A Hot Cup of Almond!

Almond Meal (100% natural, no sugar added, no preservative, no colouring), Sim Tech Hiang Almond Syrup, Almond Powder with Fritillaria Cirrhosa

A hot cup of Almond Drink! I remember when I had a bad night cough a decade ago, my ex-colleague advised me to take almond syrup and it worked. Well, if you have persistent cough, it is still better to consult the doctor but it is no harm drinking a hot cup of almond tea with Fritillaria Cirrhosa .

You can get this from the supermarket – Almond Powder with Fritillaria Cirrhosa. If you prefer it without added sugar, go for the Almond Meal which I got from a Vegetarian Shop.

This beverage is getting popular at Food Court, you can order a cup of hot almond where consist of Almond Powder with Fritillaria Cirrhosa and Almond Syrup.

Almonds is nutritious and almond milk is a good substitute for milk.

Roselle Tea

Roselle Fruit

Roselle! I finally found this at the Supermarket after so many many years, it is organic and a product of Singapore. When I was 12 years old, my dad brought back a big bag of roselle fruit which was given to him by his friend and I was given the task to make this drink for the whole family. It was like Ribena to me and I like it. Check out more about: Roselle Plant.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 8-10)
° 200g roselle fruits
° 2 – 2½ litres water
° sugar to taste

Method
1. To make the drink, put the roselle and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and add sugar.
2. Remove from heat, strain and serve warm or chill.

Sea Bird's Nest (Funori) Drink

Funori drink with sterculia seeds/ Funori drink

Dried Funori/Soaked Funori

I get to know about Funori from Sunny’s blog - Funori and manage to get it at the Vegetarian Shop at Fortune Centre, $5 per 100g. It can be used to make a simple drink like the bird's nest drink or add some sterculia seeds/mollow seeds (bruised, soaked in hot water until the flesh has expanded into a loose, jelly like mass, skin peel off and discard ) to it. As it is rather tasteless, I add pandan leaves or sterculia seeds to give it some flavour. Red dates and dried wolfberries can be added, if preferred. I find that it has a “fishy” smell, therefore the amount of funori used is 25g for this recipes. Add more if desired.

There are many ways to eat this, you can add to any hot soup, red bean/cheng tng/sweet potatoes /red ruby/chendol dessert, agar-agar, soymilk, soymilk shake and so on. Tracy Juice Culture sells dessert which had funori.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 25g funori (jelly seaweed), washed, rinsed, soaked overnight and chopped
° 6 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 75g rock sugar, or to taste
° 1 litre water

Method
1. Place pandan leaves and water in a pot. Bring the soup to a boil.
2. Add rock sugar and simmer for few minute. Stir in funori.
3. Ladle the dessert into individual serving bowls and serve hot or chilled.

Green Soybeans and Non-alcoholic Malt Beverage

Non-alcoholic Malt Beverage, S$1.73 @ Shop n Save

Chendol with Soy Milk Drink

Soy Milk Chendol with Gula Melaka

Nothing special for this drink and it is improvised from Chendol Drink. For this recipe, it is using soy milk to replace the coconut milk for a healthy choice. If you are craving for Chendol and yet don’t want to consume any coconut milk, here might be the solution. Gula melaka syrup may be added, if preferred, however the soy milk need to be unsweetened or reduced-sugar. Add some grass jelly cubes, if desired, as soy milk goes very well with grass jelly.

Preparation: 5 mins, Total time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 200g-300g prepared chendol, drained
° 500ml fresh soy milk

Method
1. Add the chendol to the soy milk. Mix well and pour into individual cups.
2. Chilled or serve with ice.

Water Chestnut and Sugar Cane Drink

Just buy a pack of water chestnuts and a pack of sugar cane from the market. You will be able to have a lovely glass of homemade sweet and cooling drink by boiling water chestnuts with sugar cane. Don’t discard the water chestnuts, it can be eaten. Peel the skin of the water chestnuts, if desired.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 350g water chestnuts, rinsed well and bruised
° 150g sugar cane
° 1 litre water
° 100g 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 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat, strain and serve warm or chill.

