Winter Melon Seaweed Porridge

Recently, my health has not been doing so well. My systemic lupus erythematous condition has relapsed twice within the last 7 months. Doc tried to pinpoint the reason for the relapses but so far, stress seems to be the only explanation.

Anyway, because of my relapses, I had to be hospitalised both times & on both occasion, I put on 2-3kg during each stay. So by now, I had in total put on 5kg since last Dec. With this amt of weight gain, am on a mission to lose weight again, seriously this time round.

So from now onwards, I will be trying out all kinds of 'slimming', 'weight loss' recipes. Hopefully some will really work for me.

Here’s my 1st slimming recipe with some changes because I can’t find 50g seaweed. So do visit the original website if you have 50g of seaweed on hand. I cooked this in the morning & bring it to ofc for lunch in a vacuum container. It’s still warm when I had in 7hrs later.

Winter Melon Seaweed Porridge

Ingredients: (1 serving)
5g dried seaweed
300g Winter Melon – skinless & seedless, diced
½cup Rice
500ml Water

Mix all ingredients & bring to boil in the inner pot. After 10mins of boiling, trf inner pot back into the vacuum cooker immediately & seal till lunch hour.

Chinese TeaLeaves Eggs_茶叶蛋

Like my friend, fellow blogger (BHH), I love the smell & taste of Chinese tea leaves egg (茶叶蛋 Cha Ye Dan). And when she posted a recipe on how to homemade, I grabbed the chance to try it out. However, since she mentioned that d herbs smell is not strong enough for her, I triple all the herb ingredients.
And d result - Thumbs up!

Chrysanthemum Jelly

My ‘little sister’ from Thailand had this dessert in a restaurant & fell in love with it. When she came back, she requested me to try out & teach her how to make. So here’sd end result served on top of fruit punch.
Ingredients
A handful of chrysanthemum flowers
900ml water
A pkt of konnyaku jelly powder
190g of sugar ( can adj according to yr own taste)

Method
Wash chrysanthemum flowers be4 putting them into the boiling water. Let it boil for another 5-10 min be4 removing from d heat. Do not boil too long or d jelly will turn out bitter...
Remove from heat. Steep covered for another 10 min be4 sieving d tea into a cooking pot.
Add jelly powder & sugar, stirring constantly bringing boil. Ensure both powder & sugar has alrdy dissolved be4 removing from heat.
Pour into moulds to set and let it cool. Chill before serving.

Super good on a hot sunny day!

Coconut Stewed Ckn

Weather is really heating up! Really need something to cool down! Coconuts! Yes! Had this recipe for d longest time & cant really remember where I got it from. I think it might have be from a Chinese mag.
End result - tasty enough for Hayden to asked for 2nd helping!

• 1 young coconut
• 1kg ckn
• 1 stalk lemongress (cut into section)
• 6 bowls water
• 5 slices ginger
• 1 stalk spring onion
• rice wine for taste

cut upper part of young coconut, pour out juice & scoop out flesh
Rinse ckn. scald Ginger, spring onion & rice wine in boiling water. put in ckn, scald for a while. remove & drain.
Put ckn, lemongrass & coconut flesh into coconut, pour in juice & water, bring to boil.
Switch to low heat & stew 3hrs. add seasoning be4 serving.

Bamboo Water Chestnut drink

Was walking ard d local supermkt when I chanced upon some sugar-cane. That’s when I remembered I have just bought some water-chestnut ytd for soup. But with d weather so hot, some sugar-cane + water-chestnut drink shd be better. & I even mgd to locate a recipe online which is quite similar to my recipe.

• 15 - 20 water-chestnuts
• 10-15 sticks palm-length sugar cane
• 1 branch pandan leaves, washed
• 100 gram of rock sugar

Remove water-chestnut’s skin, washed & soaked in clean water for 1 hour or longer in order to get rid of d bacteria/micro worms that are hidden inside d flesh.
Scrubbed sugar cane & peel off d skin.
Put all (except rock sugar) into d slow-cooker & simmer for abt 1-2hrs on low heat. Switch off d heat & put in d rock sugar. Allow to dissolve be4 serving it warm or chilled.

