Stir-Fry Loofah with Black Fungus 丝瓜黑木耳

This gourd vegetable or plant is called Loofa/ luffa / Silk Gourd / Ridge Gourd / Angled Gourd /丝瓜 /sayur Petola/Turai/Tori. Typically used in stir-fries and soups, this gourd has a slightly spongy texture and a mildly sweet flavor. It contains amounts of calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin A, B and C. 

Ingredient

Loofah

Fresh Black fungus

Carrot

Bean curd puff

Ginger

Garlic

Seasoning (soya sauce & white pepper)

Method

Heat some oil in a pot. Fry garlic and ginger till fragrant. Add loofah, black fungus, carrot and bean curd puff. Add some water and simmer in low medium heat till loofah softens. Add seasoning to taste.

Winter Melon Corn Soup 冬瓜玉米汤

A very healthy and sweet soup for everyone!

How do I prepare it?

Ingredients

Chicken (boneless drumstick)

Winter melon

Corn

Carrot

Seedless Red dates

Water

Salt to taste

Method

Put chicken, winter melon, corn, water, carrot and red dates into pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and continue cook for 30-45 mins. Add salt to taste.

Tips

You can use pork or chicken cubes or no meat at all.

Chinese Winter Melon Seaweed Soup 海澡冬瓜汤

Ingredients

Winter melon(skin removed and cut into wedges)
Water

Half cut chicken (blanch the chicken quickly in boiling water to remove impurities)
Seedless red dates (few)
Dried wakame seaweed, soaked

Few sliced ginger

Salt

Method
Place chicken, winter melon and red dates in a large pot, add the water and bring to a boil. Turn to low heat and simmer for 1 hour or till the winter melon is translucent. Last add in seaweed and bring back to boil. Add salt to taste.

Tips

Chicken may substitute with anchovies/ikan bilis.

Caramelized onions

Ingredients

Big yellow onions (thinly sliced)

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt

black pepper (optional)

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the onions and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan frequently, cook until golden browned and caramelized.

Tips

Remember to stir it occasionally and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. I don't put any sugar because caramelized  onions already taste sweet enough and can keep in fridge for few weeks. How to eat? Add into fried eggs or omelet, soup, burger, bread, salad or spaghetti/noodle.

Chicken Leek Stew

Chicken Leek Stew

Chicken drumstick

Leek

Capsicum (orange & green)

Carrot

Dried mushroom

Black fungus

Dried chilly(optional)

Ginger

Garlic

Seasoning (soya sauce, black pepper)

Method

Just throw everything in the pan & put some water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cover the pan.  Let it stew until the chicken became tender and sauce is thicken. Serve it with noodle or rice.

Tips

You may use slow cooker. You can put more water to make it as soup. Black fungus and dried mushroom can be replace with celery and onion.

Mulberry 桑椹

Mulberry / MORUS FRUIT / Buah Murbei(Mulberi) / Morus Alba / 桑椹(Sang shen)

Mulberry is one of the nutrition treasures of alternative health medicine that has many health benefits. Mulberry contains fiber, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, carbohydrates, iron and proteins. The fruit can be black, red, pink or white in color. Mulberries are an excellent source of vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin K and iron. They are also a good source of dietary fiber, riboflavin, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium.

Mulberry fruits derive their color from anthocyanins. Dried White Mulberries are in golden color, size is same as raisins and it has sweet, crunchy and chewy taste like dried figs. This plant pigment is noted for its powerful antioxidant property. One ounce of ripe mulberry fruits contains nearly 60mg of anthocyanins. This phytonutrient protects our body from the harmful oxidation of free radicals. Mulberry prevents plague build up in the blood vessels. They can prevent cardiac diseases and stroke. The antioxidant nutrients also protect the brain from cognitive decline. The antioxidant property of mulberry fruits can prevent development of cancer causing cells.

Mulberry juice is believed to be a good source of treating anemia and poor blood circulation. In Chinese medicine, people regularly mix Mulberry juice as a tonic and drink it to alleviate anemic symptoms and to improve their blood circulation. Mulberry also has the health benefit of soothing the nerves. Mulberry, like most berries, contains free radical scavengers that protect the body from degeneration.

Health & Nutrition Benefits of Mulberry 

• Balance internal secretions and enhance immunity. It promotes proper body fluid production. People suffering from body fluid deficiency could take ten grams of mulberry daily with water.
• Strengthens eyesight.
• Enhances appetite, helpful for proper gastric juice secretion and also improves the ability for digesting and assimilating.
• Curing health problems like chronic gastritis, chronic hepatitis, atherosclerosis, anemia, pallor, dizziness, heart-palpitations and insomnia.
• Promote healthy growth of hair and blackening.
• Enriches the blood and in the process, soothes the nerves.
• Promoting the metabolism of alcohol.
• Hypertension.
• Strengthens body parts like liver and kidney.
• Treating constipation.
• Fights against inflammation
• Eliminating abdominal distention.
• Keeps low cholesterol level
• Suppress mutagenesis of carcinogens.
• Reducing level of blood sugar.
• Prevents cancer of liver.
• Intake of mulberry juice after any surgery is restorative.
• Mulberry is helpful in recuperating after long-time sickness.
• Consumption of Mulberry after childbirth is good for women’s health.

Combining with Chinese Herbs

In Chinese markets, mulberry is often provided in the form of a paste called sangshengao. The paste is mixed into hot water to make a tea to enrich the liver and kidney and sharpen the hearing and brighten the eyes. For this application, it can be combined with the traditional formula Yiqi Congming Tang, which is used for deficiencies in hearing and vision, particularly in the elderly who suffer from deficiency of yin with deficient heat. 

This juice will enhance your health, such as yin nourishing, enriching the blood, tonifying the liver and kidney, calming the nerves, promoting the metabolism of alcohol, balancing internal secretions, and enhancing immunity.

The following are examples of recommendations for use of morus fruit with other herbs to treat certain conditions:

1. For deficient yin and blood manifested as dizziness, vertigo, blurred vision, tinnitus, deafness, insomnia and early graying of hair: Mulberry fruit is used with ho-shou-wu, ligustrum, and eclipta in the formula Shouwu Yanshou Dan. This combination can also be used for constipation in the elderly and for post-partum recovery. Ligustrum and eclipta together make a basic formula called Erzhi Wan, a well-known formula for yin deficiency with graying of the hair.
2. For thirst and dry mouth due to deficient body fluids or diabetes, manifesting as thirst with desire to drink, profuse urine, and lassitude : mulberry fruit is used with ophiopogon, ligustrum, and trichosanthes root; alternatively, one can combine it with ophiopogon, glehnia or adenophora, and yu-chu.
3. For constipation due to dryness in the intestines: mulberry fruit is used with black sesame seed, ho-shou-wu, and hemp seed (which can be substituted by flax seed).
4. For chronic arthritis: Mulberry fruit is used with ho-shou-wu and chin-chiu (qinjiao).
5. For nervous stress: Mulberry fruit is combined with schizandra and ligustrum.
6. For insomnia: Mulberry fruit is used with zizyphus, tang-kuei, and hoelen (or fu-shen). Mulberry fruit can also be combined with rehmannia (both cooked and raw) to alleviate insomnia due to blood and yin deficiency.