Showing posts with label Soup ~ Double-boiled (炖汤). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soup ~ Double-boiled (炖汤). Show all posts

Monday 3 March 2014

[Weekly Meal Planner] Double-Boiled Winter Melon Soup And Pan-fried Batang Fish

Time flies and now that we are already in the 1st week of March where most of the primary school kids are having their CA1 (Continual Assessment Test) I am sure most of the parents will be busy with the revisions. In this post I will be sharing how to prepare individual serving portion of Double-boiled Winter Melon Soup as well as one of our favourite dish; Pan-fried Mackerel (Batang / 马鲛鱼).

Different Types of Ceramic Soup Pot
I am sure you have seen these ceramic soup pot (炖盅) while ordering double-boiled soup from restaurants or food center. Above are some of the collections that I have for different type of soup ranging from savoury to dessert. For your information, you can either used individual soup pot for a bigger pot for sharing purpose, meaning it all depends on what type of soup and the serving methods.

Wednesday 10 October 2012

Huiji Double-boiled Chicken Essence

Year end school exam is around the corner and I believe most of the parents as just as stress as their kids who are going to take the exam. And often during this period, bottled chicken essence is always something mum would give to the kids to keep them alert as well as nourishing their fatigue body.  Although bottled chicken essence might be convenience, but as a mum we always wanted something better for our kid(s) so I am sure we won't mind taking the time to prepare our own Chicken Essence which is full of goodness.

If Chinese herbs is not accessible in your areas or you don't really know the quantity to add, perhaps you could add a cup (20ml, huiji measuring cup) of Huiji Waist Tonic like what I did. Huiji Waist Tonic is good in a way because it is alcohol free plus it consists of a few types of marvelous Chinese Herbs such as Cordyceps (冬蟲草) which helps to tonify the lungs and kidneys, arrest bleeding and dissolve phlegm. Du Zhong (杜仲) helps to tonify the liver and kidney that suits everyone in the family.


HUIJI DOUBLE-BOILED CHICKEN ESSENCE


Chicken Essence is the Chicken Juice gathered from double-boiled the prepared chicken after 3 - 4 hours of cooking time. It has a lot of nutritional values which helps to restore physical strength, replenish body fluid lost through  childbirth, illness or stress. On top of it by adding extra Huiji Waist Tonic to the chicken essence it also helps to benefit those individual which has fatigue body, lack of sleep or weakness caused by illnesses.



(Serves: 1 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 3 - 4 hours)

Ingredients:
3 Chicken Breast / 1 Kampong Chicken
1 Cup (20ml, using huiji measuring cup) Huiji Waist Tonic
8 Pieces Wolfberries, optional


Method:-
1. Trim and remove the skin and fats on the chicken parts used. Next pound the chicken meat using a mallet (shown above) or back of a chopper till soft and tender.

2. If you don't have a stewing pot for double-boiled, you could use a small porcelain rice bowl, over turn it and place in a double-boiler pot (shown above).

3. Scatter the wolfberries around the bowl, if using. Place the prepared chicken meat on and around the bowl (refer to the photo above).

4. Cover the double-boiler. Place it into the slow-cooker. Add water to almost 3/4 full in the slow-cooker and cook on AUTO mode for about 3 - 3.5 hours.

5. When done, pour soup on serving bowl. Stir in 1 cup (20ml) of Huiji Waist Tonic and serve chicken essence hot.


For some of you, the process might look slightly tedious especially on pounding/smashing up of the chicken. But trust me, it is actually quiet easy using a mallet or back of the chopper. After which you just need to arrange the prepared chicken in a double-boiler and cook it in a slow-cooker for a few hours before you or your loved ones could enjoy this wholesome goodness.

If you like to try other recipe using Huiji Waist tonic you could check out my Steamed Drunken Prawn recipe HERE.

Friday 28 September 2012

4 Quick Recipes On Soup And Dishes

Weekend is approaching and I am sure most full-time working mothers are looking forward to prepare some quick and easy nutritious dishes for the family during weekend lunch or dinner. In this post, I would be sharing 4 quick recipes (2 soup, 2 main dish) to inspire your weekend cooking for the family.

