Chinese Watercress Soup

I made this soup occasionally so I thought I had posted the recipe in my blog, but when I went to search for it, I couldn't find it.  Only then I realized I haven't posted the recipe.  So, I shared it here for my record so that next time if my girls want to make it, they would know where to look for the recipe.

The health benefit of watercress is plenty and it has been dated since ancient time.  It is high in calcium, iron, Vitamin C, beta-carotene, folic acid, potassium, phosphorous and rich in fiber, iodine and anti-oxidants.  You can read more about it here.  It is also a cooling food for Chinese.

Pear, Carrot & Onion Soup

Pear is a cooling food and usually in Chinese cooking, they used Asian pear to make tonic soup.  But for me, I find that the Bosc pear resembled Asian pear the closest as it is crunchy, sweet and juicy and I loved to use it as a substitute.  This soup is made without chicken bone/ drumstick/ pork bone so it is a healthier version without the grease.

Since it is a cooling soup, it's suitable for people who feel heaty or have a cough.  As it is good for soothing the lungs.

Burdock Root/ Gobo Herbal Soup (牛蒡草药汤)

Gobo or burdock root has many health benefits.  It is low in calories and contains a fair amount of fiber, calcium, amino acids and potassium, to list a few.  It has been used traditionally as a medicinal herbs to treat many ailments.  Said to be anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, disease prevention, blood purification and mild laxative.  It can be eaten raw, stir-fry or boil in soup.  I did a stir-fried version here.  But I found it quite fibrous and not as suitable for young children.

You can read more about burdock root at wiki.  I want to make it a habit of drinking this soup at least once a month.

I got this gobo at my Asian market here for 70 cents.  I thought it's pretty reasonable but I had no idea whether it's cheaper at other Asian markets since this was the second time I bought this.  But I have a very bad habit, I don't compare prices when I shop for Asian vegetable, I just buy whatever vegetable that look fresher and would last through a week in my refrigerator.  If you ask me how much are the prices of broccoli, green bean, asparagus, celery, cabbage, brussels sprout, onion, carrot, cauliflower per lb when on sales, I would be able to tell you.  But none of the Asian vegetables I could tell as I don't look at the price, I just grab and in the cart it goes.  Anyone of you behave the same way?

Merdeka Open House 2011: Makan Through Malaysia: Klang Bak Kut Teh

Bak Kut Teh or 肉骨茶 or "meat bone tea" is a mixture of complex Chinese herbs, garlic and spices pair with pork ribs and simmer for hours.  Tenderloins, pork intestines, mushrooms, fried tofu puffs are sometimes added.  A handful of lettuce would be added into the soup just before serving.  It is believed that Hokkien preferred saltier food and thus more soy sauce was added and created the darker soup base.  Another variety is Teochew which has the lighter soup base and more white pepper is added (Singaporean seem to prefer this).  As for Cantonese, they loved a stronger flavored soup by adding more medicinal herbs into their bak kut teh.   The well known condiments for bak kut teh are red chili, chopped garlic in light or dark soy sauce.  Chinese fried dough stick or yu tiao can be ordered as side.  Hot water and tea would be offered along side to wash down the oily broth soup.

The history of Bak Kut Teh as quoted in wikipedia, "Bak kut teh was introduced to Malaya in the 19th century by Chinese coolies and workers of Hokkien origin. The dish is reported to supplement the meager diet of port coolies and as a tonic to boost their health. The Teochews came later and the main visual difference between the Hokkien and Teochew version of bak kut teh is that the Hokkiens use dark soy sauce and thus the soup base is characteristically darker in colour." 

