Local Herbal Drink to Cleanse Kidneys and get rid of Stone in it

I am not sure what is the actual name of the above red coloured herbs but my friend told me that it can help to break down the stones that accumulated in our kidneys. This herbs can be grown easily in our garden and you can also find it at many wet markets. I would normally cook it with Mutt Cho (Chinese Preserved Dates) and drink it just like Tong Sui (sweetened drinks).
I am not sure whether it works or not but, this herbal red grass drink is rather tasty, especially when chilled!

Anyone know the name of this local herbs?

Tea Time, have a cuppa! - A Relaxing Drink

I love to try out different types of tea. Drinking tea is a good way to relax. Apart from that, tea contain antioxidant, protect your bones, clear our blood vessels from clots, protect against cancer (polyphenols) and increases your metabolism. The photo above shows the small collections of tea that I have.

Basically there are three types of tea; Black (fermented), Green(not fermented) and Oolong semi-fermented).
Black tea go through four steps process; Withering (fermentation), Rolling, Fermentation and Firing.
Green tea go through these 3 processes; Panfiring, Rolling and Firing.
Oolong tea go through only 2 processes; Withering (brief fermentation) and Firing (to stop fermentation)

 Although I drink tea almost everynight, I can still sleep well! Caffeine has no effect on me! LOL!

Honey Serai (lemongrass) Ginger Tea Drink – Recipe

Some of my readers and friends tried out the serai (lemongrass) drink in my post Serai – Destroyer of Cancer Cells but found that it is not very tasty. Actually, it will taste better when chilled or when it is hot. Anyway, my neighbour thought me to make this Serai ginger tea drink and this is a tastier version of the remedy to destroy cancer cells. My kids love this drink very much. Here is the recipe of Honey Serai Tea Drink.

Ingredients

Serai, 3 pcs, crushed

Ginger, 1”x1”x1”, crushed

Tea (I used Lipton, any dark tea will do), 1 sachet

Sugar, to taste

Honey to taste

Pour 5 bowls of water into pot and bring to a boil. Add in the serai and ginger. Let it simmer at low heat for around 45 minutes. Add sugar and stir until it dissolves. Put in the tea bag. Turn off heat and let the temperature cool down a little bit. Add in honey and chill the drink in the fridge.

Serai (Lemongrass) – Destroyer of Malignant Cancer Sells

My friend’s sister who is a teacher had just undergone an operation to remove 1/3 of her lungs that was cancerous. The operation was done by a Cardiothoracic Surgeon and I was told that there is only a handful of this specialist in Malaysia. A few hospitals in KL share one Cardiothoracic Surgeon. She was told to stay away from meat for five year and have to be on strict medication during this time. One of the nutritionist in the hospital told her that Serai (lemongrass, Scientific Name, Cymbopogon citratus) is effective in killing cancerous cells. She was asked to boil serai in water to drink from time to time. In fact it would be good for the whole family members to drink this serai drink as well. Then, I remembered that I have written about the properties of serai in my previous post Edible Plants, Fruits and Herbs in a Foodie Garden. It seems that the active ingredient citral in serai is capable of destroying cancer cells in our body. I have seen my dogs which are sick chewing and eating serai plant when I was young. They seem to be cured after eating the serai plants at my house. Apart from that serai also have anti fungal properties and is commonly used as insect repellent. I boiled some serai and added in a small amount of rock sugar for my family to drink. Actually it tastes quite good!

Big and Juicy Ananas Comosus (nenas, pineapple) - Bromelain

My brother in law gave me this huge Pineapple (Scientific name, Ananas Comosus) which measure more than 1 foot in length (look at the 1 foot ruler next to it). Some farmer gave it to him when he visited their farm. Pineapple contains Bromelain which has many medical uses. Bromelain is an effective compound capable of blocking pro inflammatory metabolites that causes inflammation to our body parts. Therefore, this natural compound is effective in treating arthritis, injuries, trauma, indigestion, sinusitis, accelerate surgery wound healing process, autoimmune disorders, gout, haemorrhoids, arteries blood clot, and menstrual pain. Those with heart problem should avoid Bromelain because it can increase heart rate count. Anyway, this huge pineapple is very juicy and sweet too after I added some salt after cutting. The juice was flowing all over the container I used to hold it. Mmmmmmm, nice and fresh pineapple!
How to cut pineapple link : http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-to-cut-and-clean-pineapple-buah.html

