Wednesday, January 8, 2014

The Simplest - Herbal Salted Chicken

The simplest recipe I would used to make for a quick and easy dish. It is so simple and almost a lazy way of cooking. Dang Gui and Szechwan lovage are good for warming up body and improve blood flow. While wolfberry is not just only good for improving eye sight but heals weakness and fatigue.
I read from certain articles in the website, if you are breast feeding you should not consume Dang Qui. However in confinement menu, there will be Dang Gui dishes. To be safe, I have taken moderately..not too much or frequent.
This dish is beneficial to be taken also after monthly menstrual in replacement of Ba Zhen (八珍)



1 free range chicken drumstick
course salt
2 pieces of Dang Gui (or Angelica sinensis 当归)
3 pieces of Szechwan lovage (川芎)

1 tbsp Wolfberry (枸杞子)

1) Wash chicken drumstick and cut away fat.
2) Rub salt all over chicken. You may want to add a little bit more for a similar taste with baked salted chicken
3) Insert Dang Qui and Szechwan lovage in between the skin and meat
4) Set a side either over night in the fridge or let it marinate for 2 hours
5) steam the chicken for 25 minutes over medium fire. That's it ... the simplest ;)

Monday, January 6, 2014

One of My Favorite Confinement Foods

Hmm...this is one of the confinement food that I like. This dish can be 
taken even normal occasion (just reduced the ginger by half). Chinese 
believes that black vinegar able to cleanse arteries and purify blood, 
while pig's trotters provides the lubricant the bone joints need as well as rich in iron and calcium. The extract from the trotter marrow have the gelatinous that provide the collagen.This dish keeps your body warm. One more thing, if you are breast feeding, you may want to stay away from 
ginger. 




Here is the ingredients used 
2 tbsp of sesame oil
1 whole pig's trotter 
1/2 bottle of black vinegar (double orange brand recommended)
600 gram of buntung ginger (old ginger may server well too)
1/2 cup of black beans
6 cloves of garlic 
6 cloves of small onion 
2 big pieces of black fungus

5 tbsp of palm sugar (or gula melaka up to your taste)

Salt (to taste)
Method :  
1) Wash trotter and cut into appropriate size (My lazy way is to get butcher to cut into convenient size) Wash it and blanch the trotters. This method is to clean the meat thoroughly as washing with tap water is 
just not enough to clean. 
2) Boil black beans till slightly soft. Pour away the water and leaving the black beans 
3) Soak black fungus into water until expand 
4) Slice Onion and garlic 
5) Slice ginger and marinate with salt for 30 minutes (to make it crunchy if you love eating ginger). Wash off the salt after then. 
6) heat sesame oil in wok. 
7) Saute garlic and onion till fragrant. 
8) Add in ginger and saute for a while. 
9) Add in trotters and fry until just cooked. 
10) Mixed in black beans and fry a little. 
11) Add in black vinegar and simmer for 6 minutes.Add a cup of water. 
12) Add in brown sugar and salt to taste.  
13) Simmer over low heat for 1 hour minutes 
14) Add in stripped black fungus and simmer for 10 minutes 

 Tada...done and serve with hot rice.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

What to eat that helps constipation when confinement food is so heaty?

Olden Chinese belief that during confinement period, ones should be taking meat, heaty soup and wine. To me, this does not promote good bowel movements. It will only make me feel uneasy of going to the toilet sitting for hours trying to ease the bowel movements.

What I got to know from an aunty was to take green leaves vegetables and do not take whitish colour vegetables such as white carrot (白萝卜), old cucumber (老黄瓜), etc

Below are some of the choices that you may cook during your confinement for fiber intake.

Choy Sum

Choy sum is also known as the chinese flowering cabbage (菜心) (those with yellow flowers).

Ingredients :
Choy sum
1 tbs sesame oil
Garlic
Ginger
Dash of salt
Dash of sugar
Dash of pepper

Wash the Choy sum. Heat up the wok and pour in sesame oil. Put in ginger and garlic. Fry until golden brown. Dish up and set aside the ginger and garlic. Put in the Choysum in the remainder oil in the wok and stir fry. Add in salt, pepper and sugar to your taste. Dish out the choy sum and garnish it with the crispy fried ginger and garlic.


Chinese Spinach

Amaranth, yeen choy (cantonese), xian cai 苋菜 (mandarin).

Ingredients :
Chinese Spinach
1 tbs sesame oil
Ginger
1 tbsp anchovies (kong yee chai)
Dash of salt
Dash of sugar
Dash of pepper

Wash the Chinese spinash. Heat up the wok and put in 1 tbps of sesame oil. Put in ginger and anchovies. Fry until golden brown. Dish up and set aside the ginger and anchovies. Put in the Chinese spinash in the remainder oil in the wok and stir fry. Add in salt, pepper and sugar to your taste. Dish out the Chinese spinash and garnish it with the crispy fried ginger and anchovies.

(Note : wash and dry anchovies before frying)

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Can I drink water during confinement?

Once you delivered your baby, your body tend to be weakened. To gain back iron in your body and rebuild back your blood, it is recommended by olden Chinese to drink red dates juice instead of water. Although I do not buy into the idea of following the olden practices, I tend to believe this. After I had delivered to my first baby, my body tend to get cold easily. It is advisable to take the red dates juice for 1 month for those under went delivery and 2 weeks for those who had miscarriage.

For a delicious red dates juice, I have given two recipes.

Simple and inexpensive way :


2 cups of red dates
1/2 cup of dried longans
10 glasses of water

Method :

1) Wash the red dates and dried longan
2) Pour water into a pot and add in item (1)
3) Boil the above for 1.5 hours in a medium to low fire


Luxurious way :



2 cups of red dates
1/2 cup of dried longans
4 big size dried honey dates
1 1/2 tbps dried wolfberries
4 medium size sticks of dried codonopsis pilosula root (党参)
3 pieces of dried astragalus membranaceus root (北芪)
10 glasses of water

Method :

1) Wash all the above
2) Pour water into a pot and add all the items
3) Boil the above for 1.5 hours in a medium to low fire


Note : You may drink the juice without eating the boiled ingredients. Drink it hot or warm. You may fill the juice into a flask and drink it anytime. The above recipe may last you for 1 day for those who does not drink a lot of water.

The second recipe seems to have a smoother texture juice.

All the ingredients can be easily found in Chinese medical stores. Do make sure the dates that you buy do not use sulfur as preservatives.