FrogLeg rice w/Lily bulb

In my previous attempt on d frog legs rice, I bought d wrong ingredient. So for tonite, I mgd to get d right fresh lily bulb鲜百合for testing. However, after reading d instruction on d package, I understand that fresh lily bulb is best eaten raw for its goodness. If cooking is required, try keep at d minimum. So, for my frog leg rice, I actually only added d lily bulb 1min be4 rice cooker timing ends.
End result – d fresh lily bulb added a very nice crunch to d dish! Even Hayden took a few slices of it with d rice! MIL loves it too! Hurray!

Ingredients same as previous, just replaced d lotus seed with d fresh lily bulb.

Apple & Pear dessert

On d very same nite, I also made some sweet dessert in order to used up d bal apple & pears be2 they get spoiled. I decided to use this apple/pear soup recipe but change it by replacing d meat with rock candy (冰糖) instead. Even with d modification, I understand it’s still very effective for soothing throats & removing phlegm.
End result – too sweet for me but both Hubby & MIL loves it.

• 1 apple, peeled & de-cored
• 2 sand pears砂梨, peeled & de-cored
• 4 candied dates蜜枣, washed
• 10g sweet & bitter almonds南北杏, washed
• 1l water
• 400g lean meat (replaced with 25g rock candy冰糖)

Put all into slow cooker & cook over low heat for 3-4hrs. Better effect if serve warm but can be drink chilled.

Water Chestnut soup

Another soup therapy which is supposed to be good for soothing cough & remove phlegm. This 1 tasted more like a soup as compared to d罗汉果soup. Hayden loves it.

• 10cups water
• 12 water chestnut
• 8 red dates
• 1 big or 2 med carrots
• 500g lean pork

Put all into d slow cooker & cook over low heat for 2-3hrs.

罗汉果西洋菜汤

Hayden started coughing again so I decided to try out this soup therapy which is suppose to effective in soothing throats & removing phlegm. It has d nutritious of d watercress too.

End result - a very sweet soup! Thus, will reduce d LHG by half next time.

1 LuoHanGuo罗汉果

500g lean pork

200g watercress西洋菜

2 candied dates蜜枣

1.8l water

1. Rinse LHG, wrap in a bag & smash. Rinse pork & cut into big pieces. Separate watercress leaves from stem & rinse.


2. Pour water into slow cooker. Add stem, pork, LHG & dates & cook over low heat ½hr.


3. Lasrly, add leaves & cook further ½hr.

Frog Congee with Lotus seed

With Hayden still coughing away, I decided to give this frog leg congee recipe from Amelia Liang’s Hearty Congee recipe book. Even though I have copied it onto my phone’s notebook, I still bought d wrong ingredient but I just went ahead & try it. Also, instead of congee, I cut it short by putting all into d rice cooker to go d lazy way.

End result – very tender legs! & Hayden took 1½ bowls of it!

• 4 frogs - washed & cut into bit pieces.
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 5 slices ginger

Marinate these overnite in d fridge.

• 1½ cup rice
• ½ cup lotus seeds

Rinse rice, drain & leave it aside for 15mins rinse lotus seeds & drain. Put rice into d rice cooker & pour in ard 1¾ cups of water. Add d marinated frogs & drained lotus seed onto d rice. Cook on fast cycle cause it’s not advisable to overcook d frog legs. If desired, add d marinated seasoning too but its good enough without it too.

芫荽鱼头豆腐汤

Was surfing d ard when I saw that my fav blog has posted a new soup recipe so I gave it a try today.
End result - It’s not that bad except that it’s a bit too oily due to d frying. Maybe next time I use less oil on a non-stick pan..

