Cordycep Flower Soup ~ Confinement food ~ 猪骨虫草花汤

I had my first taste of Cordycep flower soup in a Chinese restaurant and didn't hesitate to ask the waitress what were those curly, twisty, crunchy and chewy 'strings' in the soup. Her reply was that they were Cordycep flowers (scientific name Cordycep Militaris), a sort of woody cultivated mushrooms. According to traditional Chinese medicine, Cordycep flowers do have some nutritional health benefits, such as nourishing the lungs, improve sleep, reduce fatigue just to name a few.

After cooking, you may notice that the soup has a hint of orangey colour.

Cordycep Flower Soup ~ Confinement food ~ 猪骨虫草花汤
Ingredients
25 gm dried cordyceps flowers, rinsed,

450 gm soft pork bones for soup

10 seedless red dates

10 gm goji berries

20 gm yuk chook

2.1/2 lt water

seasalt to taste

Method

Blanch the pork bones in hot water, drain, rinse and set aside

Boil 2.1//2 lt water in a pot and once boiling, add in the dried cordycep flowers,

red dates, yuk chook and pork bones. Bring to the boil

Cover and let simmer till meat is tender and flavour of soup is enhanced

Add in goji berries and let simmer for another 10 mins.

Add seasalt to taste

Serve hot

Comments

Braised Pork Belly with Mui Choy ~ 梅菜焖五花肉

Mui Choy is preserved mustard greens and there are two types, one is salty while the other is sweet. There are many ways of cooking mui choy with pork belly. Instead of braising, you can steam it with minced pork but here I am using only the sweet mui choy and I braised the pork belly with it. This is a flavourful dish and you can serve it with plain rice or plain porridge. Braised Pork Belly with Mui Choy ~ 梅菜焖五花肉 Ingredients 400 gm pork belly cut into bite size 100 gm preserved sweet mui choy 3 cloves of garlic 2 slices ginger Seasoning for the pork belly 1 Tbsp dark soya sauce 1/4 Tbsp sugar 1/4 Tbsp sesame oil 1/4 Tbsp oyster sauce 1/2 tsp pepper 1/8 tsp light soya sauce Method Season the pork belly for about an hour or more. Set aside. Soak the mui choy for 45 mins., rinse and squeeze dry. Cut into slices Heat some oil in the wok, fry the mui choy. Add in the ginger slic...

Snow Swallow Dessert ~ 天然野生雪燕

Natural Wild Tragacanth Gum 'Snow Swallow' or Xue Yan is a gum derived from different varieties of sterculia trees. It's actually a sap drained from the root of the plant and the gum dries as it exudes and is then collected. Once rehydrated will increase to about ten times in size and their white stringy, jelly like strands texture resembles that of the much prized and highly valued bird's nest. One thing to take note when cooking this dessert is that the gum is highly soluble in water and cannot be boiled too long. Since it is 'cooling' for our internal organs, the elderlies should take this in moderation and not recommended for nursing mums for the breast milk may cause the baby to purge. Snow Swallow Dessert ~ 天然野生雪燕 Ingredients 8 gm Snow Swallow gums 10 gm red dates 10 gm goji berries 20 gm dried longan Rock or piece sugar to taste 1 litre water Pandan leaves (optional) Method Soak the Snow Swallow gums in plenty of water for at least...

Herbal Jelly ~ Gui Ling Gao

H erbal Jelly ~ Gui Ling Ga o literally translated means 'Tortoise Jelly' is one of my family's favourite desserts. It's much more economical to prepare this at home for you'll need to fork out between Rm 9 to Rm 11 for a bowl of this cooling dessert in any of those herbal tea outlets. This soothing jelly, served chilled, is supposed to be able to help reduce our body heat, helps to get rid of toxins and is believed to be good for the skin thus culminating a healthier complexion.

Read on for the Recipe

No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

Search This Blog