Lemon Grass with Ginger and Red Dates Drink

Lately, have been real busy and haven’t had any time for any new recipes. Guess this will last till year end. Have been brewing lemon grass with ginger quite often lately, it is examination period! Lemon grass can help to relieve anxiety and stress, detox, stimulating digestion and blood circulation. It can be served hot or chilled. The amount of ginger can be increased, for those who are nursing a cold.

Today, I added red date to it, so it can also be a confinement hot beverage if desired. I like to brew this tea in the morning and keep in the claypot or hot water flask till afternoon, by then the flavour is real robust.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 13 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 4 stalks fresh lemon grass
° 4 slices ginger
° 8 seedless red dates
° 500ml water
° rock sugar to taste
° 2 stalks fresh lemon grass (optional), for garnish

Method
1. Peel off the outer layers of the lemon grass stalks, leaving the tender whitish centre. Cut into 7.5cm pieces and bruised.
2. Place the lemon grass, ginger, red dates and water in a pot. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5-8 minutes. Add rock sugar and simmer until it dissolved.
3. Serve hot or chilled. Add a stalk of fresh lemon grass as swizzle stick, if desired.

Stir-Fried Pumpkin with Fresh Lily Bulb and Wolfberries

Oh, I have too many fresh lily bulbs. Besides using to cook the broccoli, I still have lots of them left. Guess, pumpkin, lily bulb and wolfberries can be a nice combination. Corn flour or cornstarch can be used instead of tapioca starch.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g pumpkin (weight after peeling), cut into chunks
° 25g fresh lily bulb, petals separated
° ½ teaspoon wolfberries, soaked
° 1 slice ginger, finely chopped
° 1 tablespoon olive oil
° ½ teaspoon sugar (optional)
° 1 teaspoon tapioca starch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water
° 125ml water
° fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Method
1. Heat oil in a wok. Add the ginger and fry till fragrant.
2. Add the pumpkin and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until the pumpkin is soften.
3. Throw in the lily bulb, wolfberries, water and bring to a boil. Stir in the sugar and tapioca starch mixture to thicken the sauce.
4. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve immediately.

Brown Rice with Wolfberries

Wolfberries have antioxidant qualities, nourish the yin, strengthen the eyes, and help support the kidneys, liver and blood. It is commonly use in Traditional Herbal Soup.

I added wolfberries to the brown rice, to make it more nutritious. For each bowl of rice, I add 1 teaspoon of wolfberries, you may add more, if desired. Nothing too difficult, throw in the wolfberries when washing the rice and the rest is as per normal way of cooking rice.

Red Bean Paste with Mini Glutinous Rice Ball

I love Red Bean Soup but it takes such a long time to cook till the bean is soft and mushy. After asking around for ways to speed up the cooking process, there is this 70 years old lady whom I met at the Yacht Club, told me to blend it to make red bean paste instead and serve with glutinous rice balls. I gave it a try and make little mini glutinous rice balls. Used ready-made glutinous rice balls or omit totally, if desired. Aha! ‘Kee Chang’ (glutinous rice dumpling) can be added too.

Preparation: 20 mins, Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 200g red beans
° 1 litre water
° 4 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° sugar to taste

Glutinous Rice Ball
° 100g glutinous rice flour
° 90-100ml water

° 750ml water, for cooking the glutinous rice balls

Method
1. Soak the red bean with 750ml of water for 12 hours or more or overnight. Drain and rinse well.
2. Put all red bean, water and pandan leaves in a pot. Bring to boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
3. Place the cooked red bean in a blender with a little cooking water and blend until it is smooth. Add in all the cooking water and blend to mix well. Pour into a pot and add sugar. Bring to a boil and set aside.
4. To make dough, combine the flour and water in a mixing bowl. Mix well, knead into dough and divide into small equal portions. Add some water if the dough is too dry or some flour if it is too watery. Shape it into a ball using your hand.
5. Bring 750ml of water to boil. Add in glutinous rice balls and return to boil. Remove water the glutinous rice balls with a slotted spoon as soon as they float to the surface. Transfer to the red bean paste.
6. To serve, ladle the glutinous rice balls and red bean paste into individual serving bowls. Serve hot.

Traditional Glutinous Rice Balls

22 December is associated with the winter solstice and glutinous rice ball. A day before the winter solstice, you will be able to spot some white and red (in fact, it looked like pink) dough in the wet market. That is used for making glutinous rice ball which is then cooked and served in sugar syrup (white or brown sugar). It can be served in soup – for a salty version. For a filled glutinous rice ball, mix some sesame or peanut powders with sugar and oil/water for the filling.