Klang Bak Kut Teh or 巴生肉骨茶 is a popular Malaysian breakfast.  I remembered my dad would drive us all the way to Klang for its Bak Kut Teh every Sunday morning.  The place that we frequented many years ago situated behind a Chinese temple (I later learned that it was a Hokkien Association Building) in an enclosed open area.  It was run by a husband and wife team.  I am not sure whether it is still there or not after almost two decades (can anyone confirm?).  The business was good back then and it served the Hokkien version of Bak Kut Teh (one with dark soy sauce).   My dad would bring his own tea leaves.  And it was our ritual to watch my dad carefully used the hot boiling water provided to clean the tea pot and each tea cups before pouring us our tea.  My dad would order the fried Yu Tiao (Chinese fried dough sticks) for us to dip into the soup and we would be really disappointed if they ran out of yu tiao as it was our favorite.  Another thing we liked about this place was they served with dark sweet soy sauce along with soy sauce for the chili and chopped garlic as condiment.  We fell in love with the sweet soy sauce condiment and even now I want my bak kut teh with sweet soy sauce.  Here, I served up my Klang Bak Kut Teh as I remembered it, with fried yu tiao, chili, chopped garlic in sweet soy sauce.  Alas!  I forgot to prepare a cup of green tea to go with it!

I am gladly submitting this post to Babe in the City ,who hosts the yearly Merdeka Open House on August 31st.  Feel free to click through the below link for more information.  All Malaysians, local or abroad are eligible to participate.  If not, go there on the 31st for the full roundup feast! 

Dong Quai Soup (當歸汤)

 

Dong-Quai or female ginseng or Angelica sinensis or 当归 is a Chinese herb widely used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat gynecological ailments, fatigue, mild anemia and high blood pressure. It has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity.  It is believed to be a uterine tonic and hormonal regulator.  My mom used to boil this soup for me when I was living at home.  Usually this soup was served after each menstrual cycle.  This herb is a little bitter but once you are used to the bitterness, it is actually a tasty soup.  This soup is not advice for pregnant women and if you are on any medication, consult with your doctor first before consuming.

This herb is used in soup and in making Emperor Chicken.  It is also found in dishes that were prepared in the restaurant in powder form.  You can buy this herb in most Asian supermarkets or Chinese Herbal Shops.  It usually sold as dried herb either in thin slices (like above) or in pieces.

The link of this recipe can be found here.  I have a picture of the raw ingredients too.  I am submitting this post to Weekend Herb Blogging and this week host for this event is Min from Honest Vanilla.  Check it out on Sunday for the full roundup.  Thanks!

Chinese Snow Fungus Herbal Soup

Snow fungus (雪耳) can also be called silver ear fungus (银耳) or white wood ear fungus ( 白木耳).  It is just like the name implied, it is a species of fungus, white in color that grows on dead attached and recently fallen branches of broadleaf trees.  It is widely available in the tropics and is cultivated for used in Chinese medicine and Chinese cuisine.  White fungus contains much iron, vitamin C, calcium and phosphorus. It is said to be effective in nourishing the lungs, healing dry cough and clearing heat in the lungs.  We used it in sweet and savory dishes.  Most common dessert would be white fungus stewed in rock sugar with red dates and dried longan.  But I liked mine in savory herbal soup.

I think I didn't boil mine long enough as my snow fungus was crunchy instead of soft.  Is there any other way to make the snow fungus soft besides soaking it in warm water and long simmering time?  

Chi Ku Teh (Chicken Dark Herbal Soup)

Bak Ku Teh, a popular herbal soup that is dark in color that uses pork ribs, meat, etc.  But there is another version that uses chicken.  This is my first time uses chicken drumsticks for this soup because I believed the pork ribs made the soup sweeter.  After trying this, I can say it was good with chicken too, the drumsticks tasted good with the herbal flavor in it.  I loved to add boiled eggs and taufu pok (fried beancurd puff) in mine.  I was planning to create a marble eggs in this but decided against it at the last minute because I was afraid a piece of the egg shell might fall off and my daughter might accidentally drank it.  Thus no beautiful marbling effect with my boiled eggs here.

For this chicken dark herbal soup, I just used the A1 Bak Kut Teh premix that easily available at any supermarket in Malaysia.  I always bought some of these to bring back here whenever I am back in Malaysia. Got to stock up on food that I can't get it here right?  I noticed there were two types, one was without the Chinese herbs, just the premix and was selling at a cheaper rate.  The other one was in bigger packaging and included some Chinese herbs in it. I bought the one with herbs and just followed the packet direction in cooking this.  My hubby bought some fried yu tiao from Denver and we had this soup with some yu tiao just liked how I used to eat back in Malaysia.

