fulfill her needs.

Spinach and Meat Porridge

Ingredients: 1 tbsp of white rice, rinsed 1 tbsp of millet, rinsed 5 pieces of soft lean pork (you can substitute it with another type of red meat or white meat) spinach, chopped 200ml hot boiling water Steps: 1. Put all the ingredients into a small slow cooker, except the spinach and meat. 2. Add the meat when the porridge starts boiling. 3. 15 minutes before the porridge is ready, add spinach. Stir to mix up all the ingredients. Continue the cooking. 4. Off the power and leave it cool for a while. 5. You can either remove the meat from the porridge before feeding, or retain 1 or 2 pieces of the meat and puree the porridge before feeding. Posted by Little Inbox at 9:50 PM 3 comments Labels: Baby Food, Homecook, Pork, Rice/Grains, Vegetable Sunday, July 8, 2012 White and Brown Shimeiji Stir-Fry

Shimeji mushrooms contains beta-glucans which is proved as a successful remedy for retarding and destroying growing tumors. Shimeji mushroom is also good for diabetes, asthma and certain allergies by enhancing the immune system.

While cooking mushrooms, take an additional step to fry the mushrooms in a non-stick pan without oil. This shall be done slowly under low heat. The process will ensure the beta-glucans is released and our body will able absorb it through consumption.

White and Brown Shimeiji Stir-Fry Ingredients: 100gm of white Shimeiji

100gm of brown Shimeiji 1tbsp of oyster sauce 1tsp sesame oil 1tbsp of cooking oil 1tbsp of chopped garlic

Steps: 1. Cut off the root of the mushrooms. Get the mushrooms separated. 2. Stir-fry the mushrooms in a non-stick pan without oil under low heat. You will observe moisture release from the mushrooms and the mushrooms reduce in size. 3. Set aside the mushrooms. Add a tbsp of oil and saut garlic till fragrant. Mix up the garlic with mushrooms and stir-fry for a while. 4. Add seasonings, mix well and dish out. You might also like:

Eryngii Mushroom Stir-Fry

Cream of Mushroom

Oriental Prawn Stir-Fry

LinkWithin Posted by Little Inbox at 10:16 PM 7 comments Labels: Homecook, Mushroom Sunday, July 1, 2012 Baby Food - Blueberry Cereal

Blueberry is suitable for baby who is above 7 months. High in antioxidants, vitamins and fiber, it is referred as "super-food". I introduced blueberry to my girl last week, when she was 10M2W. Blueberry cereal suits her taste buds. The color of blueberry cereal looks attractive too. Tips for new mum: Introducing one new food at one time. You will need to monitor if your baby is allergic to it. My practice is introducing one new food to baby by weekly basis. Baby Food - Blueberry Cereal Ingredients: 4 tbsp of cereal 2 tbsp of infant formula 2 oz of hot water 12 blueberries, rinsed

Steps: 1. Mixed up cereal and infant formula with hot water. 2. Pour the cereal in a blender to blend with the blueberries. 3. Serve warm. You might also like:

Baby Food - Kiwifruit Brown Rice Cereal

Baby Food - Mashed Potato with Infant Formula

Baby Food- Organic Pumpkin Millet Porridge

LinkWithin Posted by Little Inbox at 3:50 PM 5 comments Labels: Baby Food, Homecook, Rice/Grains Wednesday, June 27, 2012 Baby Food- Organic Pumpkin Millet Porridge

This millet porridge was introduced by Wendy. She is very creative in preparing nutritious baby food. I'm a new mum who is still in the progress of discovering food that suits my baby's taste buds. So far, I know she loves red apple, banana, and carrot. She hates potato, yes very much indeed.

My girl at 10 months plus, still not ready to consume the normal savory porridge which is not pureed. She prefers smooth puree that is not too thick. For this pumpkin millet porridge, it is pureed before feeding. Now a days, my baby is fed on savory meat and veggies porridge on weekdays by my mum, while on weekends, I'll introduce new ingredients to her diet. Organic Pumpkin Millet Porridge

Ingredients: 2tbsp of organic hulled millet 20gm organic pumpkin flesh 2 cups of water or more (I top up additional water when the water reduce throughout the cooking) Steps: 1. Bring water to boil in a saucepan. 2. Add pumpkin and millet. Bring to a boil. 3. Leave it simmers under medium flame. Top up additional water if needed. 4. The porridge will be ready after cooking for about 40 minutes. 5. Leave it cool a bit before feeding baby. Optional: Blend the porridge into smooth puree. You might also like:

