The Soup Queen

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...

I love eating eggplant or brinjal but Nic is not to keen on it. He likes it in curries but not cooked plain. When I do buy brinjal, I have a favourite way of cooking it. With minced pork. I can get this dish ready in less than 10 minutes because it's simple and delicious. The crunchiness of deep fried brinjal with the spicy minced pork - out of this world. For this recipe, you need: 1 medium length brinjal (about a foot long) 1/2 cup minced pork, marinated with some cornflour and soya sauce (leave aside for 5 minutes) fresh ginger, about 2 slices, minced fine fresh garlic, 1 clove, minced fine 2 tbsp Thai chilli sauce (from bottle, I use Mae Pranom brand) 1 tbsp dark soya sauce some salt, pepper, sugar and soya sauce to taste red chillies, sliced, optional - if you like to spice it up more First, wash and cut brinjal into diagonal slices. Sprinkle some salt over to draw out water. Leave aside for a while. Next, make a batter from self raising flour and rice flour (2:1 ratio) with a...

I went looking on the Net for the herbs that are used in the cough syrup King To Nin Jiom Pei Pa Kao and found these which I have compiled below. Each one works to alleviate cough, phlegm and all manner of lung problems. I got the info from this website: http://www.fzrm.com/plantextract.htm in case you want to go on your own TCM herb hunting adventure or find out what those Latin terms actually mean. Fourleaf Ladybell Root or Nan Sha Shen nourishes yin and removes heat from the lung, resolves phlegm, and reinforces qi. Suitable if you have heat in the lung with dry cough; cough with scanty sticky sputum; or deficiency of both qi and yin with feverishness and thirst. Bulbus Fritillaria Cirrhosa or Chuan Bei Mu removes heat, moistens the lung, resolves phlegm and relieves cough. Good for those with dry cough due to heat in the lung; cough with bloody sputum in consumptive diseases. Folium Eriobotrya Japonica or Loquat Leaf removes heat from the lung and the stomach, and relieves cou...

I still have a bloody phlegmy cough. Despite eating everything I think is good for curing a cough. So as a last resort, I turned to a favourite cough remedy - King To Nin Jiom Pei Pa Kao! I had a bottle stashed in my kitchen so I thought, might as well take that and see if my cough can be cured. The funny thing was, it has expired in 2007. But what the heck. It's just cough syrup, right? Won't die anyway. So being highly practical, I took whatever's left of this remedy. (I'm Cantonese. We're a highly practical people. That's probably why we can survive anywhere. I grew up with lots of pragmatic advice from mom and grandma.) For those of you who don't know what King To Nin Jiom is, it's a thick, gooey, honey-like syrup masquerading as cough syrup. It's a traditional Chinese preparation so it's lovely and sweet, much like honey. It's not like those yucky cherry-flavoured cough syrups doctors give. Not at all. (By the way, I hate those.) This sy...

I bought fresh peppermint at the market today. I usually don't fancy peppermint but I thought with my flu and scratchy throat, peppermint soup sounds real good. The peppermint was RM1 one bunch. When I came home, I just plucked the leaves and soaked them. Ditch the stems. Next I marinated some fresh minced pork - about 1/3 cup of minced pork. You can use chicken if you want. Marinate with some salt, pepper and cornflour. The cornflour makes a world of difference. The minced meat will be smoother!Put this aside in the fridge for 10 minutes. Bring a pot of water to boil. Since I was only making this soup for lunch and dinner, I measured out 4 medium bowls of water. Once water is boiling away merrily, drop in the minced meat - form them into tiny balls of meat. I like mine like the size of marbles. I also put into 3 cloves of garlic, with skin attached. This flavours the soup a bit. Next, add your rinsed and drained peppermint leaves. Let the soup simmer for 5 minutes on medium fire b...