American Ginseng Chicken Herbal Soup (洋参须鸡汤)

Hmm...I don't know how to call this 洋参须 in English and the one I found on the net was translated by Noobcook as American Ginseng Beard/ Fiber 洋参须. You can visit her site here for picture and explanation. This is the cheapest type of American Ginseng and available in most Asian stores. Instead of the Ginseng root, this is like the hair under the root. American Ginseng is traditionally used to increase energy, relieve stress, enhance the immune system and provide overall health. Normally I boil it with water for 10-15 minutes on the stove and pour as drink to sooth sore throat or make it into chicken herbal soup to drink once a month. The taste of this herbal soup is not as delicious (a bit bitter) as Dong Quai so often time I prefer to cook Dong Quai herbal soup so that my girls can enjoy some herbal soup.

Dong Quai Chicken Herbal Soup (當歸汤)

This Angelica soup (當歸汤) or "female ginseng" is widely used in Chinese traditional medicine to treat gynecological ailments, mild anemia, fatigue and high blood pressure. This soup is also cooked for new mom in the last two weeks of confinement. It is also one of my favorite soups and I cook this soup 2-3 times per month. It is best for women to drink this after each menstrual cycle to revitalize. Bonus is this soup is very sweet and delicious.

Dried Lotus Seed Soup

My mom used to cook this soup for us because it's a cooling soup for warm weather. She actually spotted this while shopping at the Asian grocery store in Denver (she was here during my confinement) and recommended me to get it. Now I look for it whenever I go shopping in Denver.

You can also buy each individual ingredient and make this soup yourself, which I did also. This soup consisted of dried pearl barley, dried lotus seed, dried lily bulbs, dried dioscoreae (wai san), dried foxnut and dried polygonatum (yuk chuk).

I boiled it with chicken drumsticks. For sweeter taste, you can use pork ribs or pork bones. I only used half packet of the barley because too much of it makes the soup muddy.

For those who lives in Denver area, you can buy it at VietHoa Supermarket for 50 cents each, cheap right?

Common Chinese Herbs Translation:
Rhozoma Dioscoreae (wai san)
Astragalus Root (pak kay)
Angelicae Radix (tong kwai)
Codonopsis Pilosula (tong sum)
Polygonatum (yuk chuk)
Panacis Ginseng Radix (ginseng, ren shen)
Fructus Lycii (kei chi)

A1 Bak Kut Teh

I was so happy when I found the A1 Bak Kut Teh Spices in Denver. I quickly bought a packet to try it out. It is indeed good. I was surprised that it called for oyster sauce in the soup, but the flavor turned out great.



I added beancurd sheet in my bak kut teh. By the way, anyone knows what kind of beancurd the store owners use for their bak kut teh? I have discussed this with my mom before but she has no idea. I told her I think they used the fresh beancurd sheet and I'm going to try it next time I make bak kut teh. So, here it is! I used the fresh beancurd sheet, cut it into pieces and then deep-fried it til crispy before adding it into the soup before serving. Is this the right way to make it, I have no idea, would love to have some insight from readers who know. Taste wise, it's pretty darn good, but not sure it's the right one, even my hubby also couldn't recall anymore. But sure tastes good though!

Tong Sum Chinese Herbal Soup

This is one delicious chicken herbal soup that's good for us. I have been drinking this soup for ages, my mom used to cook this soup for us when we were little. And now I took over the cooking of chicken herbal soups. This is also the soup that I drank during confinement because dang kwai was not allowed in the first two weeks.

Bah Kut Teh

Made this bak kut teh for dinner yesterday. I used the Yew Chian Haw bak kut teh premix. I love this brand as it comes with pieces of herbs and got a herbal flavor. I added tau pok in mine.

Abalone with Chicken Soup

Look at the Abalone slices! They are not stingy about it.



This is the packet that I used. Strongly recommended. :)

I tried to cook chinese herbal soup once a week. I will alternate different type of herbal soup to cook each week so that it's a new flavour every week. I just dump two chicken drumsticks and the packet above and slow simmer it for few hours. What a yummy and nutricious soup to drink. The abalone was so soft and got such a nice bite to it. My mother in-law sent me those from M'sia.