The Soup Queen

Do you like cilantro or coriander? Most people hate this herb because it is pungent. And most people mistake this herb for parsley. The tiny sprouts of this herb are usually served as a garnish on top of steamed chicken, Cantonese-style. I never found out that this was cilantro until I asked my vegetable vendor in the market.  When I was young, I hated the smell of coriander. It seemed too strong, too pungent. It smelled a bit like bugs.  But then it seems our taste buds change as we grow older.  I started to like coriander. There are times that I actually craved coriander. I'd go to the fridge and pull out a bunch and start eating them! I believe I was lacking iron so my body told me to go get some iron!  Coriander to me is the leaves of the herb. Another manifestation of coriander is coriander seeds or biji ketumbar (in Malay language) which you probably use if you cook curries or grind your own spices.  I use ground coriander...

One of the things that Nic believes (and strongly too) is that he is a healer. Perhaps it is a past life connection. But it's not just wishful thinking. He does seem to intuitively know which parts of the body to massage whenever I start saying my body aches. He is quite attuned to healing, I must say. I used to scoff at him, thinking he was just pulling my leg when he really wasn't. Over the years, we've both had our own thoughts about health and healing and conventional medicines. His younger brother is a neurosurgeon by the way so this is quite an interesting topic. His brother is in mainstream medicine while Nic believes in natural healing. I believe in natural healing too hence this blog. I believe that you can eat your way to good health . We prefer non-mainstream healing because we strongly believe the body knows best. Here's an example. Sometimes, I crave certain foods. It's not a woman-PMS thing. Lately, I've been craving peanuts and ...

I ran out of my dang gui pills recently so I decided to pop by Veng Tatt Soon in town. I usually try to eat one dang gui pill per day after my menses. I try to be as consistent with this but even so, I sometimes forget! I thought this would be a better option on days when I am too tired to double boil dried dang gui soup or even ba zhen soup. If I am to make these soups, I must first check if my freezer has chicken drumstick. I find my soups more palatable if I have at least some chicken in it. Also, I read that protein combines better with the nourishing goodness of these soups. So dang gui pills (RM25 for 100 clear capsules) will have to make do when I am not in the mood to boil any soups! Anyway, as I was about to walk out of the herbalist shop, I saw some plastic jars stacked near the counter. I'm always curious about new herbs so I asked the guy. He told me these were black wolfberry or black goji berry. Looks like black peppercorns, don't they? They'r...

UPDATE: Please see this post as we are no longer practicising PVH.  Last weekend, I was immersed in a two-day workshop on learning how to heal with prana. I didn't plan on going for this workshop called Prana Violet Healing or PVH for short as I wasn't even keen on healing or becoming a healer. That's Mr Siva right up front.  But life is strange. Nic had attended the PVH workshops before - in fact, how he came to know of this healing modality is in itself a story of strange incidents. He attended one session last year when I was back in Banting taking care of my mum and as everyone who reads this blog knows, my mum passed away eventually. While she was fighting for her life in the ICU, PVH came to her via Nic and me. I was desolate and didn't know how else to help my mum. PVH came to mum through the forgiveness affirmations - affirmations that my mum managed to read before she passed away. I believe that forgiveness is the basis of all humanity. I was glad in...

This is a quick post and a shout out to one of my readers who found my blog because he was helping a friend find out more about Five Flower Tea ! You see, it doesn't surprise me anymore now as I meet more and more people who come up to me and say they read my blog. In fact, it gives me a glow of pleasure even though I've been blogging for years and years! Once at an event, a man in his fifties tapped me on my shoulder. He asked if I was the Soup Queen! He was from Ipoh but he had come to Penang for this particular event (where my friend was promoting powdered ginseng) and he recognised me in a sea of 50 or so people. Anyway, back to Joe. I'm not sure if Joe would like me to describe him but suffice to say, we've met! He came to our marketing event called Marketing Mojo in March because he won a ticket. He is a fount of knowledge about Chinese kung fu, Chinese medicinal ointment (Nic is adamant that one day he will produce his own "tit tar jau" becau...

A friend gave me a packet of freshly harvested turmeric from an organic garden and I was wondering what to do with this when I remembered the jamu that I tasted at an Indonesian Consulate event last year. (Did I mention that I love tempeh, sambal pecel and all things Indonesian? I was in Bali last year and loved eating Indonesian food. In fact, tempeh chips are still my all-time favourite. In Bali, they're sold as snacks in supermarkets.) Fresh turmeric root, tamarind paste/asam jawa & gula melaka.  Tamarind paste mixed with water. Strain before using.  Sliced turmeric root. Look at the bright orange colour. It's been called Indian saffron but beware, the orange does stain!  Turmeric is getting into the news for all the right reasons. Fresh turmeric is getting popular in the Western world though us here in Asia have been using this root in curries. I usually use turmeric powder when I marinate fish before frying. (If you marinate fis...

I've been missing for some time because my mum was hospitalised in July and I went home to be with her.  However her lung complication got the better of her and after exactly one month in the ICU ward, she passed away on 1 August.  Yes, you read right. My mum passed away.  You know how you often grow up always believing that your parents will be there like forever?  Death seemed so far away because my mum was only 67 years old . She wasn't really old.  I have friends whose mothers are like in their 90s and play games on the iPads.  I have friends whose 80 year old mums go to the beach in swimsuits and get a tan.  I have friends in their 70s who go scuba diving and scale mountains and do all sorts of exciting outdoor sports.  So you see, it was hard to accept that one day my mum was alive (albeit breathing with a ventilator) and 30 days later, she was dead. She lost consciousness 2 days before she died and neve...

Here's a new remedy for hair loss. (I am like a dog with a bone. I am not letting up on the hair loss remedies or hair loss cures haha though I am happy that my hair is looking much healthier now. I wonder if it's the natural shampoo I'm using or the daily dang gui capsule that I'm taking? Or the fact that I am keeping my scalp cool and oil-free by washing my hair each time I feel my scalp heating up!) This humble root called burdock has been made into burdock oil to prevent hair loss and encourage hair growth. I stumbled upon this root when I was reading a post about the famous Five Element Soup . I've seen burdock in Jusco and Tesco (funnily, never saw it in my Lip Sin wet market though!). It's a long root, about 2 feet, and usually marketed as gobo (in Japanese). In Chinese, it's called Niu Pang. If you go to a Chinese herbalist or Chinese medical hall, its seeds are sold as Niu Pang Zi (Zi referring to the seeds). I bought one gobo/burdock ...