Ingredients:

姜片 : 3 – 6片 Ginger slices
鱼头: ½ 个/ 1个 (洗净, 用少许盐涂抹鱼头) Fish head - washed & season with little salt
米酒: 15g rice wine
水: 700ml water
嫩豆腐: 2块 (切小块) tofu, diced
盐、胡椒粉 : 适量 salt & pepper - small amt
芫荽: 5束 (洗净切段) Coriander 5 stalk

1) 烧热2汤匙爆香姜片
Heat 2 tablespoons & sauté d ginger
2) 投入盐腌制过的鱼头煎至金黄色时, 盏入米酒
Add d salted fish head & pan-fry till golden be4 adding d wine
3) 加入水煮至汤沸腾, 约15-30分钟至汤变成奶白色
Then add water be4 bringing to boil, abt 15-30 mins until soup turn into a milk white color
4) 放入豆腐煮约5分钟后
Add tofu & cook abt 5 mins
5) 加盐和胡椒调味, 撒入切成段的芜茜即可
if desired, add seasoning. Top with Coriander be4 serving


功能
有祛风清热, 开胃健脾的功效不寒不燥, 适合一家大小饮用如受风寒或淋雨后, 或长期在冷气房, 常感觉头痛,身痛, 鼻塞等, 可再加青葱(大颗的葱白效果更好)煮食效果更好

Function
Relieve/dispel pathogenic wind, clear internal heat, whet d appetite, & strengthen d spleen
Not cold or dry, thus suitable for whole family consumption
For those who :
a) was subjected to cold weather or rain;
b) was spending long hrs in air-conditioned rooms;
c) often feels headache, body pain, nasal congestion and so on,
Can add scallion or big green onions for a even better result/effect.

元肉雞湯

After 2 mths of Hot Yoga & reducing my food intake, my weight still floats betw 59k (on good days) & 61kg (on worst days). With not much improvement in my weight, I decided to give this soup therapy a try.
From d pic, it's looks oily but it's actually not oily at all. But it's quite sweet due to d dried longan meat.
元肉雞湯
雞肉 (切片) 四兩 Ckn meat 200g (washed & sliced) I replaced with pork ribs
當歸 八錢 Angelica roots 4-5slices (washed)
龍眼肉 一兩 dried longan meat 50g (washed)

將所有材料放入燉盅內，加適量的水，燉盅加蓋，隔水用文火燉三小時，最後調味即可飲用。
Put all ingredients into a stew pot. Add enough water to cover all ingredients. Cover & double boil for 3hrs. If desired, add seasoning be4 drinking.

李醫師指出此湯有養血活血和美容養顏之效。如你感消瘦無力、頭暈和面色乾枯，可試飲用。Recipe is provided by Dr Lee Nam, who stated that this soup is nourishing & promotes blood circulation & has the effect to improved 1’s appearance/color. If you feel unable to lose weight, or feel dizzy, or has withered/dried-up complexion, do give this soup a try.

Corn tonic soup_玉米滋补汤

With everyone in d family falling sick, there was no grocery shopping during d wkend. Furthermore, all of us have not got our appetite back so I better cook something simple. Thus I have to make do with withever I have in d fridge for tonite’s dinner. With limited ingredients on hand, this soup therapy recipe is d only recipe that I have almost all d ingredients.

玉米滋补汤Corn tonic soup

材料1 (洗净, 切段)
玉米 : 3 – 4条 Corn
红萝卜 : 2条 Carrots

材料2
枸杞子 : 15 – 30g Wolfberries
玉竹 : 30g P. odoratum

材料3
鸡肉/排骨 : 200 – 300g (川烫过) chkn meat/pork ribs (washed & scalded)

方法
1) 枸杞子, 玉竹洗净, 用水浸泡30分钟
Wash ingredients (2), then soak in water for abt 30mins
2) 加入玉米, 红萝卜和鸡肉, 大火煮开后, 转小火煮2 – 3 小时, 加入少许盐即可
Add rest of d ingredients, bring to boil be4 switching to low heat for 2-3hrs. Add salt if desired.
功能
有滋补强壮, 健脾开胃的功效
There is strengthen & nourishing effect on the spleen, efficacy in whetting/increase 1’s appetite
可日常饮用, 不燥不滞
Can be taken daily, it’s not dry/parched or sluggish

清热滋阴杂菜汤

This is just another soup therapy from Violet Fenying 陈粉樱's blog. I have always love to visit her blog simply because she posts lots of soup therapy recipe that's provided by 郭美伶医师(Dr. Guo Meiling) TCM. The recipes are usually very simple & easy to prepare. You just need to ensure that u know where to get some of d Chinese ingredients that’s usually required. But in this recipe , most can be found in normal supermkt.

