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.

Sweet Potato Mantou

During my recent trip to Taiwan, almost every morning we can find some freshly made Mantou in our breakfast menu. In Taiwan, most of their breakfast dishes are Mantou, Porridge with preserved vegetables like caixin, bamboo shoot, salted egg and etc. And other than Mantou, you can also find their famous Baked Golden Sweet Potato in some shops or street market.

So for last weekend, I decided to combine some orange flesh sweet potato with the Japanese sweet potato that can be easily found in any supermarket. This Mantou will give you two different textures, as I have shredded the orange flesh sweet potato as filling and combined the mashed Japanese Sweet Potato together with the flour ingredients.

Ingredients: (makes about 6)
125g Plain Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
20ml Lukewarm Water
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
2.5 Tablespoons Caster Sugar
100 - 120g Japanese Sweet Potato, skin removed
50g Orange Flesh Sweet Potato, shredded
1/2 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
20ml Water

Method:
1. Sift the plain flour and baking powder together in a big bowl together with the caster sugar till combined.
2. Remove the outer skin of the Japanese sweet potato, cut into small cubes (about 1cm) then rinse it with water and place in a microwave safe bowl together with 20ml of water and cook on High heat together with a cup of water for about 4 minutes. (Stop 1 minutes in between and give it a stir so that it will cook evenly)
3. Use a fork or food masher to mash the sweet potato cubes to form a paste, set aside for later use.
4. Add the dry yeast into the lukewarm water and give it a quick stir then set aside for about 5 minutes till bubbles appeared(refer to the picture above).
5. Next slowly stir in the yeast water into the flour mixture and using a pair of chopstick then follow by the mashed pumpkin till it form a soft dough.
6. Rub some oil on your hand then give the dough a quick knead till well combine.
7. Set the dough aside in a lightly flour/oil bowl and let it proof for about 20 - 30 minutes so that the dough will raise slightly bigger.
8. Knead proof dough on a lightly floured work surface for a few second, flatten and roll into a rectangular shape shown in the above photo, sprinkle some shredded orange flesh sweet potato on it, roll it up lengthwise into an oblong shape.
9. Repeat the process once or twice till the shredded sweet potato finished.
10. Roll the final dough into oblong shape, cut them into equal portion.
11. Place each shaped mantou on the steamer rack with greaseproof paper below it sprinkle the mantou with some water.
12. Place the steamer rack in the boiling water and steam the mantou over medium heat for about 8 - 10 minutes. (depending on the size)
13. When done, removed and served hot/warm.

Note:
a) Lukewarm is about 36 - 37 degree Celsius
b) If the sweet potato dough is too dry, you can add about extra 5 - 10ml of water to knead the dough.
c) You might need to cook the sweet potato for about 3 - 5 minutes more before it will be soften depend on the power of your microwave.


This is an interesting Mantou with dual sweet potato texture. So if you like sweet potato, do give this a try. I am sure you and your family will loves this healthy snack for a chance during tea-time or breakfast.

2010 Taiwan Trip - Day 1

10 April 2010, we have being preparing and looking forward to this special day since January 2010. And finally today is the "Big Day" for us. Everyone of us wake up pretty early in the morning and get ready for our last minutes packing/checking before heading to the Airport.

Our flight to Taiwan is leaving at about 12.30pm and accordingly to the tour leader we have to reach Terminal 3 @ Changi Airport around 10.30 for early check-in and briefing. After check-in, we roam around at the duty-free shops and to my surprised I spot "Sakae Sushi" mini counter.

Although are able to board the flight around 12pm but the plane did not take off till 1.30pm due to heavy traffic congestion at the run-way. So sad... everyone of us has to wait patiently for the plane to move forward accordingly to the queue number.... we are number 10 on the list.

As usual, as a food blogger, I won't missed out any chances to take some photo shots on the food that we eat. And this round I am quiet satisfy with the quality of the food served on board. Here are some shots of the food range from Child Meal - Chicken Pasta, and two choices of Adult Meal which is Honey Mustard Chicken and Char Siew Rice. Each meal served with bun, salad, snack and drink of your choice. Rey was very excited with his meal as this is the 1st time he travels with Singapore Airlines.

After meal, we sit back to relax on the on board entertainment like movies, games and etc during the 4 hours journey to Taipei. At about 5.20pm we arrived at the Tao Yuan International Airport - Taipei (台湾桃园国际机场) and were greeted by their local tour guide - Jackson whom will be bringing us around during our visit at Taiwan. Upon arrival, we are bought to "City Suites - Gateway" for our dinner before going to the hotel.

And due to the delay of the flight and tiredness, most of us did not really eat much at the Buffet Dinner. Em... But I have found some interesting dishes which is the "Stir-fry Herbal Chicken Hearts" and "Pan-fry Sardines" that serves with pepper salt.

P/s: For more photos of the trip check us out @ Cuisine Paradise Fan Page, click HERE.