Lab Bi (Six Aroma/Flavours, Lok Mei) Soup Recipe – Chinese Traditional Soup to Whet the Appetite

Types of herbs used (clockwise from top middle) : Longan fruit, polygonatum root, Dioscorea Yam, lily bulbs, fox nut and Lotus seeds (halved, with brown skins) You can find pre packed Lab Bi (six aroma/flavours, Lok Mei) herbal combination in most Chinese Medicine Hall. This is a very popular soup among the Chinese and it is known to be able to whet the appetite. As a foodie, I need a lot of this soup so that I can continue eating nonstop, ha ha ha!
The sweet and neutral Fox Nut (Brown and white) is good for our kidneys, spleen and appetite. Fox Nut is the fruit of a type of waterweeds that grows in lakes and swamps. The other herbs that are found in Lab Bi are Polygonatum Root (Yuzhu, Polygonatum odoratum, for wind and prevent internal dryness), Longan Fruit (Yanrou, Euphoria Longan, nourishes the blood and spleen), Lily Bulbs (Baihe, Lilium Brownni, stops cough, removes heatiness and settle the mind), Dioscorea Yam (Huaishan, Dioscorea opposita, Strenthen Digestive system, increase Qi, good for lungs and kidneys). The Lotus seeds (Lianzi, Nelumbo nucifera) that are used in this herbal combination are with the brown skins intact. The ones that are used for Tong Sui would have this brown skin removed. Lotus seeds nourish the kidney and spleen.
I normally buy these herbs separately and mix them whenever I want to cook this soup.

Ingredients
Fox nut, 2 table spoons
Polygonatum Root, 10 pcs
Longan Fruit, 10 pcs
Lily Bulbs, 10 pcs
Dioscorea Yam, 4 pcs
Lotus Seeds, 20 half seeds
Chicken Carcass, Bones or Pork Ribs, 300 gms
Water, 6 bowls Salt to taste

Put water in pot and bring to a boil. Add in all the ingredients and boil in slow heat for around 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add salt to taste. Serve with steamed rice.

PS : This is a savoury version which you eat with rice. Some people would omit the bones and salt. They would put in sugar to make it into a dessert.

How to Make Natural Chicken Essence – Recipe for health

Chicken essence is good for people who are weak because one bowl of it contains all the goodness from one chicken. Many pregnant mothers who had difficulties during their pregnancies have benefited from this wonderful chicken essence soup. My mom thought me how to make chicken essence when my wife was pregnant with our first child. Now, I would make chicken essence occasionally for my family. It provides my kids with extra nutrition during their growing years. It is actually not very difficult to make chicken essence; you just need some time to cook it over slow fire. Ingredients Chicken (preferably free range kampung (village) chicken), 1 whole, removes skin

Clean chicken and make a cut along the breast area. Use a pestle to smash all the bones so that all the nutrition from the bone marrow would flow out when the chicken is cooked. Place a rice bowl upside down in a porcelain pot. Put the chicken on top of the rice bowl. Cover up the porcelain pot and put in a metal pot filled with water for double boiling. Cover up the metal pot and double steam (dan, 炖) for 3 hours. The chicken essence would flow into the rice bowl. Serve while still hot. The chicken meat would be tasteless but you can use it to make bak hu (meat floss) I didn’t manage to take a picture of the pure chicken essence because my kids drank all of it before I could do so! Sweet and nice! This is Pete's Essence of Chicken!LOL!

Figs (Wuhua guo, Ficus Carica) and Frittilaria Bulb (Chuangbei, Fritillaria Cirrhosa) Tong Sui Recipe – Nourishing the Lungs

Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners believe that the lungs are responsible for the defence system of the body. The lungs are very sensitive to the air in our environment. A weak lung would have low resistance to flu, cold and cough. This recipe uses Figs (a sweet fruit, Wuhua guo, Ficus Carica) which moisten the lungs and clear excess heat from the body. Frittilaria bulbs (Chuangbei, Fritillaria Cirrhosa) are good for dissolving phlegm and lily bulbs (Baihe, Lilium Brownni) are good for stopping cough. For an extra flavour and sweetness, I added in some mutt cho (preserved Chinese Dates).
It is believed that when the lungs are healthy, our breathing improves, the skin and complexion would be healthy as well, and therefore drinking this Tong Sui can be part of your ‘beauty’ program too! Ha ha ha!

