Of Chinese herbs and my new ceramic pot

It's been awhile since I last posted a recipe ... I'm still messing around the kitchen when I can, but I have admittedly been pretty tied up with work this year.

It's been a tough year - in terms of workload and seeing some friends and colleagues losing their battles to cancer. But in it all, I'm reminded of God's purpose for all of us - no matter how long or short our time here on earth is, we need to be that salt and light, just as Jesus has taught us to be.

There is a song called "Tapestry" which I learned some 20 years back and it goes;

I am thread in the tapestry
I have the Master's hand on me
And then He weaves me carefully
Making textures as He goes

Each of us part of His great design
You've got your part and I've got mine
All of our lives are inter-twined
As the fabric starts to grow

Through thick and thin
The Master weaves us in
Young and old, we are the colours of the rainbow, our lives are
Short and long
But together we hold strong
In this everlasting tapestry

So press on and do not be discouraged!  For each day that the Good Lord has given us, we must continue to fulfill the Great commission he has required of us!  

RIP my friends David, Cynthia and Daphne.  I'm blessed to have known you all.

Meanwhile for the living, keep the good faith and run the good race!  And to good health, I've been doing some research on healthy Chinese herbal soups.

I recently came across a book in Popular Book Shop on healthy Chinese soup recipes and found it extremely useful when it came to understanding the uses of some of the traditional Chinese herbs in soups.  My understanding of Chinese herbs and medicine is not even near good, but this bilingual book has greatly helped me in my Chinese herbal education 101.  So if you're as lost as I am, I ask that you begin this journey with me :-).

For starters, I bought myself a ceramic pot just for brewing soup from NTUC finest at Bukit Timah, costs me about S$25.  I'm pretty sure you can find it at any department store like Tangs or in a Chinatown near you.

According to this book called "Miraculous Soup" by Wu JiLin, a ceramic pot which gives the soup  a different taste and texture compared to cooking it in a metal pot.  That is because ceramic produces "far-infrared rays, which help release the goodness of the ingredients, resulting in a fresh, sweet soup".  It is said to enhance the effects of the herbs and ingredients in the pot. A clay pot will do just as well.

Then I proceeded to the Chinese Medical shop for a quick lesson in Chinese herbs.  I was so glad the sales assistant could explain the Chinese herbs in English as well as Mandarin (I only managed with my fractured Mandarin and I'm glad the young man was ever so patient with me).

Chinese herbs are measured differently, but it can be weighted in grams as well.

一两 （yi1 liang3) is 1 tael which is approximately 37.5g
一线 （yi1 xian4) is 1 mace which is approximately 3.75g
十线 ＝ 一两  which means 10 maces equals 1 tael

So Chinese herbs are measured this way, by maces and taels.  I bought my herbs by the tael, because the recipes require them in these measurements.

In my next fews blogs, I will share recipes I've tried with Chinese herbs from the soup book I mentioned earlier.  The recipes are easy to follow and all you need is just to get hold of the Chinese herbs and a good ceramic or clay pot, and that's it!

Coming up next, Apple and Snow Pear soup with American Ginseng.

Till then, stay tuned!