My handmade soup/ dishes for family

Will take the picture one day

I have a simple prawn dish for all of you.. this is one of the simples and easiest to prepare.
Try it.

Preparation Time - 5 Minutes
Cooking Time - 5 Minutes

Ingredients: 4 Servings
10-15 Large Tiger Prawns (fresh)
2 Cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 Tablespoons of olive oil

Prepare:

1. Peel and de-vein the prawns, do leave the head and tail ...
2. Heat the olive oil and  garlic in a pan for a minute, then add the prawns and cook on a high heat for about 1 and a 1/2 minutes, Ideally the prawns should be fried on a griddle. Do not overcook the prawns, but ensure they are sizzling before serving.

Recently I am into soup .. for my family. I love to try cooking using online assistance. Planning to do a good soup for my hubby and kid. Saw this online ... going to give is a try

1) My first try
Huai Shan With Pork Ribs Soup

cooking in process :)
Nice taste

I use a vision pot as the pot can keep at certain temperature.

Ingredients(Serves 2-3)
-150g fresh huai shan root/Chinese wild yam (淮山), cut to large chunks
-1/2 chicken or pork (around 500g) skin removed and cut to large chunks-
-1 large carrot, peeled and cut to chunks-
-3 slices old ginger (I dont like ginger so I remove this)
- 1.5 litres of water- sea salt
-a few seedless 8 Red dates
- Wolfberry, commercially called goji berry, is the common name for the fruit of two very closely related species: Lycium barbarum (Chinese: 寧夏枸杞; pinyin: Níngxià gǒuqǐ) and L. chinense (Chinese: 枸杞; pinyin: gǒuqǐ) add the last

Directions
1. Blanch chicken Pork pieces in boiling water for about 5 minutes set aside.
2. Add water, blanched chicken and the rest of the ingredients into soup pot.
Bring to rapid boil for first 10 mins, then simmer over low fire
(with lid partially covered) for another 60 mins.
Add red dates and simmer 30 mins, 10 mins before add wolfberry the last.
3. Season with light soya sauce if needed.

Serve with warm rice.
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My next adverture soup

OMG this is so expensive... may be have to put off for sometime

1) cordyceps 冬虫夏草 Chicken Soup

What is cordyceps 冬虫夏草 ? This is literally means winter worm, summer grass.

You can easily get this from Yu Ren Sheng or those medical hall shop.

The weird name arises because cordyceps is actually a hybrid chinese herb made up of a type of parasitic fungus growing within a caterpillar.
Cordyceps is highly prized as a dietary supplement for maintaining youth.

this is expensive .

My collegue was telling me that her boyfriend has went to see a TCM doctor for hairlost.

He has recommend taking this Cordyceps.
Aftertaking there are improvement and he even mention that his ... is hard .. ops
I think this is very good for men.
especially if you plan for baby.

You can also cook the soup using a double-boiling jar or a electric stew pot.
Cordyceps sinensis. Source: Guangdong Food Safety Web
Looking to buy some chinese herbs online? Try 1stChineseHerbs.comIngredients1 chicken thigh2 cordyceps (东虫夏草 dong chong xia cao)6 red dates (红枣 hong zao)7 chinese wolfberries (枸杞子 gou ji zi)1000ml waterDirections
Cut chicken thigh into pieces. Parboil for 2 minutes. Wash and trim excess fats
Rinse the cordyceps, chinese wolfberries and red dates
Place the chicken pieces into a large soup bowl together with the cordyceps, chinese wolfberries and red dates
Add the water
Cover soup bowl with clingwrap
Steam for 1.5 hours
Add salt to taste before serving
Recipe link: An anti-aging chicken soup recipe

More information on Cordceps

Cordyceps is one of the most unique, rare, and treasured plants used in herbal medicine. In its natural form, Cordyceps can be found only at elevations above 3500 meters in isolated areas of southwestern China. This herb is actually a type of fungus which grows on the backs of caterpillars indigenous to China, Nepal, and Tibet. Due to its rarity, Cordyceps harvested in the wild is very expensive, costing about $1000 for 100 grams. Wild cordyceps from Tibet is supposed to be the best in the world. Scientific research has proven that wild cordyceps is richer in certain components, and also that the proportions of its ingredients are different from the cultivated herb, and this might make some differences in the activity. Nevertheless, the laboratory versions of Cordyceps are still a premium and valuable tonic herb.Used for nearly 1500 years in traditional Chinese medicine, the Cordyceps fungus has been found to be very effective in treating circulatory, respiratory, and immune system problems in addition to its most popular usage as a powerful aphrodisiac. Recent studies performed at Beijing Medical University of China and in Japan have shown a 64% success rate among men suffering from impotence vs. 24% in the placebo group.

In ancient China, Cordyceps was highly recommended as one of the most effective medicines for all illness. Due to its anti-aging and cure-all properties, it can be compared to ginseng, reishi and deer velvet. In general, cordyceps is a tonic that helps build strength, improve organic functioning, strengthen the immune system and contributes to longevity.

Cordyceps BenefitsCordyceps is a powerful tonic and can help restore normal function of the body, stimulate immune response, increase energy, vitality, and longevity. Recent research has shown that cordyceps can improve sport performance and muscle-building capability. In TCM, Cordyceps has been used to help regulate blood pressure, strengthen cardiovascular system, and improving sexual energy and desire. Clinical tests performed at Hunan Medical University have shown that cordyceps is effective in relaxing the smooth muscles tissue of the penis, increasing blood flow, resulting in harder erections. A few animal studies have shown cordyceps feeding to increase the ratio of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to inorganic phosphate (Pi) in the liver by 45-55% - an effect that may be viewed as beneficial in terms of energy state and potential for performance enhancement. Furthermore, mice fed cordyceps and subjected to an extreme low oxygen environment, were able to utilize oxygen more efficiently (30-50% increase), better tolerate acidosis and hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and live 2-3 times longer than a control group. A number of Chinese clinical studies, primarily in elderly patients with fatigue, cordyceps-treated patients reported significant improvements in their level of fatigue, ability to tolerate cold temperatures, memory and cognitive capacity and sex drive.

