Skip to main content

Aloe Vera and Chicken Soup

I got this recipe from Amy Beh but I have yet to try it. I couldn't get my hands on any fresh aloe vera! Back home in Banting, I have a huge overgrown pot of aloe vera but here, I don't. I am waiting to get some from my aunt one of these days so I can try this soup.

Aloe vera helps remove heat from the liver, and relaxes the bowels. So this soup is good for those suffering from constipation.

If used externally, the aloe gel helps those with skin problems like eczema and ringworm. I often use the gel on my face and arms after a long hot day out or if I accidentally scald myself with hot water!

Aloe can be also used as a cooling drink with the aloe gel cut up into cubes. They're chewably delicious!

For this soup, you need:

3 plump aloe vera leaves
half a chicken, chopped into chunky parts
15 white peppercorns, lightly crushed
3 red dates, stones removed
1.2 liter water
salt

Wash the aloe and peel off skin. Cut the white jelly parts into thick slices.

Boil chicken, peppercorn, red dates in the 1.2 liter water for 1.5 hours.

Add aloe vera and continue to boil for another 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and serve soup hot.

Comments

Amy Tan said…
wanna ask, do i need to remove the stickiness of the aloe vera by washing it few times with water? or i just plainly cut the skinned aloe vera and placed into the boiling water, together with other ingredients? thanks for reply.

Popular posts from this blog

Tong Sum and Red Date Tea

I caught an interesting cooking show on TV last night. On Astro's Asian Food Channel (Channel 703), I watched a show on TCM. It was a Taiwanese programme where the host and hostess spoke in Mandarin and sometimes a smattering of Taiwan Hokkien. The show featured 3 recipes each segment, using TCM herbs with the herbalist host explaining about the uses of the specific herbs. Then the lady hostess would cook up a dish, usually a main course, using the herbs. While I am not very interested in making dishes like prawn balls with Chinese herbs (it seemed just too much work!), I liked the 2 other recipes they showed. One was a milk beverage with herbs (I can't recall what now). But the other one was easy. A tong sum and red date tea. Tong sum or dang shen is a mild herb which resembles a dry, gnarled twig the size of a finger. It is called the poor man's ginseng in some instances because it shares similar properties with the more expensive ginseng. Dang shen is actually a root wh...

24 Herb Tea - Bitter, Foul-Tasting But Oh So Good For You!

Was out running a couple of errands this entire afternoon and ended up buying groceries at the nearby supermarket. If I had a choice I wouldn't go into this decade-old supermarket because it's small, cramped and you tend to knock into other shoppers with your trolley (yes, the aisles are that narrow). Nic and I figured that we might as well buy our groceries since we were in this vicinity and he did need some coffee. Finally we ended up with a trolley full of cheese, butter, coffee and noodles. Anyway, I was getting thirsty after all the errands and shopping. We decided to stop and have a drink at this stall which sells Chinese herbal tea. This uncle who mans it is actually a Hong Kong native who has been living in Malaysia for a long time. He drives a little white van which he parks at the corner of a junction and opens up for business. You see, he sells hot and cold Chinese herbal teas of all types - the kind that is slowly boiled and brewed. It's common to see Mal...

Snow Fungus, Longan, Goji Berry & Red Date Dessert For Lungs & Liver

Just last week I made this dessert because I was rummaging in my kitchen and found some snow fungus. This is a classic dessert that any Cantonese would know. I was just surprised at myself that I haven't made this dessert in a long time. Maybe because I didn't have the key ingredient - snow fungus - at hand! What is Snow Fungus?  It is technically a fungus that grows on dead bark or tree stumps just like wood ear fungus.  Snow fungus or silver ear, snow ear or white wood ear is known as Tremella fuciformis and yes, it is an edible fungus. The pleasanter term is mushroom if that makes you feel better. As most mushrooms go, they contain vitamin D, zinc, calcium, and folate.  Benefits of Snow Fungus Snow fungus is said to have anti-ageing effects due to the presence of superoxide dismutase , an enzyme that acts as a potent antioxidant throughout the body, particularly in the skin. It is best known in TCM for nourishing the lungs and we know how important this fact is right n...