Hainan Chicken Poop Creeper 海南野生鸡屎藤

Hainan Chicken Poop Creeper (Paederia foetida)

We were going to prepare a famous Hainanese dessert named Chicken Poop Creeper rice cakes (Kweh Dai Dean Bua). My sister-in-law sent her daughter-in-law and daughter to pick the wild chicken poop creeper  (Paederia foetida, also known as Chinese Fevervine herb) from a hill behind the village. I requested to tag along.

We walked passed padi fields and through narrow lanes of some villagers' houses before arriving at the foot of a hill. It was a rocky and uneven terrain with many betel nut trees planted on the slopes.

The two ladies showed me a chicken poop creeper and made me smell a crushed leave before going separate ways to look for the plant, leaving me to hunt for the elusive creeper. It has a pleasant smell, it doesn't smell like chicken poop.

Walking among the betel nut trees, there were lots of cobwebs and mosquitoes. All the creepers looked alike to me. I pulled some and went to look for my nephew's wife. She took a look and laughed out loud. I had brought her weeds. LOL

I examined the chicken poop creeper she found and discovered that it has hairy leaves. Ahhh .... I have a better chance of finding the plant. I was ecstatic when I found it and ran to show her. She nodded her head and feeling happy with myself, I went back to look for more chicken poop creepers.

In the course of looking for the creepers, I came across three tombstones .... they made my hair stand on end. When I mentioned this to my brother-in-law, he told me one of them is our grandmother's tombstone.

Grandmother and two great uncles were buried there because the hill was once our estate, but it was confiscated during the Cultural Revolution. It was then distributed to other villagers.  

We managed to fill two bagfuls with the plant. We brought them back home and the kids helped to remove the leaves.

Sister-in-law then washed the leaves thoroughly and left them to dry in the sun.

The next morning, my nephew's wife sent the leaves and a bag of rice to the miller to have them ground.

My nephew went to collect the flour after lunch. When I opened the bag of flour, it gave out a nice fragrance, it doesn't smell like chicken poop.

Now we were ready to make the famous Hainanese dessert ~~

Chicken Poop Creeper dessert (Kweh Dai Dean Bua)

海南风味家乡菜
家里要做鸡屎藤粑仔, 大嫂叫她的女儿和二媳妇去村后面的山采生长在山野的鸡屎藤。我跟着去看看。我们采了两大袋鸡屎藤回来, 孩子们帮忙摘叶。鸡屎藤叶洗干净后要晒干, 然后加大米去磨成粉。

鸡屎藤是一种蔓藤类植物，它生长在气候温热以及潮湿的灌木丛林中。“鸡屎滕粑仔”是海南省琼海特色的风味小吃和民间滋补品。

鸡屎藤粉 - 纯天然滋补绿色食品

鸡屎藤营养功效 :
清热;  解毒消肿;  祛风除湿;  活血止痛;  食积腹胀；小儿疳积；腹泻；痢疾；皮炎湿疹;  中暑；黄疸；肝炎；肝脾肿和补血等等, 很适合风寒感冒和痛经的女生。

Chinese Hawthorn Apple and Chrysanthemum Tea 山楂苹果菊花茶

We have been overindulging in food for the past two weeks because we were hosting some foreign guests. I am trying hard to get rid of the salty, spicy, oily and sugary stuff in my body.

The unpredictable weather is also causing havoc to the health of my family members, one by one we are falling sick. We need a healthy and nourishing beverage to cleanse our digestive system.

I have accumulated two dozen apples in the fridge because we regularly have elderly visitors who always bring us gifts of fruits whenever they come to our house. It's a Chinese culture.

It becomes a headache for me when we cannot consume all the apples. I have to think of ways to use them. I would spend hours peeling and coring apples, then baked or cooked them into delicious dishes or beverages.

When I was in my twenties and newly wedded, I kept harassing (edited) ... oops, suggesting to my husband to emigrate to Australia and own an apple orchard. Fortunately he was level-headed and did not listen to me, or else I would be feeling miserable ... imagine peeling and coring apples for the rest of my life. LOL

The main ingredients for my detoxifying and nourishing tea are Chinese hawthorns (山楂) and apples.

Hawthorns when used appropriately is able to help dilate blood vessels, particularly in the heart, helping your blood flow more easily and lowering blood pressure. Chinese physicians primarily use hawthorn for treatment of heart disease. With the easing of the blood circulation problem, it helps to reduce the syndromes of having cold feet and hands.

Another benefit of eating hawthorn is that it would burn body fat. Ahhhh! This makes you sit up, right? haha....

Ingredients :

50g dried hawthorns (warning : hawthorns are sour)
20 apples
30 g dried chrysanthemum flowers
30 g wolfberries
rock sugar to taste
3 litres water (yields about 6 - 7 glasses)

Method

1.   Peel and core the apples, cut into quarters or large chunks.

2.  Wash dried hawthorns and chrysanthemums. Soak hawthorns for about 20 minutes. Discard water.

3.   Put the hawthorns, apples and chrysanthemum flowers in a pot with about 3 litres of water. Bring them to a boil. By this time, the aroma of apples would fill the whole house. mmmm.........

4.   I removed some quarters of apples for a sweet dessert dish. Let the rest of the apples boil longer for a more tasty drink.

5.   Reduce the fire to medium, keep boiling for about 60 minutes till flavours are infused into the tea. Add rock sugar and wolfberries. Simmer for another 5 more minutes until rock sugar is dissolved.