Spinach and Meat Porridge

Baby Food - Blueberry Cereal

Baby Food - Kiwifruit Brown Rice Cereal

LinkWithin Posted by Little Inbox at 8:08 PM 12 comments Labels: Baby Food, Homecook, Rice/Grains, Vegetable Sunday, June 24, 2012 Bitter Gourd and Pork Stir-Fry

Some useful tips were picked up from a Chinese cooking show on how to reduce the bitterness of bitter gourd. First, the cord need to be removed thoroughly. Second, after cutting the bitter gourd, marinate it with a pinch of salt. Lastly, blanch it in boiling water with salt and oil added. I applied the tips while preparing this dish, and the bitter gourd tastes less bitter.

Bitter Gourd and Pork Stir-Fry Ingredients: half bitter gourd, cored and cut into thin slices 1 red chili, seeded and cut into strips 1 green chili, seeded and cut into strips

200gm pork belly, cut into 0.5mm thickness 1 tbsp fermented soy bean 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced 1 tbsp fermented soy bean 500ml water cooking oil half tsp of salt

Seasonings (Mix up): 1 tbsp of oyster sauce light soy sauce to taste 1/2 tsp of sugar 1 tbsp corn flour 100ml water

Steps: 1. Marinate the bitter gourd with a pinch of salt. 2. Bring 500ml of water to a boil. Add 1/2 tsp of salt and a tsp of cooking oil. Blanch the bitter gourd for 2 minutes. Drain the water. 3. Fry pork belly in a non-stick pan. 4. Add bitter gourd and stir fry for a while. Add fermented soy bean to mix well. Stir fry for 1 minute. 5. Pour in the seasonings. Leave it a while without stirring. 6. Lastly stir-fry till the sauce is thickening. Dish out and serve hot with steamed rice. You might also like:

Stuffed Bitter Gourd Soup

Bitter Gourd & Chicken Stew

English Gourd and Carrot Soup

LinkWithin Posted by Little Inbox at 1:41 PM 5 comments Labels: Homecook, Pork, Vegetable Sunday, June 17, 2012 Thai Chicken Chop (Air-Fryer Recipe)

Its so easy to make chicken chop at home with the good kitchen helper the air-fryer. My current goal is to create several versions of homemade chicken chops. The idea comes from my food explorer while dining out. I used to memorize the

flavors of my liking, then experiment the cooking per my own way. So far, this has become my hobby which I can fill up my familys tummies. Does it sound good?

Happy Father's Day to all fathers!

Thai Chicken Chop (Air-Fryer Recipe) Serves 2 Ingredients: 2 chicken thighs, deboned and fat discarded potato flour Marinades: 1 tbsp of light soy sauce dashes of white pepper powder 4 shallots, peeled and chopped Thai Sauce (mixed up everything): 1 and a half tbsp of Thai chili sauce 1 tbsp of sugar 5 coves of shallots, peeled and sliced 1 calamansi, juiced 6 bird's eye chilies, chopped salt to taste Steps: 1. Clean the chicken thighs and pat dry with kitchen towel. Marinate for 2 hours. 2. Drain the excess seasonings and coat the chicken thigh with a layer of potato flour. 3. Arrange the chicken thighs on the air-fryer pot with skin facing down. Air-fry it under 200 deg C for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken thighs to the other side. Air-fry for another 10 minutes under 180 deg C. 4. Remove from the air-fryer and top with the Thai Sauce. Serve with your favorite side dishes. You might also like:

Air-Fried Chicken Chop (Air-Fryer Recipe)

Air-Roast Chicken with Tomatoes (Air-Fryer Recipe)

Air Fried Spiced Chicken Drumsticks (Air-Fryer Recipe)

LinkWithin Posted by Little Inbox at 4:18 PM 11 comments Labels: Homecook, Poultry, Vegetable Sunday, June 10, 2012 Stuffed Bitter Gourd Soup

Im not fancy over the bitter gourd soup boiled with pork ribs. Instead, my favorite is stuffed bitter gourd soup. I learned this from my mom. The secret behind this dish is the fermented soy bean used to marinate the grounded pork. It neutralizes the bitter taste of the bitter gourd and it brings out the flavor of the bitter gourd soup. Yummy!

