Apple chicken herbal soup

It's the second day in a row that I've not had the chance to go to the market because of Alicia... she woke up in the middle of the night and played through till dawn and my head was spinning when I woke this morning. Needless to say, it must be due to the terribly interrupted sleep I had.

Hence, I had to scour through whatever else was left in my kitchen to cook up a decent meal for the family... I had already set the chicken stock to cook overnight in the slowcooker so I had a soup base to work with. With really nothing much left in the fridge to add to the soup (I thought carrots alone weren't particularly appetising as a soup), I happened to glance into the fruit compartment and I saw that I had an abundance of organic apples... and so, apple soup it is for the day!

I used to cringe whenever I hear fruits cooked in soup when I was younger. Fruits, in my opinion then, weren't meant to be used in soups. :) Hehe...

Anyway, I had initially wanted to add sweet and bitter almonds (南北杏) to the soup (as most people usually do for this apple soup), but I remembered that there was something about bitter almonds so I went to check with the chinese medicinal shop opposite my place and the shop assistant warned me against adding the almonds if I wanted Alicia to have some of the soup. This is due to the fact that bitter almonds contain a trace amount of toxins and should not be given to young children. She went on to elaborate that young children may not be able to process the toxins properly like adults so it could be potentially harmful. She also mentioned that bitter almonds are not like the usual herbs we use in cooking like red dates and such as it is used mainly for medicinal purposes. She didn't mention at which age children could start taking them in soups but I mentioned that Alicia's 20+mths and she warned me against it so just be careful about adding this to soups if you are serving it to your little ones. To replace the sweet and bitter almonds, I decided to add lily bulbs instead. :) Lily bulbs are known to calm the spirit, nourish the lungs, are good for the skin and even for the prevention and treatment of cancers.

Anyway, here's how to cook it...



Apple chicken herbal soup

*Skip the dried scallop for tots below 18mths*

Ingredients:

• 3 large candied dates (金丝蜜枣)
• 4 dried figs (无花果）
• 1 handful of lily bulbs (百合)
• 2 organic apples
• 3 chicken breast bones, leftover chicken thigh bones from a few chicken thighs which I deboned
• 1 dried scallop (place in a soup bag)
• 3 cloves garlic (leave in their skin)
• 1 soup pot water

Method:

1. Clean and blanch the chicken bones.
2. Place the chicken bones, garlic and dried scallop in the slowcooker.
3. Cook on high heat for 1 hour then low for about 6hours (I usually do this overnight).
4. Transfer stock to a pot suitable for cooking on stovetop.
5. Rinse the large candied dates, dried figs and lily bulbs.
6. Soak the apples in a bowl of water for awhile then core and cut into quarters. If you are using non-organic apples, you may want to remove the skin in case of pesticide residue if not washed properly.
7. Bring stock to a boil and add the apples, large candied dates, dried figs and lily bulbs. Bring to a boil again on medium heat then simmer on low for 2 hours.
8. Sieve the soup (remove the bones and garlic) and return the rest of the ingredients to the soup (take the dried scallop out of the soup bag).
9. Dish and serve.

Alicia was receptive to the soup... it's the first time she's drunk so much soup in her whole life! lol... and she loved the lily bulbs and ate a slice of the cooked apple... *happy mummy*

Fresh chinese yam with fresh foxnuts/ euryale seeds soup (山藥芡實湯)

This soup went along well with last night's roast duck fried rice. :D A bowl of piping hot soup, not to mention a highly nutritious one, on a rainy evening is trully comforting!

If you read Chinese, you can check out this site to read more about the benefits of consuming fresh chinese yam. In a nutshell, chinese yam is believed to have the ability to enhance vigour, promote muscle growth, repair worn-out tissue, improve immunity and alleviate bodily weakness after a long-term illness.



Fresh chinese yam with fresh foxnuts soup (山藥芡實湯)

*skip the dried scallop for tots below 18mths*

Ingredients:

• Fresh chinese yam (wai san) - I didn't weigh it but I think it's about 300g
• 1 carrot (optional)
• a handful of red dates
• a handful of fresh foxnuts
• some fresh lotus seeds (remove pith)
• 1 chicken carcass (or 3 chicken breast bones)
• 1 soup pot of water
• 1 dried scallop (place in a small soup bag)
• 3 cloves garlic (leave them in their skin)
• salt/ fish sauce to taste

Method:

1. Clean the chicken bones then blanch them in boiling water.
2. Peel and chop the chinese yam and carrot into chunks.
3. Rinse the dried scallop and red dates.
4. Bring the chicken bones, dried scallop, red dates and garlic to a boil in a soup pot of water.
5. Leave to simmer for a few hours on the stove.
6. Sieve the soup: remove the bones and garlic return the red dates and dried scallop (take out from the small soup bag) to the soup.
7. Add the rest of the ingredients about 10minutes before serving. Chinese yam softens very quickly so unless you like the mashy texture, don't add it into the soup too early.
8. Add salt to taste.

Alternatively, you can cook this stock in a slowcooker overnight, sieve the soup then transfer the stock base to a pot that's suitable for cooking on the stove and just add the rest of the ingredients about 10minutes before serving.


Note: When handling and preparing the chinese yam, hold on to it with a clear plastic bag as it may cause skin irritation should it come into contact with your hands.



Alicia wasn't a fan of the soup or the chinese yam but she took to the foxnuts... and she ate them like popcorn while watching Shrek 3 :)

Updated in May: Alicia loves this soup but still refuses to eat the chinese yam :)

Roast duck fried rice

I cooked this for last night's dinner. I'd meant to go to the market in the morning but Alicia was sleepy and slept in so I couldn't make it to the market to buy groceries - hence this dish. I was thinking about what to cook given the circumstances and the available items in my kitchen when I suddenly had a craving for this fried rice. Besides, it gives me every excuse to buy the roast duck from the coffeeshop downstairs which sells really delish roast duck. :D

I would have added some other ingredients into the fried rice if not for the fact that they weren't present in my kitchen and the afternoon shower at my area meant that I really had to just learn to work with what I have. And so, here's my roast duck fried rice...

Incidentally, Alicia liked this dish... it's the first time she's agreed to eat fried rice!


Roast duck fried rice (serves 2 adults + 1 toddler)


Ingredients:

• Roast duck breast meat ($8)
• 3 slices ginger
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 shallots
• 1/2can canned pineapple (use fresh if you have/ prefer)
• 1/2can straw mushrooms
• 1/2 carrot
• light soy sauce to taste

Method:

1. Shred/ chop duck meat into smaller pieces.
2. Mince the garlic.
3. Slice the shallots thinly.
4. Peel the carrot and cut into fine strips.
5. Cut the mushrooms and pineapple into cubes.
6. Cook rice as you normally would. Use overnight rice if you have.
7. Heat oil in a wok and add in the ginger first. Fry till fragrant.
8. Add the shallots and garlic.
9. Add the carrot, fry for awhile before adding the duck meat.
10. Toss in the pineapple cubes and straw mushrooms.
11. Add the rice and mix all the ingredients thoroughly, making sure that there are no lumps of rice.
12. Add light soy sauce to taste.
13. For a richer taste in the rice, you may want to add some of the syrup from the canned pineapple. (optional)
14. Top with more cubed pineapple and a handful of wolfberries (optional) 
15. Dish and serve.