Here is the basic recipe for making the dough, it is real simple and fast. Get the little ones involved in the process, they will love it and make different colours and sizes (BIG and small) of glutinous rice balls. For fun, I added basil seeds in the sugar syrup which is never present in the traditional version.

Preparation: 15 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
Dough
° 100g glutinous rice flour
° 90-100ml water
° red food colouring

Syrup
° 500ml water
° 4 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 1 slice ginger (optional)
° sugar to taste

° ½ -1 teaspoon basil seeds (optional), soaked and drained

° 750ml water, for cooking the glutinous rice balls

Method
1. To make syrup, add the water, pandan leaves, ginger and sugar to a pot. Bring to boil over medium heat and set aside.
2. To make dough, combine the flour and water in a mixing bowl. Mix well, knead into dough and divide into 2 equal portions. Add some red food colouring to one portion and knead well. Add some water if the dough is too dry or some flour if it is too watery. Divide the dough into smaller portions and shape it into a ball using your hand.
3. Bring 750ml of water to boil. Add in glutinous rice balls and return to boil. Remove water the glutinous rice balls with a slotted spoon as soon as they float to the surface. Transfer to the sugar syrup.
4. To serve, ladle the glutinous rice balls and syrup into individual serving bowls. Serve hot.

Black Glutinous Rice Dessert

This is a simple dessert and is not something new.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 60 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g black glutinous rice
° 8 dried longans
° 900ml water
° 4 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° sugar to taste
° 2-4 tablespoons thick coconut milk (optional)

Method
1. Wash the black glutinous rice and place in a bowl with enough water to cover. Leave to soak for 3 hours or more. Drain thoroughly.
2. Place the black glutinous rice, longan, water and pandan leaves in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45-60 minutes or until the glutinous rice is soften. Add in sugar.
3. Ladle the dessert into individual serving bowl, drizzle 1 or 2 tablespoons coconut milk over it and serve.

Sweet Potato Porridge

Using sweet potato in porridge is not uncommon. It adds sweetness to the porridge. Moreover, sweet potato is a wonderful food full of goodness.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 30 mins, plus 30 mins standing time

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g rice, washed and drained
° 1.2 litres water
° 150g-200g sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
° 2 thin slices ginger (optional)
° salt (optional), to taste

Method
1. Put the rice and water in a claypot or pot. Let it stands for 1 hour or more, if desired.
2. Bring the congee to a boil for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid and leave it to stands for 30 minutes or more. Throw in the sweet potato and re-boil the congee for 10-15 minutes prior to serving. Season to taste with salt. To thicken the congee, mix 1-2 tablespoons of glutinous rice flour with 4 tablespoons of water and stir into the congee, if desired.
3. Ladle the congee into individual serving bowls and serve hot.

Eight Treasure Porridge

Ingredients: sticky rice, rice, crushed corn, red kidney bean, read bean, black rice, white kidney bean, hushed buckwheat, peanut, mung bean, red jujube.

The other day, I used Eight Treasure Porridge to cook Eight Treasure Rice instead. This time, I use it to cook porridge. Again, it is fairly simple. Wash and rinse and soak for 5 hours and cook for 30 minutes. It was suggested to add sugar and but I used salt instead and it is equally tasty.

Preparation: 5 mins, plus 3-5 hrs standing time, Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 125g eight treasure rice, washed and drained
° 1.5 litre water
° salt to taste

Method
1. Put the rice and water in a claypot or pot. Let it stands for 3-5 hour.
2. Bring the porridge to a boil and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes. Stirring occasionally or every 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt.
3. Ladle the congee into individual serving bowls and serve hot.

Eight Treasure Rice

I bought a packet of eight treasure porridge at the super market and used it to cook Eight Treasure Rice instead. It is real simple and not to worry about the soaking part. Just wash the rice and add water to it in the morning and turn on the rice cooker at lunch or dinner time. This is a nutritious meal as it contained sticky rice, rice, crushed corn, red kidney bean, read bean, black rice, white kidney bean, hushed buckwheat, peanut, mung bean, red jujube. It was suggested to add sugar and preserved fruit to it, but I replaced with a bit of salt to make this rice tasty. Omit the salt, if desired. You may even sprinkle some sesame seeds or pine nut on the rice.

Preparation: 5 mins, plus 3-5 hrs standing time, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g eight treasure rice, washed and drained
° 400ml water
° ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients into an electric rice cooker and soak for 3-5 hours.
2. Turn it on the cooker after the soaking process.
3. When done leave the cooked rice to rest, covered, for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot.