Home-made Barley Drink

Barley Drink or Barley Water

Lemon Barley Drink

It is a delectable drink that my mom used to make on a weekly basis for all of us when we were young. Add some lemon juice and you can enjoy a glass of lemon barley drink.

Preparation: 5 mins, plus 1 hr standing time, Cooking time: 55 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 100g Holland barley or pearl barley, rinsed
° 4-6 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 1.5 litres water
° rock sugar or sugar, to taste

Method
1. Place the barley, pandan leaves and water in a pot. Soak for one hour or more.
2. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes or until the barley is tender. Add in the sugar and bring to a boil.
3. Pour into individual cups. Serve hot or chilled.

Chendol Drink

Chendol in its simplest form, using only fresh coconut milk and gula melaka! In general, Chendol dessert recipe call for coconut milk generously, usually the ratio of water to gula melaka is about 1:3. In this recipe, I used the ratio of 1:1. Add more coconut milk, if desired. Grass jelly cubes or red agar-agar cubes can be added to this drink. Black sugar is used to give the drink a slightly darker brown. Oh yeah, put chendol in bandung, it look real lovely – pink plus green!

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 200g-300g prepared chendol, drained
° 250ml fresh coconut milk
° 250ml water
° 4 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 50g gula melaka (palm sugar), chopped
° 1-1½ tablespoon black sugar

Method
1. Combine pandan leaves, gula malaka, sugar and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Let it cool and set aside.
2. Mix all the chendol, coconut milk and gula malaka syrup well. Chilled or serve with ice.

Pumpkin and Red Date Tea

Pumpkin is considered to be a good food for chest complaints, soothing the entire digestive tract and likes carrot and sweet potatoes, gave high protection against lung cancer. In here, using pumpkin and red date, you can enjoy a cup of nourishing good tea. There is no need to add any sugar, as the sweetness comes from the honey dates and red dates.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 250g pumpkin (weight after peeling), cut into small chunks
° 1 slice fresh ginger
° 8 seedless red dates
° 3 honey dates
° 750ml water

Method
1. To make the drink, put all the ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and serve hot or warm.

Red Date Lotus Seeds and Lily Bulb Tea

I happened to find Lily Bulb while doing marketing yesterday and decide to do up this recipe. This tea is good for easing insomnia, restlessness and irritability. Lily Bulb (Bai He) is often used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to calm and relieve the mind in order to retain healthy energy within the body. And lotus seeds nourish the heart and also help to prevent insomnia.

Preparation: 3 mins, Cooking time: 17 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 12 seedless red dates
° 50g fresh lotus seeds
° 1 slice ginger (optional)
° 40g rock sugar, or to taste
° 750ml water
° 50g fresh lily bulb, peel off petals piece by piece

Method
1. Combine the red dates, lotus seeds, ginger, water and rock sugar in a pot, bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the lily bulb and bring to a boil.
2. 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.

Lemon and Lime Juice

A cool and refreshing drink! Serve with a tall glass and garnish with a slice of lemon.

Preparation: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 1)
° 3 kalamansi limes, freshly squeezed
° ½ lemon, freshly squeezed
° 1 preserved sweet prune
° 250ml water
° sugar, to taste

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a glass and mix well. Chilled or serve with ice.

A Special Tea: Pandan Tea

This was my dad’s favourite tea. It is real simple to make and you can enjoy a cup of tea imbued with sweet-taste and aroma of natural pandan leaves (screwpine), in a few minutes. Give it a try and surprise other with this special cup of tea.

Preparation: 2 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 500ml water
° 4 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 1 tea bag
° sugar, to taste

Method
1. Put the pandan leaves in a pot or kettle and bring to a boil.
2. Place the tea bag in a teapot and pour the boiling water into the teapot. Let it steeps for 1-2 minutes and remove the teabag.
3. To serve, pour the tea into individual cup and add sugar as desired.