Since working mum has a lot of household chores to take care during weekend, I specially pick up dishes that required minimum preparation time and use "steaming" instead of "stir-fry" to avoid oily kitchen stove. So I am sure these 4 simple soup and steamed dishes would come in handy for your weekend meal ideas.

Saturday 6 November 2010

Chicken, Longan and Burdock Soup

Remember my "Seah's Emperor Herbs Chicken" post which I have posted in late October. This is part II of the post on how I used the other half of the chicken which I have mentioned in that post about cooking this "Longan Burdock Soup".

This is another version of my "burdock" soup which use chicken parts for those who prefer chicken flavour soup. But if you are interested about the recipe using pork muscle on the Double-Boiled Pork Muscle with Burdock Soup you can always refer to the link HERE.

These are the ingredients and steps for making the chicken soup:-

Ingredients:-
1/2 Portion of Chicken, about 500g
200g of Burdock(牛蒡), cut into sections
10g of Yuzhu(玉竹)
10g of Dried Longan(桂圆肉)
6 - 8 Red Dates(红枣)
1/2 Tablespoon of Wolfberries(枸杞子)2
1.2 Litre of Water

Method:
1. Rinse the herbs and set a side while preparing the chicken.
2. Clean, trim and rinse the chicken, cut it into halves or quarters then blanched it in boiling water for about 3 - 5 minutes. Remove and rinse well.
3. Bring 1.2 Litre of water to boil in a big pot, add in all the herbs and let it simmer on medium low heat for about 5 minutes before adding the chicken.
4. When the mixture comes to boil again after adding the chicken, transfer the mixture to a slow cooker and cook it on AUTO mode for about 2 - 2.5 hours.
5. Serve it warm before meal or together with steam rice.

Burdock is a root vegetables that is high in fibre, low in calories and contain moderate source of iron and calcium which is good for the body. With adding of dried Longan to this soup it nourishes the heart and the spleen and at the same time works well for treating tensions, palpitation, insomnia and forgetfulness which makes this a great soup for the whole family.


Wednesday 20 October 2010

Double-Boiled Pork Muscle with Burdock Soup

What do you need most during these humid and scorching days? I am sure lot of fluid intake in any form such as drinks, soup, dessert and etc becomes the most important task in our daily life. Today I would like to share with you a new ingredient that I have used only once for making the Korean Chicken Soup.

This is a very nutritious and popular soup for kids as the sweetness from the sweet corn and gaint red dates could actually mask off most of the "root" taste from the burdock. You can either serve this soup before or together with your meal.

Burdock comes as a long tapering, soil-covered root, also known as niu bang (牛蒡) by the Chinese. There are many reasons why you should include this root vegetable in your diet. This root is high in fibre and low in calories, rich in potassium and it is also a moderate source of iron and calcium.

The root is often peeled and shredded or cut into chunks, and prepared in soups, porridge, rice and pickled and stuffed into sushi rice. Once the skin is removed, the flesh oxidises quickly so be sure to have a bowl of lightly salted water to prevent browning if you wish to use it for salad.

Here are some of the ingredients used for the soup. Using of pork muscle for a double-boiled soup is always a good choice, as it will retain the flavour of the soup and also usually the meat is discard and we drinks only the soup.

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 3)
250g Burdock, cut into thick chunks
2 - 3 Pieces of Pork Muscle
1 Sweet Corn, cut into section
6-8 Red Dates
1/2 Tablespoon Wolfberries, optional
1.5 Liter of Boiling Water

Method:
1. Trim, clean and place the pork muscle in boiling water for about 2 minutes, remove and rinse well. Set aside for later use.
2. Wash and scrab the burdock with a brush then cut in into thick chunk, alternatively you can use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer skin before cutting it into thick chunk.
3. Remove the husk and leaves of the corn, rinse and cut it into 3 sections and halves.
4. Bring 1.5 Litre of water to boil in a medium soup pot, add in all the above ingredients except wolfberries.
5. When the mixture comes to boil again, lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour or alternatively you can transfer the soup to a slow cooker and cook it on AUTO for about 2.5 hours or so. (add in wolfberries 15 minutes before cooking time)

Often Burdock is used together with other herbs to treat a variety of illness such as colds, throat infections, pneumonia and tonsillitis. This root vegetable is also a great blood-cleansing ingredient that makes it indispensable in treatment for skin disorders. So if you have not try using this wonder ingredient perhaps this soup might gives you a good head start with it.

