My mom cooked this soup for me during my confinement month. It left me with good impression as the shallots made the soup sweet and it had a hint of lemon grass. Now, I cooked this soup because I just learned that lemon grass is very good for our general health and anti-cancer. I added ginger just because it is anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory. This soup definitely brings no harm to us so I will be cooking it more often, just for prevention and general health benefit. Best of all, it tasted great. You can eat the shallots with the soup as it will be really soft with a tint of sweetness.
Ingredients:2 chicken drumsticks
1 or 2 lemon grass, cut and smashed
10 shallots, peeled and keep it whole
1 small piece of ginger
1000ml water
1/2 tsp. sugar
Salt to tasteMethod:1. In a pot, bring 1 little of water to a boil. When boiling, add in the drumsticks. Then add the rest of the ingredients except sugar and salt. Let it simmer at low for 3-4 hours.
2. Season with sugar and to taste with salt. Serve hot.
What to do with the leftover Benedictine DOM from the confinement? I know I supposed to drink a little each night before going to bed, but I just never do it. A bottle of this is not cheap at all and I really like the sweet fragrant taste, throwing it away is definitely not an option. So, I used it in cooking! The alcohol content will evaporate during cooking and leave us with the sweet DOM smell. So, instead of using the Chinese cooking wine or Japanese rice wine asked for in a recipe, I just substitute it with DOM. I have used it in making spaghetti sauce too.Ingredients:
1 skinless and boneless chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, thinly sliced
1-inch piece of ginger, thinly sliced
Canola oil for cooking
Seasoning for chicken breast: rice wine, sesame oil, salt, white pepper, cornstarch.
1 Tbsp. LKK premium dark soy sauce
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp. Benedictine DOM
Method:
1. First marinate the chicken breast with the marinade above, leave it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
2. In a wok, heat up with some cooking oil. When hot, add in ginger slices and fry until fragrant. Add in red onion and stir-fry for a while. Scoop the mixture to the side and add in the marinated chicken breast, stir-fry until chicken is cooked.
3, Mix everything together and add in carrot. Stir-fry for a little while. Add in dark soy sauce, water and DOM. Stir to mix well and boil to reduce the sauce a little. Serve hot. The alcohol content should be evaporated while cooking and left the sauce with the flavor of DOM.
Note: During my confinement, instead of adding DOM to cook with the chicken, I just drizzle some on top of the sesame ginger chicken before serving. But if you are breastfeeding and afraid that your baby might get some of the alcohol through the milk, you can certainly used it in cooking.
This Angelica soup (當歸汤) or "female ginseng" is widely used in Chinese traditional medicine to treat gynecological ailments, mild anemia, fatigue and high blood pressure. This soup is also cooked for new mom in the last two weeks of confinement. It is also one of my favorite soups and I cook this soup 2-3 times per month. It is best for women to drink this after each menstrual cycle to revitalize. Bonus is this soup is very sweet and delicious.
Ingredients:2 Chicken drumsticks
2-3 pieces of sliced Angelica (Dong Guai)
10 pieces of dried Polygonatum (Yok Chook)
10 red dates
1 .5 Tbsp. wolfberrie/Goji berries (kee chi)
6 dried longan
1000ml water
Salt to tasteMethod:1. In a stock pot, add in the water and let it boiled. Rinse all the herbs with water, drained.
2. When boiled, add in the chicken drumsticks and the rest of the ingredients except salt.
3. When boiled again, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 3-4 hours. Season to taste with salt and serve hot.