Not that I am major doubter in his basic bread recipe... it's more like I doubt my bread kneading skills. But I armed myself with complete knowledge before I plunged into breadmaking again yesterday, despite the awful headache I was having. Despite my flu and sneezing 20 times! Still, I had to throw out cups of yeast in lukewarm water because silly me, I wasn't patient enough to let the yeast bubble and ferment. Finally it dawned on me that the yeast was alive but a bit slow in 'waking up'. 4 lukewarm cups of water + yeast + honey later, I realize this. Bah. Anyway, the basic bread recipe is simple and yes, I finally have 94% of what resembles bread. I cannot say 100% because Nic says it needs some 10 minutes more in the oven but excited old me took it out at 30 minutes and it was slightly, just slightly underdone. But it was bread. It looked like bread, it tasted chewy and lovely. It was BREAD. Thank you Cosmic Universe! So the recipe is super simple. Make the yeast co...

This blog may be about soup but sometimes, I come across other types of niche food blogs too and thought you might like to know! Recently, a friend found me on my other blog . He apparently is into bread-making (like me, but my first few attempts sucked) and he seems to be a maestro at it, looking at the number of bread recipes and modified recipes he has at his blog. I know I am the soup queen (please take it with a pinch of salt) but he is definitely a bread king. He makes his own bread so that his wife (who has a thyroid condition) need not eat commercial bread which as you know is full of preservatives and stuff even my cat won't eat. (Do you know that a piece of commercial bread can stay fresh and unmoldy up to a week or more?!) As I am bread newbie, I can tell you I was excited on learning that he has a blog dedicated to his fascination with bread. Do hop over to BG's blog on bread baking and bread making .

Sometimes I get so tired when I get home from work (even though it is my own business but I tell you, running a business is far more exhausting than being a salaried employee! I've been on both ends so I know that as an employee, you can 'shut off' the moment you get home. As a business person, I'm thinking of work even when I'm on the throne!) So what's a girl to do when she comes home tired and yet wants to cook something homemade for the man in her life? Ah yes, I can be traditional in some ways. I think the less I eat out the better. I always have some beancurd or tofu in my fridge for those emergency dinner moments. I prefer the silken tofu in a box which you can easily buy at any supermarket for RM1 per box. 1 box of tofu is good enough for 2 persons. To prepare this steamed tofu (which takes less than 10 minutes to cook), just open up the plastic casing and put the tofu on a plate. Steam this over high heat for 5 minutes. The tofu will 'sweat' som...

I first had this soup when I was at my Mom-in-law's back in Kuching a few months ago. I really love beans so I decided to recreate this soup here in Penang. I noted that my mom-in-law used a variety of beans in her soup plus some chicken carcasses. I was thinking of buying a handful of each type of beans but thought better of it! It would be such a waste if my own concoction didn't turn out right or taste right. So I turned to Green Love's Multi Bean Soup Mix which had 5 types of beans in one packet (RM4.80 for a 250 gm packet). The beans were chick peas, kidney beans, borlotti beans, large lima beans and Great Northern Beans. This bean premix pack can make a savoury or sweet soup. I made a savoury soup with blanched pork bones which was delectable. I love beans in all manner so this was really comfort food. Here's how you make a Five Bean Soup (makes 6 serving bowls of soup). 125 gm of beans from Green Love's Multi Bean Soup Mix 300 gm blanched pork bones 1 tbsp m...

This is yet another recipe I picked up from TV. You see, you can learn from TV if you choose your TV programmes well. Black sesame with milk is a drink recommended for people who are constipated. Black sesame seeds are used to tonify yin, jing and blood and most importantly, moisten the intestines. Hence its usefulness in helping to move the bowels. (It's associated with Kidney and Liver meridians.) Other than that, Chinese love the black sesame because it can keep your hair glossy and black. A sweet, thick dessert made from ground black sesame seeds is often served in good Chinese restaurants. In fact, black sesame seeds are good for improving memory and preventing Alzheimers. Here's how you can prepare this beverage: Warm up some 400 cc of fresh milk. Add 1 teaspoon of black sesame seed powder. Mix well. Add honey to taste. Also if you wish, you can add in some medlar seeds (pre-soaked in hot water to soften). Drink warm.

