Ceylon Spinach Soup

Ceylon Spinach is known as 'Saan Choy' in Cantonese. Easily grown in Malaysia, this spinach has deep green leaves with bright red stems. It is popular in clear soups and has a somewhat a slippery texture when it's cooked.

By now you would be wondering why I have here photos of borlotti beans. What has this bean got to do with this soup? Well, I kind of accidentally found out that this bean serves 2 purposes here. I actually meant for this bean to be a healthy snack for the kids, so I removed the beans from the pods and boiled them. Then I thought what a waste it would be if I were to throw away the water I boiled them in. I decided to add it to my soup as stock. What a pleasant surprise that was! It added sweetness and nutrients to the soup without changing the taste.

Love the looks of these beans in the water, don't you? Anyway, back to my clear Ceylon Spinach soup. This soup is rich in vitamins and minerals.

As for the soup base, I used 2 pieces of chicken keel, boiled in 2 litres of filtered water.

Pour the boiled stock into a slow-cooker and continue to simmer for 1 hour.

Pull off the tender top of the ceylon spinach from the stems, then remove the leaves from the harder portion of the stems. Rinse and drain.

3 pieces of soft tofu, rinsed and drained.

Add the borlotti beans stock into the chicken keel stock and put in the ceylon spinach and tofu. Let them simmer in the slow-cooker for another 30 minutes, then crack a salted duck egg and slowly drizzle its contents into the hot boiling soup, stir slightly before cutting off the heat. (This is to get the cloud effect). If the duck egg is of good quality, you will see the orange color oil dots floating on top of the soup. (It's lacking in my photo)

Add sea salt to taste.

Cut tofu into quarters before serving.

Notice the holes in the tofu. Hmm, that's the best part! A very springy texture which I like.

By the way, the ceylon spinach loses its bright red color after it's cooked.

Herbal Wonders

Food is the natural lifeline for our physical bodies and the right choice can assist us in maintaining and strengthening our health. The importance of herbs has been highly acknowledged by people from all nations, rich and poor alike. This post is specially written in reply to a request from a dear friend currently living in Hong Kong and my fellow bloggers whom may find this brew useful. I will not be in the position to introduce something I have not tried since I am no doctor but as for 'strengthening the lungs', I bring to you the well trusted "Cordyceps". In the mandarin translation cordyceps means 'worm in the winter, grass in summer'. Many will not try it mainly because it is expensive but if bought from a trustworthy source the investments can be worthwhile. Beware of imitations.

Cordyceps otherwise known as 'tung chung cho' in Cantonese is believed to be the best remedy for anaemia, fatigue and weak lungs. It has great medicinal properties to aid recovery from illnesses as it encourages appetite and builds up resistance against chills and common cold. One small box of Cordyceps can be divided into 6 portions for this brew.

Red dates otherwise known as 'hoong cho' in Cantonese is often used in soups, brews or even sweet desserts to increase blood circulation in the body. It also possess lung, heart, spleen and stomach strengthening properties.

Recipe
1 portion of cordyceps (rinsed under filtered water)
1 handful of red dates, with or without stones (seed) is fine.
Heat up a small slow-cooker with 2 rice bowls of hot filtered water (hot water is used to quicken the cooking process). The slow-cooker method is preferred because slow cooking does not burn and the liquid does not evaporate.

Method
Simmer the brew in the slow-cooker for approx. 2 - 2 1/2 hours.
Pour out the brew, cool slightly and drink warm.

Since this brew is expensive, a thinner brew can be obtained by adding a rice bowl of hot filtered water into the herbal sediment (cordycep and red dates) and boil in the slow-cooker for 1 hour for the second time. This second time round brew will be less aromatic but still contains enough medicinal properties for our well being. I personally drank this brew for a period of 3 months before trying to conceive a child. Started off by having it twice a week and consecutively once a week. The second time brew was serve to my hubby and he too benefited from it. I did not catch a flu for a year after that, I suppose my lungs were pretty strong then.

Refreshing Iceberg Lettuce

The iceberg lettuce is, in a way related to the white round cabbage. They look almost alike except for the texture of the leaves. The leaves of the iceberg lettuce is lighter in texture and thinner in density. It is simply refreshing when eaten raw in sandwiches or salads, but here in Malaysia it is usually blanched in boiling water, drained and drizzled with some garlic oil, a dash of light soya sauce and some pepper. This dish basically needs no formal introduction, so I guess I won't dwell in it too much.

Roasted Soft Pork Ribs

For this recipe, I used 'soft pork ribs' otherwise known as 'baby pork ribs'. This is the part where the white colored ribs can been seen connected to the normal rack ribs. I find this part more tender and moist compared to the normal rack ribs, not to mention I can't resist chewing on the soft bones. Anyway, in order to get a tender roast, marinate the ribs overnight with the juice of 1 fresh lemon. Other ingredients are a dash of my favourite S&W mesquite smoke sauce, Lea & Perrin sauce, sea salt and black pepper. Put all the marinate and ribs in a zipper bag and place in the fridge, overnight.

