LEG CRAMP

Leg Cramp

is indeed very painful

Very often 

when it strikes

you will curl up your legs and 

pressing at the painful part

After awhile

 it will release 

but the after effect pain can still be there

This method release you of the pain almost immediately

and no after effect 

Method:

1) relax!  slowly straighten both legs

2) let the cramped leg remain on the bed

3) rest the other leg on top of the big toe, bending it as shown

4) after awhile, the cramp will be released

GOD IS FAITHFUL

"There are so many people praying, asking God for help.
Can God really hear us?
Can He remember what I asked for?
Will He attend to my requests?"

Indeed, there are thousands of people praying
We are all like sand pebbles on the un-ending beach
unattractive and not outstanding
How can He be aware that we are around?

Remember that our God promised to be with us always
He will never leave us nor forsake us
Be assured that God can surely hear everyone of us
and He always answers our prayers, in His time

Why? Because He loves us abundantly
God calls us His own.  How can He forget His own children?
God our father is both anxious and delighted to hear us
His outstretched arms are there waiting for us to run to Him

The cross demonstrates His great love for us
He gave His only son, the sinless, to die for us, the sinful ones
So that we can be reconciled back to Him
Penalty of sin has been fully paid on the cross

He cleanse us of all wrong with His precious blood
So that we can come to Him righteous
as sons of God and be accepted into the Kingdom of God
Nothing we need to do, but through the Grace of God, amen

CONFINEMENT MONTH

What is Confinement?

The period of 4 weeks after delivery of a baby is fondly called Confinement Month. According to the Chinese, a woman's body is the weakest and most vulnerable to future ailments after childbirth. Care should be taken to ensure fast recovery and long term health. Traditionally, this is a time when a new mother is pampered to health with plenty of rest and good food.

In modern days, many of the practices in the Confinement Month are considered irrelevant, and demand an explanation.  However, many Chinese families, especially those with elders at home, the young mother still obliged, for the benefit of doubt and comfort of the elders.

Nevertheless, there are still guidelines that need to follow in bringing the new mother back to the brink of health after delivery.

1) 1st Week

During child birth the mother has lost a lot of blood and thus cause her body to be 'cold'. First step is to cleanse her womb of any remnants of blood clots and dispel 'wind' from her body

2) 2nd week to 4th week

To replenish the loss of blood and strengthen the function of her body with herbs

The following are 3 commonly used herbs:

1) Old ginger 
     works wonder, especially during this confinement month. It
     a) expels 'wind' and restore body heat, thereby soothes joint aches &
         relieves inflammation and pain
     b) helps in digestion by neutralizing & stimulating digestive enzymes
     c) prevents blood clots
     

     It is used throughout the 4 weeks.

2) Dates

Red dates, Black dates and Nan dates are used to make drink or soup to help in restoring the loss of blood during delivery

3) Black Fungus

cooked with chicken or make soup to remove any remnants of blood left in the womb

Others like Dang Shen, sesame seed oil, peppercorns, longan, dang Gui, and shou wu are also used in soups.

Drinking of plain or cold water is strictly prohibited, as many believe it will bring in 'wind', that will lead to severe body ache and future ailment. However, the body needs to be cleansed and flushed out of impurities & toxin.  Ginger tea, rice tea or 3 dates tea have been introduced to take the place of plain water. Of course, some add Dang Shen, wolfberry or longan for a change in taste & their medicinal value.  It is quite flexible and can be adjusted to own liking.

When a new mother is advised not to wash her hands in cold running water, she definitely must not shower or wash her hair under running water!  A special herb, da feng ai is to be boiled & cooled down for bathing.  It helps to dispel 'wind' and 'coolness' from the body, improve blood circulation and ease joint pain.  We used to buy big bundles in plastic bags, with leaves and sticks sticking out everywhere.  Now, it has been packed neatly into sachets, don't need to be strained after boiling!

DANG SHEN TEA

Dang Shen 
党参
is often referred to as poor man's ginseng.

It stimulates appetite
improves blood circulation
boost immunity by increasing white blood cells

It is 
also used to treat 
shortness of breath & cough

A note of caution:
Dang Shen 
should be avoided prior to surgery
as it may interfere with blood clotting

Dang Shen Tea 
is a combination of Dang Shan, red dates, dried longan & wolfberries

 

This is particularly beneficial 
to new mothers 
as
it helps to replenish Qi, and revitalises the body.

Dang Shen Tea

dang shen

dried longan, for sweetness

red dates

wolfberries (optional)

1.5L water

1) rinse all ingredients & add water to boil for 15min

2) lower heat & simmer for an hour or more

3) strain & keep warm in the flask to drink the whole day

RED BEAN LONGAN SOUP

.