Lastly, thanks to all the lovely readers from Cuisine Paradise facebook page (link) for their suggestions on using burdock. Here are some of their suggestions which you might be interested to take a look.


Friday 27 August 2010

Double-Boiled Durian Chicken Soup - 榴莲炖鸡汤

Durian is known as the "King of all Fruits" and in Singapore we can have Durian almost throughout the whole year. And among all the varieties of durian in the stalls, I am sure most of the people will go for either "Cat Mountain King - 猫山王" or "Red Prawn - 红虾" which are bonds to make people crave for more. In recent years there are so many special and delicious products that are made from fresh durian flesh available in the market such as: durian moon cake, ice-cream, muffins, and etc.

Today I am not going to use durian to make any cakes or dessert but rather I will like to share with you on how to make a pot of simple and delicious Durian Soup. From what I have read up, in Thailand many woman or confinement ladies will make this soup to strengthen their body as Durian is consider to be one of the best ingredient. There are different method on making this soup, some of them will use the durian shell, soft white flesh inside the shell or the durian meat itself. But here, I will choose to use the durian flesh together with the seed.

Since you can always find all sort of varieties of Durian at the local Durian Stalls or some supermarket. If you wish, do pick up some and try out this double-boiled durian chicken soup which will surprised you and your family. This soup has many therapeutic effects, including circulating of the blood and qi in your body, nourishing yin and it is also suitable for everyone to consume. For those who loves durian, this soup gives a little hint of durian aroma and sweetness but if you prefer something stronger taste, you can always mixed the soup with the flesh to make it more tastier and creamy texture.

Durian is also rich in protein and contain good source of nutrition in the fruit category. It has a special aroma, which are appetizers to promote the effect of appetite, including dietary fiber which can promote bowel movement. But you should not over consume it because of its rich nutrition that your stomach might not be able to fully absorbed it. And if you eat durian, you can always have a few mangosteen which is the "Queen of Fruit" to cool down your body from eating too much of durian.

Now let's take a look at today's ingredients which only consists of 4 items: -

Ingredients: (serves 2)
6 seeds of Durian Fruit
1 Chicken Drumbstick
2 - 3 Pieces of Pork Ribs
800 ml Chicken broth or Soup stock

Tips:
~ When getting the durian, try to choose those flash that is dry and not too ripe that it can be kept whole throughout the cooking.
~ You can also add in 2 slices of ginger to enhance the flavour of the soup.
~ The natural sweetness and taste of the soup is good enough to consume without any extra seasonings.



If you don't have slow cooker, you can always double-boiled it in another pot over the stove on low heat too.

Method:
1. Trim and cut the chicken drumpstick into pieces, then bring a pot of water to boil.
2. Blanced the chicken and ribs in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, removed, rinse and set aside.
3. Next arrange the Durian neatly into the bottom of the double-boiler pot, then top with chicken and ribs on it and place the pot into the inner pot of the slow cooker.
4. Pour the chicken stock into a small soup pot, bring it to boil then slowly add into the durian ingredient pot.
5. Remember to use boiling water for the inner pot of the slow cooker to double-boiled the soup.
6. Set the slow cooker to AUTO and cook for about 1.5 hours and serve it warm.

After looking at this interesting Durian Chicken Soup recipe, if you are interested in reading more on other related durian recipes such as: Durian Fried Rice, Durian Chocolate Chiffon Cake, Durian Tiramisu, Durian Cheesecake with Chocolate Fudge and etc. Click here (HERE) for more recipe articles. Posted by Picasa




p/s: If you will like to read more on the chinese version of this recipe, do hop over to my blog at Omy HERE.

Sunday 25 April 2010

Double-Boiled Amercian Ginseng With Lean Pork

Recently mum has being complaining that she is feeling fatigue and body aching due to the weather and amount of household chore she is coping as well as taking care of her precious grandson. So in order to reward her, I decided to make a bowl of this Ginseng Soup for her.

