“A good bee never takes pollen from a fallen flower.” -Chinese proverb
We need to fill our bodies with good things, nourishing foods. Sparked by my post on colds and congee, I’ve been thinking about nutritious soups I’ve encountered. Here are my top five soup cures:
1. Special Sesame Chicken Soup–provides energy for new mothers
In “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” it says, “Water, water everywhere. Nor any drop to drink.” This is the opposite of what happens with this chicken soup; it feels like a never-ending pot. The chicken soup is consumed for one month after a mother gives birth (twice a day). The ingredients of black sesame oil, ginger, and rice cooking wine are supposed to increase milk production, cleanse the womb, speed up the return to a pre-birth body shape, and provide needed energy.
There are two other soups that help a birth mother along (one with pig’s feet, and another with unripe green papaya), but I mostly drank this chicken dish. It’s actually pretty tasty–but make sure you boil off the alcohol or else it’s too strong! It does get a bit tiring to drink day after day (especially for other family members). Here’s the recipe, courtesy of my mother-in-law:
Ingredients:
1. one whole chicken; remove the fat of chicken. chopped into square size, 2×2
2. three pieces of ginger; each one is about the size of thumb, smashed flat
3. one – two bottles of rice wine (NO salt)
4. Sesame Seed oil, 4-5 tablespoonfuls
5. water, as needed
Cooking instructions:
1. Warm the cooking pot to medium heat.
2. After the pot is warm enough, pour the oil into the pot and continue on medium heat.
3. After oil is warm enough, add ginger and stir. Continue on medium heat.
4. After ginger is warm enough and slightly brown, then add chopped chicken. Stir well on medium heat.
5. After the chicken is slightly brown, add rice wine (medium heat).
6. Add water to cover over the chicken. Use medium-high heat.
7. After soup is boiled, reduce the heat to low.
8. Slow cook for one plus hours, until well done.
2. Beef Broth–heals muscles
This soup is made by slow-cooking beef for multiple hours and has an intense meat flavor. It’s supposed to aid in strengthening muscles. (It seems to be working well for my brother, who injured his leg!)
3. Ginseng juice–lowers cholesterol, reduces blood sugar
Place a chicken breast in a slow cooker, along with several pieces of ginseng. (Wisconsin ginseng is known for its high quality.) Boil on low for multiple hours. This broth tastes very herbal and medicinal (aka bitter).
4. Abalone soup–prevent arthritis, improve circulation
Abalone is a mollusk and tastes similar to scallop. It provides a nice seafood flavor to the soup. However, since it’s valued in Asian dishes, abalone is priced pretty high in the stores.
5. Winter melon soup–relieves stomach ailments
This is one of my favorite soups because the melon absolutely disintegrates in your mouth. It’s a clear broth that offers a slight sweetness to it.
Hi Jen!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I’m glad I came across this post. I’m all for natural remedies & I’m going to give some of these a try.
Thanks, Bianca! It was fun reading your blog, too.