Red Date Tea (for Confinement)

Ingredients:
1. Red Dates
2. 黑枣
3. 蓝枣
4. Dang Shen
5. Bei Qi
6. Wolf Berries
7. Dried Longan
8. Lemongrass (for 吹奶)

Things I Learnt About Confinement

1. It is okay to bathe.

It is important to keep yourself clean and fresh during confinement as this makes you feel good and helps prevent skin problems. BUT always ensure that you DRY yourself immediately amd thoroughly right after your shower. And it is advisable to shower before the sun sets.

Make sure that you wash, DRY and medicate your wound area after each time you pee/shit (for vaginal birth with stitches).


2. Stay dry and away from direct wind, but keep the house well ventilated.

Well, 老一辈 always says "wear more clothes to keep warm", "cannot shower", "close all windows", etc...

But truth is, do you know that you can get headache even when you are just wet in perspiration??

Singapore, being so hot and humid, will definitely make you perspire like crazy! Hence, I feel that you should bathe yourself to keep clean, but make sure you dry yourself immediately, and stay away from DIRECT wind at all times.

If you are perspiring alot, make sure that you wipe off your sweat immediately. And it is important to keep the house well ventilated. So long as the wind is not blowing directly at you, it is fine to have some wind in the house.


3. Drink more water.

Water helps reduce water retention.
Yah, you didn't hear me wrong!

When you take in more water, your body will try the dispel the extra water from your body (usually through sweat and urine).

On the other hand, when your body is dehydrated, it will try to retain as much water as possible. Which leads to more water retention.

Green Papaya Bee Hoon Fish Soup

(Good for Boosting Breast Milk)

Ingredients:

1. Fish bones/fish head

2. Fish meat (Marinate with light soya sauce, pepper, 花调酒 and sesame oil)

3. Ginger

4. 10 Red dates 

5. 1 密枣

6. 1 small or 1/2 big green (or half riped) papaya

7. Lemongrass

Method:

<Papaya Fish Soup Base>

1. Boil washed red dates, 密枣, green papaya and lemongrass in a big pot of water.

2. Dry fry (without oil) fish bones and fish head in a hot pan till brown.

3. Put fish bones and fish head into the boiled water in step 1 and simmer in low fire for 3 hours.

(This papaya fish soup base can be put in packets and stored in the freezer for subsequent use.)

<Papaya Fish Soup Bee Hoon>

4. Add bee hoon (without soaking in water) in the soup (add more water into the soup, where necessary).

5. Remove bee hoon and add fish slices, vegetables and tomatoes. Off fire when fish is cooked. And we are done! :)

Welcoming Kiwi to Our Family!

Today's Dinner!

Thailand Baby Kailan

 Boil washed kailan in water, oil, sugar and salt, until soft.
Drain away water.

In a separate frying pan,

heat oil, garlic and oyster sauce.

Add some water and bring to boil.

Add in light soya sauce and hua diao jiu.

Pour sauce over cooked kailan.

Spagetti with Minced Pork, Mushroom and Hotdog

In a frying pan, heat oil with chopped onions.

Add in minced pork, mushroom and hotdog.

Once cooked, add tomato ketchup, pepper and salt to taste.

Add water and bring to boil.

Add in cooked spagetti.

Stir well and simmer till sauce is absorpted by spagetti.

It has been awhile...

Ah dear cooking his favourite "pak tai" (a.k.a. 臭豆).

Still don't understand why he loves it so much.

This dish stinks the whole house! Not just the veg. itself, but also his breath and his fart after eating it! Omg... can you imagine?! Lol...

Sambal kangkung.

Mapo Tofu. My favourite!

And... 臭豆! Eww...