Pumpkin Rice

Pumpkin again, Yes, it is another pumpkin recipe! Combining the process of cooking rice and steaming pumpkin into ONE step. Thus, making this a hassle-free, time saving and energy conserving recipe! Orangey-yellow pumpkins with green skin cubes in between white rice mingle with some unpolished brown rice, plus some lovely white and black sesame seeds on top. It just looks so attractive.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g rice, washed and drained
° 400ml water
° 150g Japanese pumpkin, removed seeds and cut into cubes
° 1 teaspoon olive oil
° ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

Method
1. Combine the rice, water, pumpkin, oil and salt into an electric rice cooker, mix well and turn it on.
2. When done, leave the cooked rice to rest, covered, for 5-10 minutes. Fluff with a fork, sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds and serve hot.

Spinach and Wolfberries Congee

A bowl of simple vegetable congee.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 30 mins, plus 30 mins standing time

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g rice, washed and drained
° 1.2 litres water
° 1 slice ginger
° 1 tablespoon wolfberries (boxthorn berries), soaked
° 150g spinach, finely chopped
° salt and pepper, to taste

Method
1. Put the rice, ginger, wolfberries and water in a claypot or pot. Let it stands for 1 hour or more, if desired.
2. Bring the congee to a boil for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid and leave it to stands for 30 minutes or more.
3. Re-boil the congee for few minutes prior to serving. Add in the spinach. To thicken the congee, mix 1-2 tablespoons of glutinous rice flour with 4 tablespoons of water and stir into the congee, if desired. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Ladle the congee into individual serving bowls and serve hot.

Special Basil 'Omelette'

This is a vegan version omelette using chickpea flour. The idea and basic recipe comes from a Forumer - Veganic, @ www.vegetarian-society.org. I had added tofu puree to the mixture, partially is add more varieties to it and also to lighten it up, as flour can be quite filling if eaten in huge amount. Adding a handful of freshly plunked basil leaves to beaten egg is a traditional Hakka dish. This dish goes well with the Thunder Tea Rice. You may need to add another 1 tablespoon of water if the batter is too thick.

Preparation: 5 mins, plus 10 mins standing time, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° a small handful fresh basil leaves
° 60g chickpea flour (besan flour/gram dhall)
° ½ small firm tofu/beancurd, mashed
° ½ teaspoon baking powder
° 60ml water
° salt and pepper, to taste
° 1 tablespoon oil
° few drops sesame oil (optional)

Method
1. Combine the chickpea flour, baking powder, water, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add in the tofu puree, mix well and leave to stand for at least 5-10 minutes.
2. Heat oil and sesame oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Throw in the basil leaves and stir fry for ½ -1 minute.
3. Pour in the flour mixture over the basil leaves. Flip over the omelette after 1½ minutes or when the base is slightly brown. Remove from heat after another 1½ minutes and transfer to a serving plate.
4. Serve hot.

Ginger and Red Date Tea

Unless you are allergic to ginger, if not this is a real good tea. Ginger promotes perspiration and this is a way of detoxification. And not forgetting red date, which is well known for strengthening the functions of heart and lung .It also help to increase blood flow and oxygen to the brain to improve memory and promote clear thinking. The amount of ginger and red date is personal preference, it can be altered to suit your taste.

Preparation: 3 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 50g fresh ginger, peeled and bruised
° 12 red dates
° 750ml water
° 30g-40g rock sugar, or to taste

Method
1. To make the drink, put all the ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and serve hot or warm.

Vegetarian "Chicken" with Wine and Black Fungus

Black Chinese Fungus or Wood Ear is usually included in traditional confinement dishes, as it helps to remove post natal blood accumulated in the uteri. It also promotes blood production.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 10g shredded black Chinese fungus, soaked
° 30g cardoncello mushroom/king oyster mushroom, sliced
° 20g ginger, peeled and finely shredded
° 1 tablespoon sesame oil
° 20ml cooking rice wine or glutinous rice wine
° 100ml water
° salt to taste

Method
1. Heat the sesame oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the ginger and fry till fragrant.
2. Add the black fungus, mushrooms and stir-fry briskly for a moment. Stir in the water, bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Season to taste with wine and salt.
3. Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot.