I got this recipe from a Taiwanese TV show on traditional chinese herbs. It looks easy enough to prepare. In a pot, bring 500 ml of water to boil. Add dang shen and red dates. Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve warm. This tea helps to boost the immune system. Dang Shen or Codonopsis Pilosulae is helpful for the spleen and lungs. It's a root similar to that of the ginseng family. It is considered the poor man's ginseng as it is cheap yet full of amazing properties. As it's mild, the whole family can take this herb. According to FoodsnHerbs website, this power root helps: -Build immunity and raise resistance -Promote the production body fluid -Nourish blood and energy -Lower blood pressure -Raise blood sugar -Tonify spleen and lung energy Dang Shen is also suited for people suffering from chronic fatigue, hypertension, loss of appetite, loose bowels, pale complexion, exhaustion after surgery or childbirth, body bloating and facial swelling due to edema, immune deficiency and hypo...

Everyone has this idea that Gui Ling Gao, a Chinese herbal jelly , is made from Tortoise Shell. I think it used to contain tortoise shell scrapings but no longer. I bet it must be tough finding people who would ingest anything made out of the poor chelonian. I made some Gui Ling Gao today with a premix powder I bought from Eu Yan Sang. The packet priced at RM 10 consisted of 2 smaller packets (so it's actually RM 5 per pack). From RM 5 worth, I could make 14 small cups of gui ling gao, which would last me a whole week! (Normally I would buy readymade Gui Ling Gao at RM 2 for a small plastic container but I love to experiment so I thought I should be able to make some on my own. Plus it's cheaper too.) This herbal jelly has a bitter taste but it is recommended for teens as it helps clear acne (and most women too as it enhances the complexion). Gui Ling Gao is served chilled and as a dessert after a heavy meal. As it clears heat, it is a cooling dessert and pregnant women are not...

This is yet another herb soup packet mix which I got from Eu Yan Sang. Ning Shen Soup is a traditional Chinese soup recipe for calming the mind and keeping the heart healthy. Its ingredients are: radix astragali rhizoma dioscareae rhizoma polygonati odorati pericarpium citri reticulatae bulbus lilii arilllus longan fructus lycii If the above sounds like gibberish to you, it actually isn't. Of course it sounds like a bunch of sophisticated herbs but really, they're normal Chinese herbs. radix astragali -- Huang Qi or Milk Vetch Root rhizoma dioscareae -- Chinese yam or shanyao rhizoma polygonati odorati -- Solomon's seal pericarpium citri reticulatae -- dried tangerine peel bulbus lilii -- dried lily bulb arilllus longan -- dried longan fructus lycii -- wolfberry The herbs are clean so a quick rinse was just about it. Next I brought a pot of water (1.5 liters) to boil. Once the water was bubbling, I added in the Ning Shen herbs and blanched pork bones. Boil on high for 10...

I bought a packet of Five Flower Tea (comprising 2 sachets) from Eu Yan Sang for my mom-in-law not too long ago but she only kept 1 sachet and gave the other sachet back to me. I think older people do not dare to drink too much of these cooling teas...something I should have remembered when I bought this tea! But one learns! I've become a fan of Eu Yan Sang of late, possibly because I visit Jusco in Queensbay Mall so often. I am the mad sort, the type who loves the smell and fragrance of herbs in a TCM shop and that's what Eu Yan Sang/EYS is. And perhaps the great thing is, I can ask for the herb in English and the staff knows what I am talking about. But EYS is also a modern shop which means a lot of the herbs are packed hygenically. Of course the prices at EYS is much higher than my regular TCM stall inside the Lip Sin market BUT the herbs really do look better - they don't look too dried up! One of those things I would spend on is food and herbs are food and I s...