Ingredients
Figs, 10 pcs Frittilaria Bulb, ½ cup
Lily Bulbs, ½ cup
Mutt Cho, 6 pcs (large)
Water, 6 bowls
Rock Sugar, to taste

Put water and all the ingredients in a pot. Boil for around 1 hour. Add rock sugar to taste. Serve chilled or warm.

Slowly Baked Beggar Chicken Copy Cat Recipe

Uncooked chicken with Chinese herbs. All wrapped up in aluminium foil before baking My copy cat Beggar Chicken all done and ready to eat. Only bones left in split seconds!

The original Beggar chicken covered in clay bought from Jalan Kuching in my previous post http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2010/01/beggar-chicken-jalan-kuching-kuala.html No more quickie recipe to post, so now I am writing about Slowwwwwlyyyy Cook Beggar Chicken Copy Cat Recipe. I tried to make Beggar Chicken, like the one I bought from Jalan Kuching, minus the clay of course! LOL! The Chinese herbs I used are the same as the original Beggar Chicken and instead of baking it in charcoal amber, I used my electric oven. Anyway, the final taste and flavour were almost similar to the original beggar chicken although the aroma of my copy cat chicken is not that strong. Here is the recipe that ‘Superman’ won’t like! Ha ha ha!

Ingredients
Half Chicken (I used half because that is the only one I have in my fridge that day)
Tong Kwai, 2 slices,
Huaishan, 2 slices
Hongzao (Red Dates), 5 pcs
Kei Chi (Qizi, Lycium barbarum), 1 table spoon
Yuk Chuk, 10 slices
Tong som (Dang Shen), 1 pcs
Chinese Rice Wine, 1 table spoon
Soya Sauce, 2 table spoons
Salt to taste
A little water

Put the chicken in an aluminium foil and add in all the other ingredients. Cover the top part with another aluminium foil and seal the joints by folding it so that the steam would not escape during baking. Bake the chicken in a preheated oven at 200 Deg C for around 2 hours. Served while still hot! Happy ‘slow’ cooking! LOL!

Benefits of Chinese Herbs
1) Huaishan (Discorea Yam, Dioscorea opposita) – Improve digestion, respiratory function, kidneys and increases vitality(Qi).
2) Hongzao (Red Dates, Ziziphus jujuba) – Improve Qi (vitality), nourishes the blood and reduces stress.
3) Yul Chuk (Polygonatum root, Polygonatum odoratum) – Moisturises our internal organ, balances Yin energy, clear wind and softens the sinews.
4) Tong Kwai (Angelica Sinensis Root, Radix Angelicae sinensis) – Stimulating effect on the uterus, tonic for blood and regulating menses, lubricate the bowels, improve immune system, antioxidant, protect digestion system and improve blood circulation.
5) Tong Som (Dang shen, Salvia Root, Dang Shen (Radix Codonopsis Pilosulae)) – Tonic for the blood, spleen, stomach, Qi, lungs and lowers blood pressure. It also can increase our white blood cells count. 6) Kei Chi (Lycium Berries, Lycium Barbarum) – Brighten the eyes, moistens the lungs and enriches Yin energy.

A Busy Week – Another Wedding, Car Accident and Medical Treatment for my FIL- A Miracle