A dessert
good as the afternoon Tea Break

Red beans 
need long hours of cooking 
and
Slow Cooker best serve the purpose

1 cup red bean, washed
1/4 cup dried lotus seeds, washed (optional)

1L hot water

1/4 cup longan, rinsed

sugar to taste

1) cook red beans & water in slow cooker until soft

2) add longan & continue cooking until longan opens

3) add sugar to taste

3 DATES DRINK

Red dates are the main ingredients in this drink.

This is an extract from rawforbeauty.com

3 Dates Tea

3 types of dates:

red dates 

black dates &

nan (blue) dates

3 to combine to give the best nourishing results

3 Dates Tea

30-50 pcs red dates (seeded)

8 pcs black dates (snipped)

4 pcs lan dates (blue) snipped

1.5L water

1) rinse dates & boil in 1.5L of water for an hour or more

2) store in flask & drink the whole day

FRIED GINGER EGG

Fry ginger slices in sesame seed oil until fragrant

add beaten eggs

This is what you get!

Simple as that!

SESAME GINGER CHICKEN

A dish that is commonly sold in

'chu chow'

i.e. Chinese cooking stall

1/2 chicken, chopped into bite size

old ginger, sliced thinly

2 Tbsp sesame seed oil

1 tsp black sauce

salt, pepper, sugar & soya sauce to taste

some water

1) heat kuali, fry ginger until fragrant

2) add chicken pieces & fry until meat shrinks

3) add water & seasoning

4) cook until meat is tender

STEAMED GINGER EGG

If you like steamed egg

you can have this for a change

during the confinement month

(A) 1 egg, beaten

      1 Tbsp ginger, shredded

      1 Tbsp sesame seed oil

(B) 1 egg, beaten

      1/3 cup water

      salt & pepper to taste

1) heat sesame seed oil & fry ginger until fragrant

2) add beaten egg & stir fry, switch off fire

3) dish into a steaming bowl

4) add ingredients B & steam for 7min until set

FRIED PORK SLICES

A simple dish

but can be tender and nice

if the meat chosen is right 

& 

cut across the grain

Ingredients

1 pc lean meat, sliced

2 Tbsp ginger, shredded

1 Tbsp sesame seed oil

Mariate to taste

soya sauce, pepper, sugar

black sauce (optional)

1 tsp corn starch, added last 

1) marinate pork slices & leave aside for 1/2 hour

2) heat oil & fry ginger until fragrant

3) add marinated meat & fry over high heat

4) serve 

GINGER RICE TEA

My Mom told me 
to keep her body warm throughout the confinement month

she only drank 

 Ginger Rice Tea

She said that my Tea has more ginger than hers

in fact, need a lot more rice !

Today

TCM encourage all new mothers

to drink red dates drink 

I feel that this Ginger Rice Tea is good for a change

maybe once or twice in a week

to break the monotony

1 cup rice

1 cup old ginger, shredded with skin 

1) fry shredded ginger in a clean kuali until dry

2) briefly rinse rice under running water, drain & add to ginger

3) fry until the rice changes colour, slightly brownish, about 2 hours

4) let cool & store in a bottle

To serve

1) scoop 3 Tbsp of the rice & ginger into a flask

2) pour boiling water into the flask, cover & leave to steep

3) strain & serve after 1/2 hour 

GINGER KIDNEY SLICES

These kidney pieces are so tender
and when blended in the ginger sauce
they simply taste good


My daughter could still remember its taste
even though she tasted only ONCE

It takes a bit of patience to prepare:

First, cut open the kidney
Next, using a sharp knife
remove the white ducts from the inside of the kidney,
clean well &
score the front side of the kidney
Then, 
soak in clean water to remove any smell
and you are ready to cook

2 pig kidney, prepared as above

2 Tbsp old ginger, shredded

1 Tbsp sesame seed oil

thickener (1 Tbsp corn starch + 2 Tbsp water)

salt, soya sauce & sugar to taste

1) heat oil & fry ginger until fragrant

2) add prepared kidney & fry briefly

3) add some water, flavor to taste

4) add thickener & serve hot

FOOCHOW ANG CHOW CHICKEN

A dish 

that is well loved by many Foochow people

Simple ingredients

but great taste

only the Foochow rice wine able to produce!