Madam Chin is my grandmother who is touching 91. She's my dad's mom and a mother to 9 children. One of the best recipes come from my grandma. She cooks the best stuffed crabs, the best braised ikan terubok with black beans and the best soya sauce chicken. In fact, her salted chicken is a family favourite. But she's 91 now and can hardly walk, what more cook. She now spends her time in her room, watching TV, reading magazines and talking to her sons and daughters and grandchildren. My grandma's soya sauce chicken is my life-saver for days when I do not know what to cook or when I get too darn lazy to cook. This recipe is a sure success because the ingredients are easily found in any good kitchen. It's also a dish for children because they will love the soya sauce gravy to bits. It's a foolproof dish that keeps well and one that you will adore for its so easy and quick to prepare. (My husband loves this dish too!) And if someone asks you where you got this recipe,...

Today's recipe is not so much a soup but a drink! And this one comes with its own little story. One day, many moons ago, I was at the Tropical Spice Garden. This was at Teluk Bahang, almost near the end of the tourist hotel strip. My sis, cousin and I decided to lunch there, not knowing what we would find. But adventurous girls that we were, we headed there, despite the oncoming drizzle. It didn't help that my sis and cousin were in 'urban attire' - short skirt, shorts, heels. It was a bit of a climb up to the cafe of the spice garden (which by the way is a must-see for horticulture fans. It's a spice garden so it's full of plants and herbs for the green fan.) I'd been on the spice garden walk years ago so we skipped that. We were there for the grub. Which wasn't much and that itself was a disappointment. The cafe basically served as a snack and beverage corner though the view of the sea off Batu Feringgi was amazing. Imagine, post-rain, the aquamarine s...

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...

Fruits, especially local fruits like bananas, papayas, dragon fruits (my favourite is the deep ruby red variety) are cheap and plentiful in Banting. That's where I was last week. I went home to visit my parents for a few days and decided to teach my mom a new dessert recipe. I bought an unripe papaya at the Banting Sunday market. My mom chided me saying that it's not palatable. I told her I was going to cook it, instead of waiting for it to ripen. The fruit vendor was smart enough to tell my mom that she knew what I was going to do with the unripe fruit. Hmmm! After I made it, mom took some over to our longtime neighbour, Mrs Chan. Mom told me the unripe papaya tasted a lot like sweet potato after it's been simmered. So here's a green papaya and snow fungus dessert recipe you can try: 1 unripe papaya (a bit green with blushes of orange, signs of going to ripen), cut into bite size chunks 8-10 dried red dates a few pieces of snow fungus, soaked and cut up into smaller p...

I haven't gone missing though I've been quite busy. I was in and out of Penang and doing stuff I wouldn't normally do. You can see what I was busy about if you read this - which is over at my regular blog. Anyway, I am back in Penang already. And super excited because I bought myself a new recipe book on Chinese soups (Cooking with Chinese Herbs: New Edition with 20 Additiional Recipes) by Terry Tan for RM60, a book which I'd been eyeing greedily this year. *grinning like a Cheshire cat* I am glad I waited because I won a book voucher from Popular Bookstore recently and I used that voucher to redeem this book. Did this yesterday when I was on a book browsing spree at Popular Midlands (they're having a book sale of up to 20%). I said spree because I spent close to RM200 buying books and magazines. Now Terry Tan is not a new author. I'd seen his books before and one of his recipe books was published in 1983! Now that's what I call a long time cook and author....

Just got back from one week in Kuching. It was warm over there which is unusual as I always expect rain in Borneo. When it rains in Kuching, it pours. I go back to Kuching for 1 reason - to visit my parents-in-law. So I take it as a break from work. But the thing that gets me truly antsy is that we just have dial-up internet access in his parents' home. Which is horrible. After years on broadband, getting to dial-up is torture. I don't cook when I get to my mom-in-law's. She likes cooking and she has a particular way of cooking to accommodate my father-in-law. I tried once but my efforts were rebuffed. So the SoupQueen gets a total break from the kitchen when she's in Kuching. Anyway, enough of gossip stuff. In the spirit of Sarawak, I am going to teach you how to cook 'kachama' or 'kachangma'. It's a wild grass or herb that's used famously in Sarawak for mothers who are in confinement / just given birth. This dish helps get rid of wind. ...