This is a very good and reviving soup for adult or even youngsters whom always stay up late for studies. American Ginseng or known as 花旗參/西洋参 is sweet in taste, with a hint of bitterness and cool in nature. It nourishes the Yin energy in the lungs, clears Asthenic Fire, benefit the Stomach and promotes secretion of body fluid. It mainly treats Dryness of Lungs and Stomach and dire thirst and Qi, therefore strengthens the internal organs.

Dried Longan taste sweet and of neutral nature where it nourishes the heart and the spleen, benefits bloods and calms the spirit. It works well for treating tensions, palpitation, insomnia and forgetfulness.

Ingredients: (server 1)
10-12 Slices Of American Ginseng(花旗参)
10 Dried Longan (桂圆肉)
1 Teaspoon Wolfberries
60g Pork Fillet, sliced
400ml Boiling Water
1 Hard-boiled Egg, shelled, optional

Methods:
1. Rinse the American Ginseng slices and Dried Longan in hot water then drain off.
2. Blanched the pork fillet in boiled water for 30 seconds, removed, rinse and set aside.
2. Put all the ingredients except wolfberries in a small double-boiler pot in a slow-cooker and double-boiled for about 2 hours on low heat.
3. Add in wolfberries at the last 15 minutes, cover and continue to cook before serving it warm 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime.

Notes: When taking this drink it is best that you don't eat any dish or soup that contain raddish or beans for 1 - 2 days, because Chinese believed that raddish will drain and absorb all the good source from the Ginseng.

The purpose of adding pork fillet is to sweeten and enhance the taste of this soup. If you want it to be a vegetarian soup, omit pork and egg or you can replace pork with chicken if you prefer poultry. Posted by Picasa


Friday 26 March 2010

Double-Boiled Fresh Lily Bulbs Soup

Recently a lot of my son's classmates as well as a few members in our family are suffering for dry cough/sore throat due to the hot and humid weather. And while chatting with one of my son's classmate parent, she has shared with me some remedies for smoothing throat as well as cough which they practice way back in her hometown, in China. Although the ingredients that they used are rather simple and inexpensive, but the result is so effective and some of it can also be treated as one of the summer cooling dessert too.....

Lily bulbs taste slightly sweet and is slightly Cold in nature. It benefits the Lungs and Heart as well as nourishes the Lungs, stops cough and calms the nerves. It has certain effects on cough and helps with anxiety and insomnia. Lily Bulbs are rich in proteins, phosphorous and carbohydrates which is one of the good body tonifying and nerve calming Chinese medicine for those suffering from cough due to coldness and loose stools should not eat. Fresh Lily bulbs are rich in glucose that promotes digestion and they are commonly used in cooking and desserts.

Ginkgo nourishes the lungs and relieves asthma but this cannot be taken too much at a time.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
2 - 3 Medium Size Fresh Lily Bulbs(鲜百合)
8 - 10 Fresh Ginkgo Nuts
500ml Boiling Water
Rock Sugar to Taste
2 Pandan Leaves, optional

Method:
1. Rinse, clean and remove the petals from the bulbs, soak in water for a few seconds to remove dirt.
2. Wash and clean the pandan leave then tie it into a knot and set aside.
3. Bring 500ml of water to boil, add in the fresh ginkgo nuts, lily bulbs petals and pandan leave and bring it to boil.
4. Transfer the mixture to a double-boiler and place it in a slow cooker set on AUTO mode and cook for about 1.5 hour on HIGH.
5. Or alternatively, you can simmer on low heat over the stove for about 30 minutes.
6. Sweeten it with rock sugar and serve warm.


Note:
~ You can purchase Fresh Lily Bulbs and Ginkgo Nuts is most local supermarket at the vegetable chiller section.