Cool Pandan Drink

A simple cool beverage! I love to look at the kiwi or tukhmaria seeds in my drink.

Preparation: 3 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 8-10 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 1 litre water
° ½-1 teaspoon kiwi seeds/tukhmaria (optional), soaked and drained
° 4 tablespoons 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 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool before refrigerating until chilled.
2. Chilled or serve with ice.

Sweet Lemon Grass Ginger Drink

This sweet lemongrass ginger drink is served hot but here it can be served as a refreshing iced drink on a hot and sunny day. Lemongrass has a pale yellow-green woody shoots that have a powerful lemony fragrance and spicy, is popular for soups and curries.

Preparation: 5 mins Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)

° 8 stalks fresh lemon grass
° 4 stalks fresh lemon grass (optional), for garnish
° 4 slices ginger
° 1 litre water
° sugar or brown sugar to taste

Method
1. Peel off the outer layers of the lemon grass stalks, leaving the tender whitish centre. Cut into 5cm pieces and bruised.
2. Place the lemon grass, ginger and water in a pot. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the lemon grass and ginger with a slotted spoon and discard.
3. Now add sugar and simmer until it dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
4. Pour over iced filled tall glasses. Add a stalk of fresh lemon grass as swizzle stick, if desired.

Tip
1. Lemongrass ginger drink can be made 1 day in advance and chilled.

Chrysanthemum Tea

This tea is served hot but here it can be served as a refreshing iced drink on a hot and sunny day. [ Chrysanthemum help strengthen lungs, relieve headaches and improve eyesights.]

Preparation: 5 mins Cooking time: 12 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 40-50g dried chrysanthemum
° 75-80g sugar or rock sugar
° 1 litre water

Method
1. Add sugar to water and bring to a boil. Add chrysanthemum and simmer for 1 minute.
2. Remove the chrysanthemum with a slotted spoon and discard. Serve hot.

Tip
1. Chill and serve with crushed ice, if desired.

Traditional Grass Jelly Drink

Traditional Grass Jelly Drink - Grass Jelly with Gula Melaka and Grass Jelly with Soy Milk

This is a simple and easy to prepare beverage. Grass jelly are sold at the wet market or super market.

Preparation: 2 mins, Cooking time: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 6)

° 1 block grass jelly

° 1.25 litre water

° 6 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot

° sugar to taste

Method

1. Cut grass jelly into small little cubes. Set aside.

2. Place the water, pandan leaves and sugar in a pot. Bring to a boil and set aside to cool.

3. Mix the grass jelly and sugar syrup well. Chilled or serve with ice.

Other favours, try this.
1. Add chopped grass jelly to soya bean milk.
2. Add chopped grass jelly to instant lemon barley drink.
3. Add chopped grass jelly to nata de coco.
4. Add chopped grass jelly to cocount sugar syrup.

Lemon Ice Tea

Preparation: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 250ml water, hot
° 250ml water, cold
° 1 tea bag
° 10ml fresh lemon juice or lemonade concentrate
° 60g sugar, or to taste

Method
1. Pour boiling water over the tea bag and let it steep for 3-5 minutes. Remove the tea bag, add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Mix with cold water and lemon juice.
2. Pour over iced filled glasses or refrigerate. Add lemon slices if desired or place them in the serving glasses as a garnish.

Traditional Pineapple Drink

Preparation: 5 mins Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 6)
° 1 pineapple, peeled and cut into 2cm cube
° 1.5 litres water
° sugar, to taste

Method
1. Place the pineapple and water in a pot. Bring to the boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
2. Now add sugar and simmer until it dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
3. Chilled and serve with ice.

Bandung (Rose Syrup Milk Drink)

Preparation: 5 mins

Ingredients (makes 1 cup)
° 60ml rose syrup
° 60ml water, cold
° 120ml unsweetened soy milk

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients in a cup and mix well. Pour over iced filled glasses or refrigerate.

Tip
1. To make more, just mix 1 part of rose syrup, 1 part of water and 2 parts of unsweetened soy milk.