It has been a busy week for me. I was back to Butterworth to attend my cousin’s son wedding. However, this wedding was a very simple one without all the religious ceremony. Then back in Selangor, someone knocked onto the back bumper of my car at a traffic light junction and left a gaping hole on it. The guy refused to pay for a new replacement but only offer to patch it up, although he drives a ‘big’ car. Therefore I made a police report to claim against his insurance which was such a hassle and time wasting process. Of all time this accident happened to me when I have a hectic schedule. My FIL who is wheelchair bound came to stay with me while waiting for his turn to see a orthopaedic surgeon. I cooked up some good food like walnuts, star anise, kei chi, red dates and lean lamb stew to strengthen is limbs and to improve his neurological function. Anyway the doctor referred us to another brilliant specialist and they concluded that my FIL has limb-kinetic Apraxia which is a condition which the brain is unable to coordinate the movement of the limbs in our body due to stroke or maybe normal pressure hydrocephalus. A simple explanation of limb-kinetic Apraxia is that the brain is unable to process the command to walk. In order to bypass this instruction the doctor asked him to concentrate on the object on the floor and tell the brain to move towards it. Miraculously, this trick works and my FIL who has been using the wheelchair for the last one year was able to walk all by himself using this method. I am going to fix a laser pointer on his walking stick so that he will have a guiding light to improve his walking! However, he will still have to go through a MRI scan next week. Hopefully everything will be ok. Till then.....I hope that I will have the time next week to post more about food! PS : To all my blogger friends, sorry for not visiting your blog for the last one week.

Edible Plants, Fruits and Herbs in a Foodie’s Garden

These are some the plants that I have growing in the small garden at my house. I like to cultivate herbs and other plants that I can use in my cooking. Sometimes it can very troublesome to look for these herbs or plants in the market; most of the time they are not available or already sold out.

My friend, Amy gave me this Lychee (Laichi, Scientific Name, Litchi Chinensis) tree. I have planted it in a large pot because I don’t want to expose it to too much sunlight which might kill it. It was growing real slow, so recently I added some growth enhancement fertilizer and it grew new leaves immediately. Hopefully I can get it to produce some fruits when the plant matures.

This Indonesian Avocado (Scientific Name, Persea Americana) plant was given to me by Amy too. Unfortunately, it wilted when I added too much fertilizer to the soil. Maybe I will try to plant another one again. Avocado has real creamy texture and I love to eat them with sweetened condensed milk. Avocado leaves contain persin, a toxic fatty acid. The bark and many parts of the tree is poisonous too. Therefore be careful if you have this plant at home; this poisonous substance can kill cat, dogs, goats, cattle, rabbit and horses. Some birds can die if they consume the Avocado fruits.

These are sweet potatoes (Pucuk Ubi, Scientific Name, Ipomoea batatas) leaves and are commonly stir fried with garlic. The young leaves are very crunchy and nice. This is a common meal taken by Viet Cong guerillas when they were hiding in the famous Cu Chi Tunnel in Ho Chi Minh City while fighting the US Army during the Vietnam War. I have cut away all these plant because it was growing to fast (too bushy) and even produced some starchy sweet potato tubers.

I planted this pineapple (Scientific name, Ananas Comosus) tree from one of the ripe pineapple that I bought. I am not sure if this plant will bear any fruits but I am keeping my fingers crossed. Pineapples are great addition to dessert and drinks. I love to eat curry cooked with pineapple. Thailand is one of the leading countries in pineapple production; in fact South East Asian countries occupy the top spots in the pineapple producing list.

This is a Taiwanese custard apple (Buah Nona, Scientific Name, Annona Reticulata) tree. It is really tall and skinny, just like me but have not bear any fruits yet. I was told that the fruit is sweet and quite large in size. Look like I have to add more fertilizer to make it flower and bear fruits. I was told that the leaves of custard apple can be used to fight cancers and tumours.

I think this is a ciku (Sapodilla, Scientific Name; Manilkara zapota) tree that I planted from the seed. Well, I have to just wait and see what type of fruits it will bear when it start to flower.

I have some ginger (Scientific name, Zingiber Officinale) sitting far too long in my fridge and has grown some green leaves. Therefore I planted it in my backyard. I am not sure whether it will grow well and produce lots of ginger tuber. I have to wait and see. Apart from being commonly used in cooking, the ginger also has many medicinal properties. It is widely used to alleviate the symptoms of common cold.

Serai (lemongrass, Scientific Name, Cymbopogon citratus) is one of the common plants seen in many places in Malaysia. It is the most widely used ingredients in Malaysian and Asian cooking. Lemon grass oil has anti fungal properties and it is also commonly used as insect repellent. Based on a latest research, it was found that citral, a chemical found in lemongrass is effective in killing malignant cancer cells. I have seen sick dogs chewing on the lemongrass leaves and got well after that. Maybe there are other medicinal properties in lemongrass that we have yet to discover.