This is a very tasty sweet soup that is suitable for all members of the family. And if you are towards the healthy or weight-watching side, perhaps you can omit the adding of rock sugar and consume this soup on base on it's natural sweetness and fragrance that is being released from the lily bulbs petals. My son loves the taste of this soup and also due to the long hour of simmering/double-boiled, the lily petals will be soften with the melt -in your mouth texture. Posted by Picasa


Friday 26 February 2010

Double-Boiled Tian Qi With Pork Muscle

Mum's hand is still not recovering quiet well despite of the doctors/methods that she tried to speed up the recovery. She often felt that her right hand fingers are not as flexible as what they are before the injury. She has being visiting one of this famous Chinese Physician in Chinatown area and according to the Physician, she advised my mum to boil this "Tian Qi With Pork Muscle" soup to regulate the blood, heals bruises and alleviating pain.

Since Mum's hand is still not well to lift heavy things or doing the washing and etc, I volunteer to help her prepare the soup according to what the Chinese Physician suggested. Since "Tian Qi - 田七" is usually consumed by man instead of woman due to it's nature of medical value. And for my mum's age of 50+, the physician advised her to divide 38g( 一两) into 3 cooking portion.

"Tian Qi - 田七" is sweet in taste but with a hint of bitterness and it is also warm in nature. This herb helps to promotes blood circulation, stops bleeding, ease bruises and swelling while killing pain. It is commonly prescribed to cure external swelling, bruises or sprains which is just the correct symptom that my mum is facing at the moment.

This soup might contain a lot of side ingredients in order to neutralized the taste of the Tian Qi. According to the Medical Store owner where I bought the Tian Qi from, she advised me to add in around 1/2 Tablespoon of "American Ginseng/Pao Shen - 泡参片" in order to build up the "QI" regulation in her body.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
3 Pork Muscles
9g Tian Qi(田七片)
1/2 Tablespoon Pao Shen(泡参片)
5g YuZhu(玉竹)
5g Huai Shan(淮山)
4 Large Red Dates (红枣)
1 Tablespoon Dried Longan(龙眼干)
1/2 Tablespoon Wolfberries(枸杞子)
750ml Water

Method:
1. Trim the pork muscles, rinse and blanched in boiling water for about 3 minutes, remove, rinse and set a side.
2. Rinse the herbs, except the wolfberries and set aside.
3. Next bring the 750ml water to boil in a small saucepan, add in the herbs(except wolfberries) and the pork muscles. When the water come to boil again, lower the heat and simmer for another 5 minutes.
4. Transfer all the ingredients and soup to a double-boiler which you have placed in the slow-cooker(remember to fill hot water in the inner-pot of the slow-cooker to at least 3/4 high, you can refer to the photos on how I placed the pot in the slow-cooker HERE).
5. Let the soup cooked in the slow-cooker on AUTO mode for about 3 hours, add in wolfberries in the last 20 minutes or so.
6. You can served this soup before meal or before bedtime.

Overall, this is a very flavour soup which can be consumed at least once a month or so. The adding of dried longan and red dates helps to lift up the tired soul and makes you more refreshing. By adding these two ingredients and wolfberries together they make this soup taste sweet from the hint of bitterness of the "Tian Qi" and "Pao Shen". Posted by Picasa


Saturday 21 November 2009

Double-Boiled Huai Shan Chicken Soup

A bowl of warm and hearty soup is always a great comfort food for rainy season like these few weeks. After a long day at work, having a bowl of homecook soup is always such a blessing in life. For me, I am very particular about soup and I must have soup at least thrice a week. I believed a bowl of homecook soup consists of all kind of nourtition and will helps strengthen our body and prevent diseases as well as common sickness.

Soups can be made in different ways such as double-steamed(double-boiled), slow boiled and quick boiled. In this modern society, most of the households are equipped with more advance availability of alternative cooking utensils that can shorten the cooking process but yet retain its natural flavour. Posted by Picasa

Like I have used to share in most of my "Soup Posts", Red Dates and Wolfberries are some very common Chinese Herbs ingredients that can be added to our daily soup as part of the ingredients for flavouring. Today's main ingredient is "Huai Shan - 淮山" or sometime which is also refer to as "Shan Yao - 山药". Fresh Huai Shan is mostly sold in supermarkets or wet markets which you might not recognise the fresh Huai Shan as the appearance looks very different from the dried type that are thinly slices and harden before packing. The fresh one will be found in long stick-like root form with skin intact. After peeling the outer skin, you will find it wet and excessively slimy. But don't worry, the sticky substances will disappear once it is boiled in water.