清热滋阴杂菜汤

材料 (ingredient) (as shown in d pic)
(a)
排骨 : 500克 (洗净, 川烫过) Pork ribs, 500g (wash, scalded)

(b)
姜 : 1块 (拍扁) Ginger, 1piece (pat flat)

(c) 洗净, 切段 wash & slices
莲藕 : 1节 Lotus root, 1 section
牛蒡 : 1条 Burduck, 1 stick
玉米 : 2条 Corn, 2 stick
胡萝卜 : 3条 Carrot, 3 pc

方法Method
1) 将川烫过的排骨放入砂锅中, 加入水盖过表面
Put scalded ribs into casserole & add enough water to cover d surface of d ribs
2) 放入拍散的姜及材料3, 大火煮开后, 转慢火煮1小时 至汤汁变成白色
Place rest of ingredients into casserole & bring to boil. Then switch to low heat & simmer for 1hr or till it turns into a white sauce.
3) 加入盐调味即可 If desired, add salt be4 serving

功能Function
滋补清热, 常食用可补益身体
Nourishing & clear internal heat, beneficial to health/body when consume frequently
助消化, 保持大便通畅
Aid digestion, also helps maintain smooth stool

山药豆腐羹_Yam bean curd soup

MIL told my mum abt all d soup recipes that I have been trying out from the web that’s quite beneficial to our health so I went & get another interesting/easy recipe to let my mum try out. Her comment – too blend for her taste bud. Sigh… so diff to please...

山药豆腐羹

材料1
香菇 : 6 – 8朵 (洗净, 泡软后切丁, 保留浸泡的水) dried mushroom, washed, soaked until soft be4 dicing, reserve d water that was soaked
高汤: 适量 broth, moderate quantity

材料2
鲜山药 : 300g (去皮, 切丁) Fresh yam, peel & diced
嫩豆腐 : 1盒 (切成与山药同样大小) tender bean curd – 1box (cut into same size as fresh yam)
盐: 适量 salt: moderate quantity

材料3 (调均成粉浆) mix well
粟米粉 : 1tsp corn flour
水 : 2 tbsp water

材料4
鸡蛋 : 3个 (打散) eggs, beat well
芫荽1 – 2棵 (洗净切末) Coriander, 2 stalks, washed & minced

材料5
胡椒粉 : 适量 pepper: moderate quantity

方法
1) 锅中加入高汤, 冬菇水, 冬菇丁, 煮滚10分钟
Add (1) into pot & boil for 10mins
2) 加入鲜山药丁, 豆腐丁, 续煮5 – 10分钟后, 加盐调味
Add (2) & continue to boil for 5-10mins. Add salt if desired
3) 汤再沸腾时, 用粉浆勾芡至浓稠状, 淋入蛋液并撒香菜末, 胡椒粉即可
Once boiling, thicken with (3) be4 adding (4) & if desired (5) too.

功能
健脾滋肾，能补益身体而不燥，适合一家大小常食用
Strengthen spleen & nourish kidney, replenish d body & yet no too dry/parched. Suitable for whole family (elder or youngster) regular consumption.
尤其天气燥热时或工作忙碌常熬夜，觉疲倦、口干、咽干、手足心热、睡眠不安，大便干燥等
In particular, good to consume on dry/hot weather. Also good for those who:
a) have lots of late nites;
b) feel fatigue often;
c) have dry mouth/throat
d) have heaty/warm hands/legs
e) have un-peaceful/disturbed/restless sleep
f) are constipated; etc