Stuffed Bitter Gourd Soup

Ingredients: half bitter gourd, core removed 300gm grounded pork 1 tbsp goji berries, soaked in water for 5 minutes and drained salt or light soy sauce to taste 600ml water Pork Marinades 1 1/2 tbsp fermented soy bean, mashed 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp oyster sauce 2 cloves of garlic, minced Steps: 1. Marinate the minced pork for 2 hours in the fridge. 2. Stuff the bitter gourd with marinated minced pork. Shape the left over minced pork into meat balls. 3. Bring water to a boil. Pour the water into the inner pot of slow cooker. 4. Add the stuffed bitter gourd and the meat balls. Boil the soup over high heat for 1 hours. 5. Turn the cooking mode to slow cook. Continue the cooking for another 2 hours. 6. Toss in goji berries. Add salt or light soy sauce to taste. 7. Serve hot with steamed rice. You might also like:

Bitter Gourd & Chicken Stew

English Gourd and Carrot Soup

Bitter Gourd and Pork Stir-Fry

LinkWithin Posted by Little Inbox at 10:34 AM 6 comments Labels: Homecook, Pork, Soup, Vegetable Monday, May 21, 2012 Blue Seaweed Jelly

Few months ago, I passed some blue pea flower seeds to my parents in laws domestic helper. She has green-thumb, and now the plant blossoms with blue pea flowers. She collected the flowers and sun-dried it. Im so pleased when she passed to me a small bottle of sun-dried blue pea flowers. This maid contributes so much to the family. With her around, we have organic sweet potato leaves, eggplants, tomatoes, sawi, birds eye chilis, bananas, papayas, and others. Tomorrow, she will go back to her home town. It's a loss to the family. Not easy to get a such responsible and kindhearted maid.

Okay, back to the jelly now. With the natural blue coloring contributed by the blue pea flowers, here comes the blue seaweed jelly. Does it look interesting? For a start, I thought of this simple way to utilize the dried blue pea flowers. Many more to come hopefully.

Blue Seaweed Jelly Ingredients: 5 tbsp of agar-agar powder 1600ml water 6 screw pine leaves, tie into knots sugar to taste

To prepare the blue coloring: a handful of dried blue pea flowers, rinsed 250ml hot water

Steps: 1. Soak the blue pea flowers in hot water. Leave it for 30 minutes or more. Sieve it and retain the blue liquid. 2. Boil 1600ml water in a pot. Add screw pine leaves when boiling. 3. Pour in the blue liquid. Let it simmers for 5 minutes. 4. Mix in the agar-agar powder. Add sugar to taste. Leave it simmers for 3 minutes. 5. Remove the screw pine leaves. Off the fire, and leave the agar-agar mixture to cool for few minutes in the pot. 6. Pour it into jelly moulds. Cool it to room temperature. 7. Fridge it for 2 hours before serving. You might also like:

Agar Jelly with Grass Jelly

Bowles Mint Jelly

Rainbow Jelly

LinkWithin Posted by Little Inbox at 8:39 PM 10 comments Labels: Dessert/Beverage, Homecook, Vegetarian

Monday, May 7, 2012 Pork Belly with Chilies

This is a quick oriental dish. The pork belly is paired with green and red chilies. It contains animal Protein from the pork and vitamins from the chilies. And not to forget about the source of antioxidants from the garlic and chilies too. Yes, provided they are not cooked under high temperature. With just little bit of light soy sauce and oyster sauce, youll have a tasty and flavorful pork belly dish.

If you are facing problem on how to cut the pork into thin slices, heres the useful tips. First, you freeze the pork for about 20 minutes. Then, you remove it from the fridge. The pork is semi-frozen, so you can easily cut it into thin slices.