Fresh Huai Shan is nature and sweet in taste that is similar to sweet potato or potato texture when used as a soup ingredient. It benefits the Spleen, Lungs and the Kidneys and strength the health.

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 3)
2 Chicken Drumstick, with thigh attached
300g Fresh Huai Shan(淮山)
8 - 10 Big Red Dates(红枣)
1/2 Tablespoon Wolfberries(枸杞子)
1 Honey Date (金丝蜜枣), optional
1 Litre of water

Method:
1. Wash, trim and blanched the chicken in boiling water for about 3 - 5 minutes, rinse with tap water and set aside.
2. Rinse the fresh huai shan to remove any dirt, peel the outer skin and cut the fresh into thick chunks. (fresh huai shan might feel sticky after removing the outer skin, just rinse with water and cook as per normal)
3. Bring the pot of water to boil, add in all the ingredients, except the wolfberries, when the water come to boil again, let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes on low heat.
4. Transfer the mixture to a slow cooker and cook on AUTO for about 2 hour. Add in the wolfberries on the last 30 minutes of cooking time. (or you can simmer the soup mixture over low heat on the stove for about 45 minutes to 1 hour)
5. Season with salt and serve with rice or you can use it as a soup base for noodles.


Monday 2 November 2009

Double-Boiled LingZhi Soup

It has being a long time since the last time I made this "Ling Zhi - 灵芝" Soup. We used to have this at least once a month which is recommend by the Chinese physician. You can even make this soup in different version by manipulate with the ingredients as per your preference.

Lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum) is a woody mushroom highly regarded in traditional medicine and is widely consumed in the belief that it promotes health and longevity, lowers the risk of cancer and heart disease and boosts the immune system. So in the double-boiled version of mine, I used the above ingredients such as Red Dates, Dried Longan, Wolfberries, Honey Dates, Hard-boiled Egg and Ling Zhi Slices.

Red Date (红枣): It is a blood tonic, that can be widely used with other ingredients to nourish the body.

Dried Longan (桂圆肉): It influences the heart and spleen channels. Calms the spirit, nourishes the blood and strengthens the spleen. Commonly used to treat heart palpitations, insomnia, forgetfulness, worrisome tendencies and overwork.

Wolfberries (枸杞子): It strengthens body and bones, supplements kidneys and energy, nurses liver and clarifies eyes. It also cultivates energy and aids yang bodies moistness lungs and stops coughing. Other than use it as a soup ingredient, it can be used as a condiment in frying dishes or used to make tea. Choose Qizi which are full and with bright colour.

Ingredients: (Serves 2)
5g Ling Zhi Slices
10g Dried Longan
5g Wolfberries
8 - 10 Big Red Dates
Honey Dates (金丝蜜枣)
2 Hard-boiled Egg, removed shell
800ml Water
1 Knot of Pandan Leave, optional

Method:
1. Place the uncooked eggs in a small saucepan and bring to boil, then simmer for about 5 -7 minutes, remove from pan, rinse and peel off the shell then set aside.
2. Rinse all the herbs ingredients then place them (except the wolfberries) in the pot of boiling water (800ml) and simmer together with the pandan leave for about 3 minutes.
3. Add in the eggs and bring to boil again then transfer the mixture to a ceramic pot.
4. As usual, I always place the ceramic pot into the slow-cooker and cook on Auto for about 2 hours. (you can take a look a the sample HERE)
3. Add in the wolfberries at the very last 30 minutes of cooking time.

Note:
~ You can replace the hard-boiled eggs to a few quail eggs if you prefer a small portion.
~ If you find the taste a bit too bitter for your linking, you can add some rock sugar to sweet it.


Nothing is more heartwarming then a bowl of homemade soup after a long day of work. And during this flu bugs season, it good that you can whip up something simple and yet good for your healthy. You can consume this soup either before bedtime or in the morning and serve it as breakfast. The nature of this soup will taste a bit bitter due to the adding of Ling Zhi so do not overdose it in the ingredients portion. The adding of the hard-boiled egg also add extra protein to this soup. Posted by Picasa


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