Mixed Mushroom Soup_蘑菇什锦汤

Just saw this post this morning & decided to give it a try even though am missing 1 ingredient - water chestnut. Smell strongly of d dried beancurd skin but overall, tasted ok.
Mixed Mushroom Soup_蘑菇什锦汤

材料 Ingredient (1)
腐竹 : 50g (泡软, 切段) Yuba, soaked until soft, cut into sections
黑木耳 : 50g (泡软, 撕成小朵) black fungus, soaked until soft, then tear into small pieces
胡萝卜 : 1条 (洗净, 去皮, 切片) carrot, washed/peeled & sliced
马蹄 : 150g (去皮, 切片) water chestnut, peeled & sliced
姜 : 3 – 5 片 ginger slices

材料 Ingredient (2)
鲜冬菇 : 150g (洗净, 切片) fresh mushroom, washed & sliced
瘦肉 : 200g (洗净, 切片, 加少许酱清, 粟米粉拌匀) lean meat, washed & sliced, mix with little soya/corn flour

材料 Ingredient (3)
盐 : 适量 Salt, moderate if desired
麻油 : 适量 Sesame oil, moderate

方法 Method
1) 锅中加水适量, 加入材料1, 煮5 – 10 分钟
With enough water to cover ingredients (1) in a pot, cook for 5-10mins
2) 加入材料2煮至肉熟, 加盐调味
Add (2)& cook till meat is done. Add salt if desired
3) 熄火前再加麻油即可
Turn off heat be4 adding sesame oil

功能 Function
补气益胃，清热生律，和中润肠。
Rep vital breath & beneficial to stomach, clear heat & regulate inner temp, harmonise & moist intestines
可经常食用，尤其是中老年人及体质燥热、大便易干燥者
Suitable to regular consumption, esp d elderly & ppl with dry/hot physical, or ppl having dry stools
或天气炎热、过食燥热食物时食用
Also suitable on hot weather, or when excessive heaty/dry food were consumed.

Thai Jellyfish salad (Yam naem khao tod)

When I 1st tried this salad, I was so in love! Using d limited Thai language that I know, I tried to ask d street vendor for d name but I never got it (guess I need to practice d language more). Few mths later, I finally mgd to find out from another customer buying from d same street vendor that this salad is called Yam naem khao tod (Yam Naem for short). She even bother to explained that it’s best eaten with betel leaves due to d its medicinal properties.

I really love this salad that can be bought along d streets of Bangkok for only THB25. In fact, it’s so good that I have it almost every day for lunch after my Hot Yoga session.

The balance of fish sauce, lime juice, sugar & salt listed here are guidelines. Thai salad is an individual dish that you will find you might like with more of any 1 ingredient than what the recipe calls for.

• 2 cups jelly fish, shredded
• 1 tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• ¼ cup Scallion
• ¼ cup ginger, sliced into thin slices
• ½ cup peanuts, toasted
• 1-2 tbsp fish sauce
• dried peppers flakes, optional

Cut jelly fish into shreds, soak in water for 2 hour, take them out, soak in warm water for 4 hours & shift into ice water. Before eating, take them out, squeeze water out & place on a plate. You can also microwave the jelly fish for 30 seconds be4 adding them to the salad to kill any residual bacteria.

Just put them all into a mixing bowl & mix them well. They r usually wrap in either lettuce, basil, or betel leaves be4 putting into 1’s mouth.

Optional - for a vegetarian, omit jelly fish & substitute soy sauce for fish sauce. You can also replace jelly fish with dried shrimp. Some also prefer tamarind in place of lemon juice.