Pork Belly with Chilies

Ingredients: 300gm pork belly, sliced into cm thickness 2 red chilies, seeded and cut into strips 2 green chilies, seeded and cut into strips 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced spring onion, cut into 1.5" length 1 tbsp cooking oil Seasoning: 1 tsp light soy sauce 1 tbsp oyster sauce Steps: 1. Heat up oil in s non-stick pan. Pan-fried pork slices at both sides. Add light soy sauce and stir to coat the pork slices. Dish out on a plate. 2. Leave about 1 tbsp of oil in the pan. Saut garlic till fragrant. Stir in spring onion, green and red chilies. 3. Toss in pork slices. Stir-fry all the ingredients with oyster sauce. 4. Dish out and serve hot with steamed rice. You might also like:

Radish and Pork Belly

Braised Pork Belly In Soy Sauce (Tau Eu Bak)

Pork Lard (Air-Fryer Recipe)

LinkWithin Posted by Little Inbox at 9:38 PM 7 comments Labels: Homecook, Pork, Vegetable Tuesday, May 1, 2012 Mixed Veggies Stir-Fry

Besides eating the crispy fried tau kee as a dish complement, it can be used in cooking vegetarian food. This mixed veggies stir-fry is one of a good example. It's flavorful with combinations of all ingredients. I'm learning to appreciate this type of meatless dish. Mixed Veggies Stir-Fry

Ingredients: 1/4 cabbage, cut into strips 1/4 carrot, peeled and cut into strips 3 dried shiitake mushroom, dehydrated, stalk removed and cut into strips 3 florets of black fungus, dehydrated and cut into strips Some fried sweetened bean curd stick (tau kee) cooking oil

some water 1 tbsp of vegetarian oyster sauce Steps: 1. Heat up oil in a wok. Saut mushroom till fragrant. Add carrot strips to stir-fry. 2. Stir in black fungus and cabbage. Mix well. Add vegetarian oyster sauce and some water. Leave it simmers for a while. 3. Toss in fried sweetened bean curd sticks. Stir-fry a while till the sauce reduced. Dish out. You might also like:

Vegetarian Curry Mutton One-Plate Meal

Vegetarian Mutton Curry

Vegetable Yogurt Curry

LinkWithin Posted by Little Inbox at 10:10 PM 5 comments Labels: Homecook, Vegetable, Vegetarian Monday, April 23, 2012 Steamed Minced Pork With Salted Egg

There are a lot of version for steamed minced pork. I personally like the two versions among all. One is with secret ingredient - the salted fish, while the other one is with salted duck egg. Both are considered not so healthy though. The secret taste enhancer is the white pepper powder, so dont forget about it.

This is a simple Chinese dish which looks bland but it tastes marvelous to me. What is your version then? Steamed Minced Pork With Salted Egg Serves 5-6

Ingredients: 300gm minced pork

2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 salted duck egg, egg yolk mashed spring onion, chopped Seasonings: 1 tbsp light soy sauce 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce dashes of white pepper powder Steps: 1. Mix up all the ingredients except the spring onion in a heave proved shallow bowl. Leave for 15 minutes. 2. Bring a pot of water to boil. 3. Sprinkle the chopped spring onion on top of the minced pork mixture. Steam for 20 minutes. 4. Best to serve hot with steamed rice. You might also like:

Baked Mashed Potato

Poached Egg

Vegetarian Steamed Tofu

LinkWithin Posted by Little Inbox at 10:21 PM 5 comments Labels: Egg/Tofu, Homecook, Pork Saturday, April 14, 2012 Agar-agar With Coconut Milk

I'm making agar-agar jelly for the first time. My sister in law used to make this, so I asked her for the recipe. Basically her measurement is 8 bowls of water for a packet of 25 grams agar-agar powder. Usually she makes 4 bowls of water with half a packet of agar-agar powder into the red colored agar-agar jelly as the bottom layer. While the other half packet of agar agar powder to mix with coconut milk to make the top layer.

As for my version, I didn't use the full packet of agar-agar powder. All the ingredients was just estimation, so no recipe sharing for this post. What I'm going to share is the secret of making this traditional agar-agar jelly with full of fragrant. The first secret for the bottom layer is to boil water with lots of pandan leaves. So, the jelly is infused with natural pandan fragrant. The second secret is for the coconut milk layer. Add some salt to the mixture. A pinch of salt will bring out the coconut taste to a higher level. It's so magical. This secret works for all desserts with coconut milk.