Whenever I have old shallots that have started growing roots, I will plant them in my garden. I will harvest the spring onions when they mature and used them to cook spring onion chicken dish.

Pandan leaves or Screwpines (Scientific Name, Pandanus amaryllifolius) are widely used to enhance the aroma in dessert and many dishes in many countries across the South East Asia. Gai ob bai toey (Pandan Chicken) is a Thai dish which the chicken is wrapped in pandan leaves and then deep fried. The colour and aroma from the pandan leaves juice are important ingredients in the famous Malaysian Chendol. Apart from being a common ingredients in food, the pandan leaves can also be used to repel cockroaches.

The Chinese called this Muat Chaw (Hokkien Name). It is suppose to be a ‘clean’ plant and some Chinese people would bring along som of the leaves with them whenever they attend a funeral. The common species of Muat Chaw would have fruits that can stick to one’s clothes. However this particular species of Muat Chaw in my garden produced beans and you can see the fully grown pods in the picture. My ex-maid told me that the beans are edible and this plant is very common in Muara Cawang, Indonesia.

‘Uncle, can I have some karuvepalli leaves’, my previous cute Indian neighbour kids used to come knocking at my gate for permission to take some of the curry leaves (Scientific Name, Murraya Koenigii) from my garden. It is actually not easy to cultivate and keep this plant healthy. I have managed to keep two plants that I took from my auntie’s house alive and well for quite some time. The leaves are used to enhance the aroma of curry dishes. It is a must in Indian cooking! The flowers of the tree are white and fragrant. The berries are edible but the seeds are poisonous.

Bird eye chilli is a must have for those who love spicy food. In Thailand it is found in virtually every dish. Due to its’ small size the Malay name of this type of chilli is known as cili padi (rice chili). Don’t let its’ size fool you, bird eye chilli is very spicy! I have seen some common bulbul bird feeding on my ripe bird eye chilli. Wow, this bird must be a chilli fan like me!

Nasi ulam is one of my favourite dishes and cekur leaves (Scientific Name, Kaempferia galanga) is the main ingredients in it. The cekur is also known as kencur, aromatic ginger or sand ginger or resurrection lily. Cekur rhizomes have earthy flavour and it is used in Nyonya salty/sweet chang (dumpling). The cukur rhizomes are effective for treatment of dog roundworm, Epstein Barr virus inhibitor, to kill mosquito’s larvae and as mosquito repellent.

The peanut (Scientific Name, Arachis Hypogea), a legume plant is actually the native to South America. Nitrogen in soil is often depleted by other plants. Peanut plants are used to put Nitrogen back into the soil, a process known as Nitrogen Fixation. Nitrogen is a very important nutrient for plants. Peanuts are used in many dishes such as in our famous Satay sauce and also as garnish for Nasi Lemak.

Sayur manis (Scientific name, Sauropus Androgynus) is also known as katuk or star gooseberry. The Chinese often call this Mani Cai and it is used to garnish Pan Mee. True to its’ name, Sayur Manis (sweet) has loads of natural sweetness in it. I like to stir fry sayur manis with eggs. This tasty vegetable can be planted using matured stems and it grows real quick. Although it is one of the few plants that contains Vitamin K, over consumption may lead to lung damage due to high concentration of alkaloid papaverine. However, papaverine is sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction. So, you get to choose....lung damage or better sex life....he he he!

Basil (Scientific name, Ocimum Basilicum) has a strong and pungent smell. It is widely used in Italian cooking, eg in Pesto, a green Italian oil and herb sauce. There are many variety of basil such as Lemon Basil, Thai Basil, Sweet Basil, Holy Basil and African Blue. Overcooking will destroy basil flavour so it is best eaten raw or added at the last moment. Basil and Oregano contain large amounts of E-beta-caryophyllene (BCP). BCP is effective in treating inflammatory bowel diseases and arthritis by blocking chemicals in the body that cause inflammation.

Kaffir lime (Scientific Name, Citrus Hystrix) leaf is the main ingredients that gave the famous Thai Tomyam Kung its’ distinct aroma. Apart from that, it is also used in Malaysian dishes such as Rendang Daging and Nyonya Otak-Otak. The kaffir lime fruit has bumpy outer skin and ‘kafer’ is actually a German name for bug. This is how this lime tree got its’ name. My daughter loves to use the fruit from my kaffir lime tree to wash her hair. The leaves from kaffir lime tree is said to be beneficial to our digestive system.