These days

one can easily buy the rice wine & wine residue

instead of going through the process of making them at home

1/2 chicken, chopped into bite size

1 Tbsp rice wine residue

2 Tbsp old ginger, chopped

1 black fungus, soaked & cut into bite size

2 Tbsp sesame seed oil

1 cup water

salt & sugar to taste

1) heat up sesame seed oil & fry ginger until fragrant

2) add chicken pieces & fry until meat shrinks

3) add rice residue, taking care not to burn it

4) add water, black fungus

5) let boil until chicken is tender

6) add salt and sugar to taste

GINGER LIVER SLICES

Liver

 is good for the new mother

but it is not easy to cook

it will be red and raw if undercooked

hard like leather if overcooked

Last time we used to cut it very thinly &

poured hot boiling ginger water over it

& served

Nowadays,

 not many people will dare to eat this way

100g pig's liver, sliced

2 Tbsp sliced old ginger

salt & pepper to taste

soya sauce

dark soya sauce

sugar

1 Tbsp sesame seed oil

To prepare:

1) heat 1 Tbsp sesame seed oil & fry ginger until fragrant

2) add sliced liver pieces & toss & turn quickly 

3) add seasoning & stir fry until cooked
4) serve hot

FOOCHOW ANG CHOW CHICKEN SOUP

Foochow people love this soup dish

It is usually prepared for ocassions like:

1) Birthdays

2) Festivals like Chinese New Year &

3) Celebration of a new born

In Sitiawan, 

during the olden days, at least @ my mother's time,

the new mother ate this for 30 days!!!

This is prepared every morning

in one big pot

both for the new mother &

guests when they come bearing gifts

It is a way of saying

'thank you'

 and 

'peace be with you'

to the guests

Of course,

mian sian and hard boiled eggs

are often added 

to complete the meal!

1/2 chicken, chopped into bite size

1 large piece ginger, shredded thinly or chopped

few pieces black fungus, soaked & cut

1 Tbsp rice wine residue

3 Tbsp rice wine

2 Tbsp sesame seed oil

2 large bowls of water

salt (optional)

1) heat up sesame seed oil & fry ginger until fragrant

2) add chicken pieces & fry until chicken meat shrink

3) add rice wine residue & fry quickly before adding water

    take care not to burn the rice wine residue

4) add black fungus pieces

5) when the soup boils & the chicken is tender, add rice wine & dish out 

6) serve hot

CHICKEN ESSENCE

Chicken Essence 

is usually prepared for the weak and sickly

It is also prepared for those in Confinement Month

because

1) it is nutriceous

2) can be prepared using the unpaletable parts  e.g. breast meat

& 3) it is easy to prepare 

As this is steamed for long hours,

about 4 hours,

the broth or essence is usually clear and tasty 

A dash of pepper

or ginger powder will give a different taste

but

on its own

I simply love it!

To prepare:

1) get some pieces of chicken meat, can be any part that we dislike 

2) slice thinly or simply chop it with the back of the chopper

3) over-turn a bowl & put it at the base of the steamer or small pot

4) arrange the chicken pieces around as shown

5) add some water (about 1/4 bowl)

6) steam for 4 hours

7) let it cool down for the essence to subside to the bottom

8) remove the chicken pieces which are hard & dry

9) remove the bowl & pour out the essence

10) reheat to serve hot

ONE BOWL BUTTER CAKE

An Old Fashion 

One Bowl Butter Cake

which I learned from my father's friend

Tan Kim Yew, whom we fondly called 大人

He would come on a motorbike
 with his wife riding behind

balancing a big clay tub on her lap

inside which held a 'baseball bat'

He creamed the butter and sugar together 

with the baseball bat in the clay tub, 

until light and fluffy

Vanilla Essence was added at this stage
(Sometimes forgot & not added)

Eggs were added one by one 
with each one well mixed into the butter cream

Flour was first sifted
& 
added to the mixture alternating with the eggs

Milk was only added
if the batter was too thick
and could not drop at the count of 3

Just these few simple steps 

and the cake would be ready after baking 

in preheated oven of 160'C-170'C for about an hour!

Simple
Not many things to wash
so

I made this butter cake, again and again

This is his recipe :

Ingredients:

250g butter, at room temperature
180g caster sugar
250g self raising flour, sifted (or plain flour+2 tsp baking powder)
1 tsp vanilla essence
4 AA eggs
1/4 cup milk, to adjust batter to dropping consistency

Sometimes

he would impress us with 

chocolate flavor as follows:

He would take out some of the plain batter

sifted in some cocoa powder
mix well
adding more if necessary
until the required chocolate colour is reached

And 
all of us would be so happy

 to have a chocolate marble cake!

Method:

1) cream butter & sugar until light & fluffy

2) while creaming the butter, beat eggs with a hand beater until foamy

3) add vanilla essence to creamed butter

4) add 1/3 egg to creamed butter, mix well, fold in 1/3 flour

5) alternate with 1/3 eggs & flour, mix well after each addition

6) when all ingredients have been added, check consistency

7) scoop & drop batter at the count of 3

8) if batter does not drop down at the count of 3, add milk by the Tbsps

9) bake @ bottom rack in preheated oven 170'C for 40-60min

Note:

1) Batter is enough for 2 small bread tin

2) If batter is over mixed, the cake will have a doomed top

3) do not use black baking pan, over browning of cake at sides & bottom

4) for a moist cake, have a small tray of water @ bottom of oven