The Soup Queen

I have been making the same watercress soup each week whenever I get to buy fresh watercress in the Lip Sin wet market. In the wet market, it is either lotus root or watercress. While I like lotus root soup, it doesn't freeze well. I usually make a large pot of soup and freeze the leftover portions in individual containers. If you freeze lotus root, its texture crumbles. When you reheat the soup, the soup still tastes great but the lotus root won't be as lovely to bite into! That's why I stop myself from buying lotus root. But watercress is different. It keeps its texture and the soup tastes even better if kept in the freezer. My soup is usually drunk over the course of a week so that's the maximum I keep the frozen portions. Anyway, watercress soup is always a taste of familiarity. It is a taste of homemade goodness and it is a soup that keeps our lungs healthy with lots of Vitamin C. Nic and I have been kept busy with projects and now that he is a he...

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...

Here are some soup recipes you can try. For all soups, remember to blanch the meat first to get rid of its oil and blood. Bring your pot of water to boil before you add the meat and herbs/vegetables. Simmer on high heat for 10 minutes (do not close the pot lid). After 10 minutes of rapid boiling, close the lid and lower heat so that your soup can simmer for 2 hours undisturbed. Lastly add salt for seasoning. Turn off heat and let soup mellow for 30 minutes before serving warm with rice. Papaya Soup Nourishes lungs and improves skin texture 1 cob sweet corn 19 gm dried white fungus, soaked and drained 1 papaya, 450 gm shin of pork, 450 gm Dang Gui Soup Expels dampness, nourishes spleen and yin 1/4 slice dried tangerine peel 19gm dang gui 12 gm fox nuts 600gm shin of pork 1 slice ginger Lotus Root Soup Promotes blood cell regeneration, whitens skins and improves skin texture 600gm shin of pork 19 gm fox nuts 57 gm dried lotus seeds 38 gm small red beans 450 ...

It's been raining nonstop the whole of today. And I've been sneezing and having such a running nose! I woke up with a little bit of a sore, parched throat but I quickly drank a warm glass of water mixed with a squeeze of lemon juice and a teaspoon of honey. That seemed to do it but my nose is still red and runny! Yes, even SoupQueen sometimes get the sniffles! That's the main reason I stuff myself with soups. So that I don't get the sniffles and have to down some pills. I was thinking of popping 2 cold pills and going to bed (since it is lovely and cosy to be in bed right about now) but I shall let my body battle the cold the natural way. Maybe my cold is due to the sudden changes in the weather - it is hot and sunny in the morning and suddenly rains nonstop in the evening. The weather changes from warm to cold can be unnerving for my body. Or it could be the KFC which I took for dinner last Tuesday. I was hankering for some fried chicken and thought, time to try out th...

I got this soup recipe from The Star newspaper a couple of months ago. Haven't had time to make this soup but since it's so easy, I thought I'd share this with all of you. Maybe you can try it and see how it goes! I've always enjoyed vegetarian soups at Buddhist temples. There's one near my home and the soups are often clear and sweet! Vegetarian Lotus Soup 1 whole lotus root or 200gm, washed, peeled and sliced thick 1 cup peanuts , soaked and rinsed 5 red dates , seeded 2-3 honey dates 50gm vegetarian chicken 1.5 liters of water salt to taste Combine all ingredients in a pott and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours. Add salt after 2 hours of simmering and serve hot.

The weather's becoming crazily warm these days. It's to be anticipated as the run-up to Chinese New Year, which falls on 29 January this year, is often hot and dry in Penang. The sun is really high in the sky and the heat penetrates through walls, literally! On days like these, I am reminded of my childhood where the day's menu would feature cooling soups and sometimes, porridge or congee. One of the best (and again, easy... if it isn't easy, it won't find its way into my kitchen) soups for warm days when the appetite is waning is a bowl of lotus root soup. Lotus root soup cures heat in the body, relieves dizziness and heatstroke. It also relieves constipation and improves appetite. Lotus root comes from the lotus plant, from which you get the beautiful lotus flower. You can also get lotus seeds from lotus pods. The seeds have medicinal value and often the dried seeds (with the green pith removed) are used in herbal soups. The fresh seeds can also be eaten ra...