The Soup Queen

I've compiled a list of my favourite Chinese New Year food and snacks over at my other blog. Do check it out! Kung Hei Fatt Choy to everyone! It's the 4th day of CNY and I'm still on a break. ;-)

I found this website by chance (don't we all sometimes stumble upon good stuff while aimlessly surfing?) Rootdown.us is a website for TCM enthusiasts. What I like most is that you can search for a herb in various ways: by meridian, by type of use, by temperature, by taste, by name (latin and non-latin) and lots more. It really is a community website because you can join and contribute what you know about TCM. Although right now it seems as if only TCM practitioners can offer tips and advice, I believe it will only be a matter of time before others start chipping in. Another section that's worth a look is the Classes section where you can learn from TCM practitioners for a fee (in US Dollars). A great concept because interest in this field is growing! The best part of all is the Acupuncture Chart which looks similar to how a Google Map works. You can learn about Meridians and AcuPoints and even embed the Acupuncture chart into your own blog or website.

If you suffer from Wind Heat, here's a dessert you can make to alleviate those symptoms (coughing, colds etc as a result of Wind and Heat). 2 fresh lily bulbs 15 dried red dates, deseeded 1 cup dried lotus seeds 1 cup fresh wai san, diced rock sugar to taste 1/4 cup mai men dong/Ophiopogon japonicus 1.5 liters water Bring water to a boil and add in mai men dong, lotus seeds and red dates. Simmer covered for 15 minutes. Then add wai san and lily bulb - simmer again for another 10 minutes. Finally add rock sugar to taste. Turn off fire and serve warm.

Been travelling up and down the past few weeks so feel kind of guilty that no soup recipes are forthcoming! I have a few drafts but no nice photos so I thought I'd skip that and do a post on 'tempeh'. To say that I love tempeh (fermented soya bean cake) is an understatement. I love it. I love it because it has a nutty texture with a good bite and lots of goodness too. Soya beans are much adored in Chinese cuisine but this Indonesian/Malay fermented soya bean cake is something most Chinese don't buy - which is unfortunate because it's easy to prepare. Tempeh is sold in supermarkets and wet markets - either wrapped in traditional banana leaves and newspaper or in plastic. If wrapped in plastic, you can see the mossy growth on the soya bean which can turn off some people. Tempeh is one of the most nutritious and cheapest sources of protein you can get. It is the kind of food you can buy for RM1 per packet. But how do you eat tempeh? I slice the tempeh as thinly as I c...