Enjoying a cup of cold agar-agar jelly on a hot afternoon is a kind of happiness. You might also like:

Agar Jelly with Grass Jelly

Bowles Mint Jelly

Blue Seaweed Jelly

LinkWithin Posted by Little Inbox at 4:50 PM 8 comments Labels: Dessert/Beverage, Homecook, Vegetable Sunday, March 25, 2012 Sweet Potato Dessert

My friends asked if I have not been cooking for couple of months. It made me realized blogging is no longer my priority in daily routine task. I have very limited time to reply my readers' comment, and my readers' email. Although I spent very little time to blog, but I still cook a lot. I seldom fail to prepare dinner at home on weekdays, except Friday. Friday used to be our dine out day and to shop for groceries.

When comes to weekend, life's seem hectic. Baby sticks to me every time I bring her home. She prefers mummy much more than daddy. Hence, weekend cooking becomes difficult to me. I can cook on really simple stuffs. For example, the one-potdish, the stew, and slow cooked dessert like this sweet potato sweet soup.

This is an improved version of normal sweet potato dessert. I added some dried longan, red dates and white fungus to this sweet soup on top of the sweet potato and screw pine leaves. So, you can imagine, it is tastier.

Sweet Potato Dessert

Serves 2 Ingredients: 1 liter water 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite-sized 10 dried longan, soaked and drained 12 red dates, rinsed and pitted 2 florets of white fungus, soaked and divided into portions 4 screw pine leave, knotted rock sugar to taste Steps: 1. Bring water to a boil. Pour it into the slow cooker. 2. Add all the ingredients and cook under high heat for 2 hours. 3. Add rock sugar to taste. 4. Serves hot or cold.

Snow fungus with ginseng soup

his sweet soup or 'tong sui' of snow fungus, preserved dates, liquorice and ginseng roots is a saviour these days because

of the crazy hot weather. Not only is this easy to prepare its taste is fabulous too. A good idea to have a bowl of dessert to cool us down in this sweltering heat and this can be taken both warm or chilled. Recipe for Snow fungus with ginseng soup Ingredients 30 gm dried snow fungus, soaked to soften, stemmed and cut into small pieces 2.1/2 litre water 9 preserved honey dates (mat choe) 20 strands of ginseng roots (yeong sum soo) 3 pieces of liquorice (kam choe) 60 gm rock sugar Preparation

Bring water, ginseng roots, liquorice and dates to a boil, about 15 mins. Then add in the snow fungus, rock sugar, simmer on low heat for about 45 mins. Fine tune to desired sweetness, turn off heat. Leave to cool for a while. Serve warm or chilled.

Ng Far Cha or 5 Tea Flower

A tea specifically to boost body immunity against the A H1N1 Flu pandemic

Ng Far Cha or 5-Flower TeaA

A glass of cold 5 Flower Tea

How to prepare the herbs 1) Just bring to boil the herbs in 3 litres of water, lower heat to small and simmer for 2 hours. 2) Remove herbs with a slotted spoon and add in red or brown or white sugar according to taste. 3) Drink one cup or two per person per day. Keep any left over refrigerated.

Important Note :- If you are on Western medication, please keep 3 hours apart between consuming this herbal drink and taking your medication (to prevent contra-indications/clash)

Chrysanthemum tea
Chrysanthemum tea is one for Chinas most popular Herbal teas and it is well know for its cooling properties that help to decrease the body heat. For those who are down with fever or sore-throat, it is recommended for them to drink this to cool down the body heat.Chrysanthemum tea is indeed easy to prepare. You can get the ready packed dried chrysanthemum flowers from the medical hall. Some even mixed it with ginseng roots, wolfberries and chinese licorice slices ( kam choe in Cantonese ). To prepare the tea boiled 1 litre of water in a pot. Pour in the packet of dried chrysanthemum flowers into the boiling pot of water and let it boil for about 20 minutes. If you prefer it to be sweet, you can add some sugar in it.

Chrysanthemum tea

50g of Dried Chrysanthemum with a few pieces of Liquorice slices

(Kam Choe in Cantonese).

100g of Sugar Cane. 5,000 ml of Water

Wash the Dried Chrysanthemum and Liquorice slices thoroughly and put into the pot with 5,000 ml of Water. Boil at high fire for 20 minutes. Then, lower down the fire to medium and boil another 25 minutes.

After total 45 minutes, turn off the fire. (Note : Do not boil too long because the drink will be bitter) Strain the Chrysanthemum with a colander. Discard the Chrysanthemum. Leave the Chrysanthemum Drink to cool at one side. This Chrysanthemum Drink is not sweet at all and if you prefer it to be sweet, then by all means, put more sugar. This drink is good for our body, easy to boil and lastly, cheap also.