Cordyceps Research
Cordyceps Helps Maintain Healthy Cholesterol LevelSeveral studies have demonstrated that Cordyceps sinensis helps to lower total cholesterol by 10 to 21% and triglycerides by 9 to 26%. At the same time it helps to increase HDL-cholesterol (“good cholesterol”) by 27 to 30%

Cordyceps Maintain Healthy Immune ResponseSeveral studies have shown Cordyceps to increase Natural Killer (NK) cells, our body’s first line of defense against infections and illness. In in-vitro study, Cordyceps significantly enhance the NK cell activity in healthy individuals as well as in patients with leukemia. According to a study published in Chinese J Integrated Traditional Western Med, Cordyceps enhanced the NK cell activity in healthy individuals by 74% and increased the NK activity of leukemia patients by 400%. Similar improvements of NK cell activities were found in patients with melanoma cancer.

Cordyceps Increases Energy Level and Reduces FatigueSeveral studies with animals have demonstrated that Cordyceps sinensis increases the cellular energy production and oxygen supply. Cordyceps increases ATP synthesis, the basic unit of energy production, thereby promoting better oxygen efficiency, faster energy recovery, and reduce fatigue. In a clinical research involving elderly individuals with fatigue, after taking Cordyceps supplement for 30 days, 92% of individuals are showing reduction of fatigue, 89% showed reduction in feeling cold, 83% showed reduction in dizziness. Cordyceps has been clinically proven to increase cellular Bio-Energy by as much as 55%. In a double blind, placebo controlled investigation that involved elderly individuals, volunteers that took 3 gram of Cordyceps a day showed a marked reduction in fatigue and improvement shortness of breath.

Cordyceps Increases Endurance, Stamina, and Athletic Performance
Cordyceps help reduces muscle Soreness, enhances recovery, improves stamina and athletic performance. In a study with mice demonstrated their improved swimming capabilities after six weeks of Cordyceps supplementation compared with a control group.

Cordyceps Enhance Sexual FunctionCordyceps may help improve libido and quality of life in men & women experiencing sexual frustration. In a double blind and placebo-controlled study involving 200 men with reduced libido and other sexual problems, Cordyceps significantly enhance their sexual function. 64% of the Cordyceps-users reported significant improvement in sexual function compared with 24% of the placebo group. According to a double blind, placebo controlled study published on Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 21 elderly women experiencing sexual frustration were given Cordyceps supplementation. 90% reported improvements in libido and sexual health following the use of Cordyceps, compared with none in the control group. In another human clinical study involving 189 men and women with decreased libido and desire, 66% showed improvement of symptoms and desire after Cordyceps supplementation.

Cordyceps Improve FertilityCordyceps help improve fertility by increasing sperm count. According to a study published on J Modern Diagnostics Therapeutics, 22 males with low sperm count were given Cordyceps supplement for 8 weeks. The result showed 33% increase in sperm count, 29% decreased in incidence of sperm malformations, and a 79% increase in survival rate.

Cordyceps Maintain Healthy Respiratory FunctionSeveral scientific studies have demonstrated the benefits of Cordyceps sinensis in alleviating the symptoms of several respiratory illnesses including chronic bronchitis and asthma. In a double blind, placebo controlled study with 30 elderly volunteers Cordyceps significantly improved the maximum amount of oxygen these people were able to assimilate.

Cordyceps Enhanced Cardiovascular Health

Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of Cordyceps sinensis on heart rhythm disturbances, such as cardiac arrhythmias and chronic heart failure. In an in vivo mouse model induced with Pneumonia, research results showed that animals taking Cordyceps had a significantly greater survival rate of 20% mortality vs. 80% mortality in 30 minutes, a startling 400% improvement.

Cordyceps Maintain Healthy Liver FunctionsIn a research published on China J Chinese Materia Medica, that involved 33 patients with Hepatitis “B”, 8 patients with cirrhosis taking Cordyceps supplement showed 71.9% improvement on “Thymol Turbidity Test” and 78.6% improvement in” SGPT Test”, both are enzyme test showing improvement in liver functions.

Cordyceps Maintain Healthy Kidney FunctionAccording to J Administration Traditional Chinese Med, patients with chronic kidney diseases showed 51% improvement after one month with Cordyceps supplement.

Cordyceps as Complementary Chemotherapy SupplementSeveral clinical studies have been conducted in China and Japan with cancer patients. The studies were done with CSE (Cordyceps sinensis mycelium) using a therapeutic dose of 6 grams per day (= 4 capsules twice daily). In one study with 50 lung cancer patients administered CSE in conjunction with chemotherapy, tumors reduced in size in 46% of patients. A study in cancer patients with various types of tumors found CSE (6 g/day for over 2 months) improved subjective symptoms in the majority of patients. White blood cell counts were maintained and tumor size was significantly reduced in about half of the patients. Researchers in Japan reported that CSE enhances the general reactivity of the immune system in individuals with cancer. Mice were injected with cancerous (lymphoma) cells and then orally administered CSE. This lead to a reduction of tumor size and prolongation of the host survival time. CSE also improved the antibody responses.