Daun Kadok (Scientific Name, Piper Sarmentosum) looks like betel leaves. It is widely used in Malaysian Nyonya dishes such as otak-otak and perut ikan. In Thai cooking it is the main ingredient for Mieng Kam, (a starter dish consist of dried prawns, peanut, toasted coconut, shallots, chilli and fish sauce) in which daun kadok is used as a wrapper. The roots of daun kadok can be chewed to stop toothache.

This is Andrographis Paniculata Nees (Snake Herb, Hempedu Bumi) tree. I have posted about the medicinal benefits of this plant at http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2008/10/herbal-cure-for-warts-andrographis.html

Influenza A (H1N1) Pandemic – Back To Basic; Explained in Layman Term

I have been receiving many email and advice about H1N1 that was somewhat misleading. There are many people out there that are trying to cash in on the fear that this fast spreading flu virus is creating. Therefore I would like to share this basic knowledge about virus; how it spread, prevention and cure. How virus attack our body. 1) Virus enters human body 2) Virus injects RNA into our cells and take over our cells' function. 3) Virus uses our cells to multiply 4) Virus offsprings breaks open our cells wall and infect our body other cells How our body stops virus attack Antibiotics are commonly prescribed whenever we visit the doctor. ANTIBIOTICS CANNOT KILL VIRUS. Antibiotics are only effective against bacteria. It helps you weaken body to fight secondary bacteria infection. You have to depend on your body natural defense, ie antibodies to counter the virus attack. Every type and strain of virus have different active site configuration, so every time a new type of virus enters our body, our body reacts by producing a new antibodies which are mainly consist of protein to inhibit the active spot of the virus, thus render the virus inactive! 1) Human defense cell gather information about virus active spots 2) Human defense cell produces antibodies to close the active spots of the virus How Virus Inhibitor Medicine/Drugs, like Tamiflu Works Flu virus use a protein called neuraminidase to break the human cells wall. Tamiflu inhibits this neuraminidase protein so the virus cannot break open human cell wall anymore. Some of the offspring’s would be trapped in the human cells because the neuraminidase has been inhibited, therefore they cannot come out to replicate it self. Tamilflu are made from skimic acid that is extracted from our common kitchen spice, the star anise. Skimic acid are also found in pine, gingko and spruce. Tamiflu cannot stop the flu from spreading. It only helps the body by inhibit the virus that is already inside your body from replicating further. It will shorten the duration of the flu. Tamiflu helps our body to inhibit the virus active protein, so if it is taken early when the flu symptoms appear, it will help our body to recover faster and prevent the illness from getting worst. Your body is the best natural defense. In order to recover from virus attack naturally, we have to build up our body natural defense. Eat well balanced meal and lots of greens. Protein and carbohydrates are important part of our diet. Minerals in green vegetables would help your body to absorb vitamins efficiently. Minerals and vitamins work hand in hand, so make sure your daily intake consists of these two important supplement. Take plenty of fluids and exercise regularly but don’t overly exert yourself.

White Fungus, Pear and Matt Chor Dessert for Prevention of Flu and Respiratory Related Illness

The combination of white fungus, pear and matt chor (preserved Chinese Dates) is very good for our respiratory system. With the current Swine Flu (H1N1) and Influenza A epidemic at it’s peak, it is advisable that we take good care of our respiratory system to reduce the chances of infection. This nice dessert drink will moist our throat and hence help to trap impurities before it reach the inner part of our body. This is also a cooling drink for the body. I have added in longan in this recipe to make it taste better, but actually it is not advisable to add longan because it can be very heaty!

Ingredients
Matt Chor, 10 pcs (small ones, if large ones just use 5pcs)
Pear, 1 fruit, cored and cut into small slices (can also use yellow Chinese Ya Pear or Green Pear)
White fungus, 4 pcs, soak in water until soft
Dried Longan (optional, can be heaty), ½ cup
Water 5 large rice bowls or More (if too sweet add more water)
Rock Sugar to taste (please note that
Matt Chor is already very sweet)

Boil all the ingredients for around 1 hour. Let it cool down. Chill the dessert in the fridge and serve.