Luo Hon Ko
6 red Dates 1 Luo Hon Kuo 15 rock sugar 2 L water

Rinse dates and then slice it until the middle so that flavour can easily seep out.

Luo han kuo consist of an outer soft shell and the fruits inside. Since the shell is soft, you can easily twist/press it. Do you know that both Stevia and Buddha fruit are natural sweeteners? They are 300 times sweeter than sugar.

Add water and the ingredients in a pot. Bring it to boil and then let it simmer for 45 minutes with lid close. Update: I consulted a TCM practitioner over the weekend. According to him the shell is so much sweeter than the fruit hence its advisable to include shell as well. This wonderful Buddhas fruit and red dates drink is so very yummy. According to the book, this brew is good for cleansing the body, aiding digestion and dispelling constipation.

Luo Hon Guo+Dried Longan

I lor hon go, halved A knob of rock sugar (add according to your liking) 25g of dried longan 2 l of water

Simmer everything for about 20 minutes

It is delicious served hot or cold

Sea-Coconut and Ginseng Soup

Ingredients
o o o o o o

6 pieces fresh sea-coconut, skinned and sliced thickly 12g hairs of ginseng roots (Cantonese: yeong sum soe) 3 pieces liquorice (kam choe) 5 honey dates (mat choe), rinsed 120g honey rock sugar 1.2 litres water

Method
Bring water and yeong sum soe and kam choe to a boil for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat and add honey dates, sugar and sea-coconut. Simmer over medium-low heat for 40 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to cool. Can be served chilled or warm.

Lemon Barley Drink

SERVES: makes about 4 glasses PREP: 5 mins COOK: 30 mins

This is an easy, healthy and cooling Chinese herbal drink which is great for combating the tropical heat.
INGREDIENTS

2.5 litres water 200 grams raw barley rinsed until water is clear; if eating the barley, use pearl barley or holland barley 100 grams winter melon sugar to taste 2 pandan leaves tied in a knot lemon juice and lemon slices

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring a pot with 2.5 litres of water to a boil. Add washed barley and pandan leaves to the pot. Simmer for about 30 minutes, until the water is slightly milky. 2. Drain and discard the pandan leaves and barley (you can leave behind a small amount if you like to eat them). 3. In the last 5 minutes of simmering, add winter melon sugar to taste. Note that the winter melon will not dissolve - you can eat the winter melon for the crunchy sweet taste or you may discard it. 4. Drink warm or chilled. If making lemon barley, add a few drops of lemon juice and garnish with a slice of lemon.

Cooking Notes 1. If you will like to eat the cooked barley, use pearl barley or holland barley as they are softer after cooking, compared to other varieties of barley. 2. A little lemon juice goes a long way. Add a few drops, to taste, at a time. 3. If the drink becomes too thick during simmering, add some hot water.

Candied Winter Melon

you'll need; 100g of rock sugar 200g of barley, washed 150g of candied winter melon 2 l of water

Simmer for 40 minutes, serve it warm or chilled.

Dong Quai Tonic Soup

Herbs Dong Quai Tonic Soup Ingredients: 1. dong quai, red dates, danshen and wolfberry measured and packed by Chinese medicine shop according to volume of soup that you wish to make. 2. Two chicken drumsticks, skinned. 3. 800ml of water. 4. Salt to taste. Method: 1. Rinse the herbs, and make a cut on each red date. 2. Bring water to boil in a pot. Pour in the herbs and let it boil for 5 minutes. 3. Tranfer the soup to slower cooker. Add in chicken thigh and let it simmer under automatic mode for at least 5 to 6 hours. 4. Add salt to taste. Serve hot with rice, or eat on its own.

Dong quai tonic soup.

Winter Melon Soup

Winter melon soup is believed good for helping to relieve water retention during the advanced stages of pregnancy.

Winter Melon Soup Ingredients: 1. About 200gms of winter melon, skinned and cut into cubes. 2. 12 red dates. 3. 200gms of pork ribs. 4. 800ml of water. 5. Salt and pepper to taste. Methods: 1. Bring 800ml of water to boil in a pot and pour it into the slow cooker. 2. Add in pork ribs, winter melon and red dates. 3. Let it simmer under automatic mode for at least 5 to 6 hours. 4. Add salt and pepper to taste before serving.