The next day, take the bag out and drip dry the ribs, reserve the marinate in the bag for gravy later. Leave the ribs at room temperature while the oven is heated to 200 degree celcius. Drizzle a little olive oil onto the ribs and pop it into the ready oven and roast for 20 minutes uncovered. If you want it with more color, leave it uncovered a little longer but be sure not to let it burn. Cover with aluminium foil and set timer for 30 minutes, check ribs and baske ribs with its own dripping. Repeat this process for another 30 minutes. Pearce knife into the meatiest part of the ribs to check if it's properly cooked. No red liquid oozing out means okay. Please do not eat pork roasts or steak rare or medium done mainly because it harbours harmful bacteria that may cause a slow down in our brain waves if eaten consistently. Trust me that won't be fun. Pork must always, always be well done.

Take ribs out of the roasting pan to cool. Place roasting pan on the stove, pour in the pork marinate and bring to boil. Add a cup of red wine and salt and pepper to taste. If you like thicker gravy, dissolve 1 Tbsp of plain flour or cornflour in some water and pour into boiling gravy. Stir a moment and cut off the heat. Spoon gravy on top of the ribs. Cut ribs can be served with some steamed broccoli and some boiled baby potatoes.

Nutritious Roots Soup?

Wild edible roots and tubers have provided people all over Asia with food for thousand of years. Now widely cultivated, these roots are eaten in many ways. Cooked as vegetables, used in desserts, drinks and grounded to make flour etc... Most root vegetables are high in nutritional value. In fact, some roots and tubers like tapioca, sweet potato, yambean replaces rice as the staple diet in certain parts of Asia.

My first selection for this nutritional soup is a tuber called arrowroot (fun koat in Cantonese). Originated from Central America, is occassionally eaten as a vegetable in Japan and China. Arrrowroot looks slightly like a long tapioca with a fresh and pleasant aroma and texture. This tuber is known to relieve acidity, stomach cramps and indigestion.
Paired with the lotus roots (ling ngaw in Cantonese) made famous by the chinese, transforms this soup into a treasured delicacy for a soup friendly home. The lotus root consists of a number of linked segments approx. 10 - 20 cm in length each. When sliced, the crisp flesh reveals a series of hollow chambers and not to mention this root has appreciable amounts of vitamin C and some level of calcium.
Peanuts, often known as groundnuts (faa tzang in Cantonese) in Asia, also comes from roots. They are actually nodules which form on the roots of a bushy leguminous plant. It is rich in calcium, thiamine, carbohydrates, phosphorus and niacin. Besides all the underground goodies, some chinese herbs like boxthorn fruit (kei chee) and red dates (hoong choe) are added for more nutritional values.

3 litres of filtered water
1 arrowroot (10 inches long), peeled and cut into chunks.
1 lotus root (aprox. 3 short segments), sliced.
1 handful of skinless groundnuts
1 handful of seeded red dates (washed under filtered water)
1 handful of boxthorn fruit (washed under filtered water)
1 chicken breast (washed and cut into 2)

Bring water to boil in a soup pot and put in all the ingredients above. Bring to boil for 10 minutes and transfer to a heated slow-cooker and set timer for 3 1/2 hours. Sea salt to taste.

Phlegm Remedy

Never thought this simple brew was so effective in getting rid of phlegm. Must share this little wonder-brew with you especially when you have children prone to the common flu. This is not a flu remedy but it definitely rids the phlegm factor in the beginning stage of the common cold and the tail end of it. Sometimes, the irritating phlegm causes unneccesary hurling in young children (above 1 yrs old) when they don't know how to cough it out. Worst scenario is when they just drank their milk. I shall leave it up to your imagination!

This remedy is easy to prepare and works pretty well, All you need is 30 dark red grapes of any kind. The darker the skin the better. 5 slices of 'kam choe'. Sorry I don't know what it's called in english or any other language but refer to my photo for visual. Can purchase from chinese medical halls or herbal shops. Malaysian RM1 can yield approximately 15 slices of 'kam choe'.

1.5 litre of filtered water
30 dark red skin grapes (seed or seedless does not matter) - wash throughly and slice into half.
5 slices of 'kam choe'

Bring to boil together and simmer for 1 hour. The liquid will then look like chinese tea with a slight tinge of redness. Pour and drink. Pleasant to the taste buds. This can be repeated for a period of 3-5 days continuosly.

Leftover Lamb

Long live the leftovers!

I always look forward to leftovers especially from tasty roasts with bones. This time was my roast leg of lamb which was my main course to usher in Germany's 3rd placing in the world cup. So thrilled with it, I carved off almost all the juicy succulent meat for this morning's lamb sandwich which left me more than overjoyed and fulfilled! Just assemble the bread, the warmed-up lamb slices and crispy curly vegetable. Drizzle some leftover gravy on the meat and serve with a hot cup of coffee.

Oh yes, please don't forget the bones and the knuckles with some meat still stuck to it. This makes a very robust pot of lamb soup. Put 2 litres of filtered water in a soup pot, bring to boil. The put in all the the lamb bones, 1 large carrot, 2 sticks of celery, 3 potatoes, 1 large onion, 2 small corn (optional), some crushed black peppercorns and a bouquet garni of soup herbs. All vegetables cut into small chunks. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Add sea salt to taste.

* A bouquet garni consists of cloves, cardamon, coriander, aniseed, star anise, cinnamon stick and peppercorns tied up in a small piece of muslin cloth and secured with a thread.