番茄丝瓜汤 Tomato & loofah soup

Hayden still has not much appetite so I decided to give this recipe a try. d tomato taste is very strong & it's actually quite ok without adding salt/sugar.
番茄丝瓜汤

材料1
丝瓜 : 300g (去皮, 洗净, 切成滚刀块) Loofah (peeled, washed, cut into chunk)
番茄 : 400g (洗净, 川烫后剥皮, 切块) Tomato (wash, peel away skin after scalding in hot water, then diced)

材料2
黑木耳 : 20g (洗净, 泡软) Black fungus (washed, soaked until soft)

材料 ingredient 3 (拌均) mix well
瘦肉 : 200g (洗净, 切片) Lean meat (washed, sliced)
酱清 : 1 tsp light soya sauce
胡椒粉 : ¼ tsp peper
玉米粉 : 1 tsp corn flour

方法
1) 烧热锅放少量油 (可用橄榄油) 投入材料1翻炒几下
Heat up pot with small amt of olive oil, stir-fry (1)
2) 加入黑木耳略炒一下, 加水适量煮滚
Add (2) & stir-fry few more rd be4 adding 1l water. Bring to boil
3) 加入肉片, 添加盐, 白糖调味, 再滚2分钟, 熄火, 可随意添加少量麻油
Add (3) & boil another 2mins be4 switching off heat. Can also add small amt of sesame oil / salt / sugar if desired.

功能
有健胃消食, 清热润燥的功效 Helps strengthen stomach & digestion system, efficacy in clearing inner heat & moisted inner dryness
天热或食用燥热食物或熬夜时出现口干咽干, 没有胃口,皮肤干燥, 大便硬或不畅等
Suitable to consume during hot weather, or when 1 consumes too much heaty food, or when dry mouth/throat arise due to lots of late nite, or when 1 has no appetite, or dry skin condition, or hard/unsmooth stool, etc..

涼拌醋藕

Saw this on TVB & decided to give it a try. But have problem finding d main ingredient - plum vinegar. So I decided to use peach vinegar instead. End result - a VERY TASTY salad/ snack! This is gg to be a must-have in my fridge from today onwards!

涼拌醋藕 Lotus root vinegar salad
材料 ingredients：
蓮藕半斤 ½kg lotus，
梅子醋½杯 ½cup plum vinegar，
米醋½杯 ½cup rice vinegar，
糖2大匙 2tbsp sugar (optional)

作法 method：
蓮藕切薄片，放入滾水中加少許鹽汆燙1分鐘後，泡冰水至涼瀝乾放容器。 醋與糖混合後，加入蓮藕中
Cook sliced lotus roots in boiling water with pinch of salt for 1min. Move lotus into iced water till lotus is chilled. Drain. Then add rest of ingredients in a container & mix well. Add drained lotus roots & keep in d fridge overnite.

功效 function：
消除疲勞 eliminate fatigue
穩定情緒 stablise emotion
促進體內廢物排 promote elimination of inner-body waste

三润姜汤

MIL having sore throat so I decided to give this recipe a try. Hopefully it will make her feel better after drinking.

三润姜汤(3 Moist Ginger soup)

材料1 (ingredient)
梨: 4个 (去芯, 切小块) 4 Pears (de-core, cut into cubes)
腐竹 : 2块 (泡软，撕成小片) 2 pieces of dried tofu strips (soak till soft, cut into small pieces)
密枣 : 8粒 (洗净)8 Honey dates (washed)
老姜 : 8片 Old Ginger 8 slices
水 : 8碗 bowl of water

材料2
冰糖 : 适量 Rock sugar (moderate)

方法
1) 将所有材料放進煲內, 大火煮滾後转慢火煲1小時
Put ingredient 1 into pot. Bring to boil be4 switching to low heat for 1hr.
2) 加入冰糖, 再煮5分钟即可
Add rock sugar & cook for another 5mins be4 serving.

功能
滋阴润肺, 健脾开胃
Nourish Yin & d lungs, strengthen spleen & open appetite
此甜品因加入老姜, 故滋润而不过寒, 同时有开胃化痰的功效
Because of d added old ginger, this dessert is moist enough & yet not too 'cold'. Also, it helps improve appetite & at d same time useful in disolving phlegm.
适合大部分体质的人食用, 同时有润肤美颜, 保护咽喉的作用
Suitable for most ppl. It's also good for skin & helps protect d throat too.