Confinement Food - Varity Nutrition Soup for Wk#1, 月子餐 - 第一周-各类补汤

Forgive me for the inconsistency of my photo quality recently. The time is approaching - it is just around the corner - trying to post as many things as I can. But it doesn't work so well for a clumsy pregnant woman.

After getting advices from elderly women and reading some articles about confinement food, I have come up with a few choices of nutritional soup for my first week's confinement. It is not recommended to consume meals cooked with alcohol (even wine) and sesame oil in the first week post-partum because it will lead to unfavorably high vaginal blood discharge (恶露). The meals for the first week should be balanced, neutral and nourishing.

Here I came up with 3 types of nutritional soup first. I will update more whenever I have chance. It has been really exhausting recently, so I am trying to catch some rest. I would appreciate if some of you could share some tips with me about your confinement experience too.

大肚婆临盆在即, 动作迟钝, 没花什么心思拍照片了, 有拍到交货就好了啦! 照片品质不好, 请大家多多体谅哦...又要采购, 又要试煮, 又要记录食谱, 又要更新网志, 又要在生产之前赶工作进度....累啊!!!

今天先来几道温和的补汤, 还有一些要等以后有机会再整理了...目前争取时间休息最重要.

听 了一些过来人的意见和参考了许多医疗书籍, 结合了老人家的传统和医学上的资料, 我整理了几道产后第一周所要喝的补汤. 根据书上说的, 产后第一周的重点在於排除恶露, 除了服用生化汤, 饮食方面以均衡清单为主, 由于酒精会使血管广张促进血液循环, 而使出血更多, 所以饮食不加酒禁麻油为宜, 中药补汤也需要等到第二或第三周开始. 老人家说的, 第一周要"温补". 以下几款补汤其实也适合在平时褒来補一補, 做法简单, 是属于比较温和的補汤, 不会燥热. 还有其它补汤等我有机会在UPDATE吧, 大肚婆超忙的!!!

月子餐尽量少盐, 要不然水肿消不掉哦! 自己也是在学习, 也恳请有坐月经验的读者们多多留言分享, 感激不尽哦!!!


Soup # 1. - Mushroom & black fungus chicken soup - 香菇木耳鸡汤

1. 1/2 free range chicken chunks (approx. 600g), 半只土鸡(切大块) - pre-washed with boiled water, 川烫备用
2. 4~5 pre-soaked mushrooms - cut to chunks
3. 1" of fresh ginger chunk (can use bigger chunk if you like it)
4. 4~5 pre-soaked black fungus
5. 1 fresh oyster mushroom (sliced) - optional, can omit if it is not available.
6. Some wolfberries
7. 1000~1200ml water.
8. Salt to taste

Steps :

1. Boil the water, add in chicken and mushroom.
2. Bring boil again, simmer over low heat for approx. 40~60 minutes.
3. Add in black fungus, oyster mushroom slices, wolfberries.
4. Bring to boil again, simmer another 20 minutes.
5. Remove from heat, season with salt.


Soup# 2 : Black Bean Pork Rib Soup (黑豆排骨汤)

1. 400g Pork ribs (can substitute with pork knuckles chunks), pre-washed with boiled water, 川烫备用.
2. 2/3~1 cup black beans (wash and sauteed over medium heat (without oil/grease) until the bean's skin begin to crack), remove from heat and set aside.
3. 1" ginger chunk
4. 1200 ml water.
5. Salt to taste.



Steps :
1. Boil the water, add in ingredients # 1~3.
2. Bring to boil again, simmer over low heat for 80~90 minutes.
3. Salt to taste.


Soup# 3 : Chicken in Brown Sweet Rice Soup - 糯糙米汤炖土鸡
(recipe from Sister Lisa)

1. 1 cup (use rice cup) of brown sweet rice
2. 1400~1500 ml water.
3. 1/2 free range chicken chunks (approx. 600g) (1/2 只土鸡块), 川烫备用.
4. 6~8 Black dates/red dates 黑枣/红枣 (optional)
5. Salt to taste (can be omitted)

Steps :
1. Cook the sweet rice until it is the consistency of congee.
2. Separate the rice from the liquid. (I keep some rice)
3. Add in chicken chunks and dates
4. Bring to boil, simmer over low heat for 45~60 minutes.

Oriental Grilled Mushroom

It looked ugly, but YUMMY! :-p

It seems like busy moment is never ending. Another week gone, and going to be end of month closing again....., I feel like time flies fast like rocket now!

Fast and easy meal is my priority now. I am still trying my best not to consume too much canned or frozen food. So, I still maintain cooking from fresh produce, but make it really simple. For example, I will marinate the meat or seafood at night, then I don't have to spend too much time on the food preparation when I'm tired from work.



This grilled mushroom was accidentally invented. I had some mushrooms sitting in the fridge needed to finish ASAP before they go bad. While I was going to grill some chicken kabob the other day, I was searching some vegetables in my fridge to put on my grill too, I found I had nothing left but just mushroom. So, I immediately marinated them with some soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and garlic, they tasted so good that was beyond my expectation, Tom even demands more.

A)
1. 230g whole mushroom - remove the stem

B)
2 cloves garlic - sliced
1/8 cup soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
few drops of sesame oil and garlic oil
a pinch of sugar
a pinch of white pepper

some pre-soaked BBQ skewer
some green onion strips and garlic slices to skew together with mushroom

1. Rub and marinate the mushroom with sauce B for 30 minutes or longer for better flavor.
2. Skew 4~5 mushroom per stick with onion strip and garlic slice as a spacer in between.
3. Grill on medium heat for 4~5 minutes each side. Brush the remain marination sauce once each side.
4. Serve warm

Mixed Mushrooms with Tofu in Claypot (三菇豆腐煲)

I need to get rid of my "spare tire" hanging there on my belly --> a side effect of baking and eating too much recently.

I decided to cook more vegetable and less meat (Tom can't live without meat (Editor's Note: Vegetarians are weird. Vegans doubly so.)), so I grabbed different kinds of vegetable and mushroom from the stores. Do you guys know that by consuming more fresh mushroom, your skin will be smoother? I am not sure if this works for you. I did have this experience while I was working in China few years ago. The cook in our hostel cooked at least 5~8 mushroom meals in a week.


Cute little beech mushroom!!

At that time, I was not a big fan of mushroom, but I did not have too much choices to eat. After several weeks of working there, I noticed that my skin of my arms and hands turned smoother (usually rough like sand paper.. lol), I started to cook and consume more fresh mushrooms afterward... hehehe... women --- beauty first!

You can cook this dish with any kind of fresh mushroom available. Amount of uses is adjustable to your personal liking. You don't have to serve it in a clay pot if you don't have one.

Ingredients :

1. 10 white mushroom - sliced

2. 1 stalk abalone mushroom - sliced

3. 1 small bunch of beech mushroom - separated

4. few pieces of fresh black fungus (can use pre-soaked dried black fungus too)

5. Some snow pea

6. 150g silken/soft tofu - cut to10cm thick slices

7. 3~5 cloves garlic - crushed or chopped

8. 1 tsp oyster sauce

9. Salt to taste

10. 2~3 tbsp water

11. Some Chinese celery for garnishing

1. Heat a lightly greased frying pan.

2. Brown the garlic, stir in ingredients # 1~4. cook for 2~3 minutes over high heat.

3. Add in snow pea, oyster sauce, continue to another 1~2 minutes.

4. Salt to taste, add some water if needed.

5. Transfer the mushroom to a clay pot, add in tofu, bring to boil.

6. Remove from heat, garnish with some Chinese celery when serve.