Steamed Vegetarian "Chicken" with Wine and Ginger Paste

This is an easy steamed confinement dish without much work at all. Cardoncello mushroom or king oyster mushroom is used to substitute the chicken, which had a smooth and meaty texture.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 100g cardoncello mushroom/king oyster mushroom, sliced
° 30g ginger, peeled and finely minced
° 1½ -2 tablespoons sesame oil
° 30ml cooking rice wine or glutinous rice wine
° ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
° ½ teaspoon corn flour
° a small handful fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Method
1. Arrange the cardoncello mushrooms in a heatproof serving plate.
2. Mix the ginger paste, sesame oil, wine, salt and corn flour in a bowl and drizzle over the mushroom. Steam for 10-15 minutes.
3. Garnish with coriander and serve immediately.

Stir-Fried Mushroom with Sesame Oil and Ginger

This is another easy stir-fried confinement dish. Cardoncello mushroom or king oyster mushroom is used to substitute the chicken. Cardoncello mushroom contains minimal fat, salt and very little calories but with lots of vital minerals. For a change, vegetarian fish slice can be used to replace the mushroom.

Preparation: 8 mins, Cooking time: 7 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 75g-100g cardoncello mushroom/king oyster mushroom, sliced
° 25g ginger, peeled and finely shredded
° 2 tablespoons sesame oil
° 2 tablespoons cooking rice wine or glutinous rice wine
° 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
° ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
° ¼ teaspoon sugar (optional)

Method
1. Heat the sesame oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the ginger and fry till fragrant.
2. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry briskly for a moment. Drizzle the wine over the mushrooms and continue to stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender. Season to taste with sugar, light and dark soy sauce.
3. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Ginger and Red Date Rice

This is an improvised special one-pot dish from Ginger and Red Date Tea, which is a common hot beverage to be taken during confinement. By using the same ingredients for the tea, it is added to cook the rice which gives it a new flavour. At the same time, it reduces the effort to prepare the tea separately. Sesame oil is used generously, as it is rich in calcium and is also one of main ingredients for confinement dishes. Just adjust the ginger and sesame oil used, if it cooks for a normal meal. Mix a little unpolished rice to the white rice, if desired.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g rice, washed and drained
° 400ml water
° 100g ginger, peeled and finely minced
° 8 red dates
° 2 tablespoons sesame oil
° ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients into an electric rice cooker, mix well and turn it on.
2. When done leave the cooked rice to rest, covered, for 5-10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve hot.

Crispy Ginger

Old ginger and sesame oil are some of the commonly used ingredients in Chinese Traditional Confinement Recipes. It is believes that ginger would help to expel the wind and sesame oil promote blood circulation. Here is another way to consume ginger by frying shredded ginger with sesame oil, removing any excess oil by draining and use it as a condiment to any rice or dishes.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 8 mins

Ingredients
° 200g old ginger, peeled and finely shredded
° sesame oil, deep-frying

Method
1. Heat sesame oil in a wok over medium heat and fry ginger until lightly brown.
2. Remove the ginger with a slotted spoon. Drain well on kitchen paper.
3. Store the crispy ginger in a glass jar in a cool place.

Vegan “Trotter” with Old Ginger and Vinegar

Pig Trotter with old ginger and black rice vinegar is one of the traditional Chinese confinement foods. For this vegan version, pig trotter is replaced by gluten fungus roll and eggs are omitted.

Preparation: 15 mins, Cooking time: 45 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g gluten fungus roll, sliced
° 400g old ginger, peeled, cut into chunk, bruised and pat dry
° 250ml black rice vinegar
° 500ml water
° 1-1½ tablespoons sesame oil
° 60g brown sugar
° salt, to taste

Method
1. Brush some sesame oil on the ginger and bake in the oven or oven toaster for 10 minutes. Set aside.
2. Place all the ingredients in a claypot, bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt.
3. Ladle into individual serving bowl and serve.

Tip
1. This traditional recipe usually fries the ginger in sesame oil instead of baking. The sesame oil used is around 3 instead of 1 tablespoon.

Ginger Fried Rice

This is a quick and simple recipe. Ginger and sesame oil give this aromatic rice dish its lovely flavour. Vegetarian ham, shiitake mushroom can be added, if desired.

Preparation: 5 mins Cooking time: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 200g rice, cooked
° 3-4 thin slices ginger, finely shredded
° 2-3 tablespoons sesame oil
° salt, to taste
° a small handful of fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Method
1. Heat sesame oil in a wok over medium heat and fry ginger until lightly brown.
2. Stir in the cooked rice and season with salt. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until rice is heated through. Serve hot.

Tip
1. Rice for frying must be cooked at least 2 hours in advance or the night before.

2. The amount of ginger can be increased, if desired.
3 Garnish with lightly toasted sesame seeds or finely shredded nori.

4. How to toast n roast sesame seeds and How to toaste nori sheet