WATER CRESS SOUP (VEGETARIAN)

Here it is. It looks quite colorful, right? Actually hubby and I just ate up the soup with watercress and carrot. The rest ingredients are just used to enhance the sweetness to the soup base. Never ever think that vegetarian soup is tasteless. With all the ingredients I added to the soup base, I'm proud to say that it's so flavorful. Not only that, It contains the natural taste and the original sweetness without any single food additives. Wanna learn how to cook it? Here's my home recipe.

Ingredients: 1. a bunch of watercress, wash and cut into 2" length. 2. 1 corn, cut into 4 pcs 3. half of a small yam bean, cut into 6 pcs 4. 1 carrot, cut into bite size. 5. 8 red dates, wash and cut open. 6. 1250ml of water Seasoning: Salt and pepper to taste. Method: 1. Bring the water to boil in a pot. Add in corn, carrot, yam bean and red dates. 2. Simmer under medium heat for 45 minutes. 3. Add in watercress and simmer the soup for another 25 minutes. 4. Add seasoning and serve hot.

Watercress Soup

Usually I boil soup with either Chinese herbs or root vegetables like carrot, potato, radish, nagaimo or lotus root. This time, I made a change to boil soup with green leafy vegetable, the watercress. My mom used to cook this soup with pork ribs, white pepper corns and red dates. So, I just follow her style and this time I cook it for my parents instead. However, you wont ta ste the difference between my version and my moms version. This could be what I inherit from my mom. :) The soup is refreshing, but not too cooling with added pepper corns and red dates. The watercress contributes lots of fiber. However, the vitamins may be partially loss throughout the simmering process.

Watercress Soup Ingredients: 2.5 liter water 1 big bunch of watercress, rinsed and cut into 2.5 length 1 chicken carcass, blanched 300gm of pork ribs, blanched 12 red dates, rinsed and make a cut on each date 1tsp of white pepper corn, cracked Salt to taste Steps: 1.Bring water to boil in a pot. 2.Add cracked pepper corns, red dates, chicken carcass and pork ribs. Leave for simmering for 1 and a half hours. 3.Add watercress and bring to boil. Let the soup simmers for another 1 minutes. 4.Add salt to taste and serve warm.

CHINESE HERBS INDEX

Chineser Herbs Snow Fungus/Silver ear Fungus/White Jelly Mushroom Liquorice/Kam Choe

Healing Properties

Image

Licorice is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant and antispasmodic in nature. It is probably best known for its expectorant and demulcent activity. Licorice, for many years, has been an important ingredient in cough drops and syrup. Its also beneficial for treating cold, flu and sore throat and any illness caused by virus or bacteria. Chinese Licorice root should not be taken by people with high blood pressure or heart disease.

Honey Date / Mat Choe Ginseng Roots/Yeong Sum Soo Rock Sugar/

Cane Sugar Luo Hon Kuo / Monk Fruit / Buddha Fruit / Longevity Fruit

Red Dates/Jujube/Hong Choe

Sea Coconut Honey Rock Sugar Winter Melon

Winter melon soup is believed good for helping to relieve water retention during the advanced stages of pregnancy.

Yeong Sum Soe/Ginseng Roots Kei Chee / Wolfberry

Water Chesnut

Barley / Yee Mai

Bamboo/cane Sugar

Dong Quai

Watercress

Dong Quai is the female ginseng. According to studies over thousand of years, it is believed that dong quai is reputed to relieve constipation, increase red blood cell count, and provide relief from menstrual disorders such as cramps, irregular menstrual cycles, infrequent periods, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and menopausal symptoms. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is used for various purposes, including reproductive, circulatory, and respiratory conditions. Dong quai provides moderate amounts of folic acid, iron, and vitamin B12. Watercress is an aquatic vegetable. As far as I know it is a fast growing plant and free from pesticide. So, it's safe to consume. Watercress contains significant amounts of iron, calcium and folic acid, in addition to vitamins A and C. According to Wikipedia, many benefits from eating watercress are claimed, such as that it acts as a mild stimulant, a source of phytochemicals and antioxidants, a diuretic, an expectorant, and a digestive aid. It also appears to have cancersuppressing properties. It is widely believed to help defend against lung cancer.