A healthy and nourishing Chinese Hawthorn Apple Chrysanthemum Tea / Dessert

6.   Serve the tea with a slice of apple as a sweet dessert. Or simply serve the tea chilled. Enjoy!

The dried hawthorn is sour, so do not use too much. I have several variations using hawthorn tea as the base. Sometimes I add red dates, Chinese pear or honey for a more nutritious tea and with a variety of flavours.


过去的两个星期, 应酬太多, 暴饮暴食消化不良, 结果胀胃不舒服。油腻、高胆固醇、高脂肪的食物对健康极为不利, 我赶快煮一锅去解油腻、助消化的山楂苹果菊花茶, 改善消化系统和肝脏功能。

以山楂和苹果混合制作而成的茶，酸酸甜甜的，味道相当不错。家里的帅哥们都爱喝这茶。

供参考 :

用山楂做茶来喝，有着不错的减肥功效。食肉不消，腹胀有利尿、消滞除腻等功效。

山楂含山楂酸等多种有机酸，味酸甘，并含解脂酶，入胃后，能增强酶的作用，促进肉食消化，有助于胆固醇, 所以对于吃肉或油腻物后感到饱胀的人，吃些山楂、山楂片、山楂水或山楂丸等，均可消食，为老年人的保键食品，山楂还可利胆汁，促进胃液分泌。

苹果促進消化系統、消滯解脂。

帮助排除脂肪, 还可以整肠助消化, 有治疗肠胃炎、消化不良、预防消化系统癌变的作用。苹果中含纤维素可刺激肠蠕动，加速排便，故又有通便作用。

菊花茶具有清热，解毒，利尿的功效。

Peach Gum Nourishing Beauty Tonic 桃胶糖水滋阴养顏

Recipe can be found here : 

https://eastcoastlife.sg/blog/peach-gum-nourishing-beauty-tonic/ 

食谱在这里 :  桃胶

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博客迁移 

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When I was in China six months ago, a Chinese official's wife served me a bowl of dessert that she claimed is good for my complexion. It has some gelatine-like stuff double boiled with some wolfberries, white fungus, dried longans and rock sugar. I thought it was bird's nest tonic soup but it was a vegetarian dessert.

She revealed that the gelatine-like stuff is peach gum which is an edible gum. It is a resin that is exuded from the bark of the peach tree. It comes in crystal form looking like amber crystals.

She gave me some peach gum to cook at home. I have been cooking and experimenting with it for the past two months. My son loves to drink this dessert, so I make a big pot of peach gum dessert weekly and chill it in bottles for him in the fridge.

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大陆朋友半年前介绍我吃桃胶。桃胶是桃树树干上分泌出来的一种胶状物质, 含有非常丰富的植物性胶原蛋白，具嫩滑肌肤及增加皮肤弹性之效，能通血脂降胆固醇。炖汤饮用更是滋阴、润喉兼养颜！

儿子很爱喝, 我每周都会煮一大锅，然后倒在瓶子里，放冰箱保存。可以放一个星期不会有问题。每次吃的时候倒出一小碗或一小杯子即可。桃胶最好不要用明火煮太久，否则会溶。特别适合炖汤，可以保存独特弹牙囗感。

中医说 : "桃胶属于凉性食物，对孕妇来说食少量桃胶是有好处的，但是桃胶具有活血功能，在孕期是绝对不能接触的。"

桃胶需要提前泡发至少18小时才能完全浸透。桃胶长在树上，难免会有树皮等一些杂质，在清洗时，要稍微花点时间。

桃胶本身没有味道, 在烹调桃胶时, 我设法加入一些不同食材配搭, 增加味道、囗感。

Healing Seasonal Anger using Traditional Chinese Medicine - PhotoHunt

PhotoHunt theme : Seasonal/Anger

Great for nutritious soups

Seasonal change brings a change in our diet. As the weather turns rainy and becomes cooler, it is important to nurture and nourish our body Qi (energy). Over-indulgence of food during the year end seasonal festivities are common, so we need to detox our bodies to prepare for the outburst of new life and energy in the spring. :D

Fresh live fishes for sale

A friend is worried as her family members are experiencing depression or explosive rage along with irritation, frustration, and aggression during this gloomy season.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the liver and gallbladder govern our ability to have clarity, focus, and make sound judgements. When the liver and gallbladder are functioning properly, we are able to manage anger and stress in a positive, healthy way

Bull frogs 

We travelled to Chinatown to buy fresh ingredients to prepare nutritious herbal soups. She was not too keen to try the bullfrogs and eels. :P

To maintain free-flow of energy (Qi ) in the body, we need to have healthy liver and gall bladder.

Detox with a bowl of nutritious herbal soup

Acupuncture or a massage can also be of benefit as it works specifically with the energy of the season to maintain equilibrium of Qi.

Half the eastcoastlife - Weekend Snapshot #10

Probably I was overworked before the Chinese New Year, ........ the preparations of the festival, the numerous deliveries of CNY goodies to my elders and business associates, clearing my payments and chasing for payments, the end-of-the-lunar-year meals and my father-in-law falling again the day before CNY eve...... my right shoulder was aching and my right hand was turning weak.

I ignored it and on Saturday morning, I woke up with an extremely painful right shoulder and a very weak right hand. I didn't want to go to the hospital as it is considered inauspicious to be there during Chinese New Year. The Chinese physician whom I use to consult is also in festive mood, his clinic would only open on the 5th day of CNY (11th Feb).

I applied a herbal ointment on the hurting part. On Sunday morning, the right side of my body was too painful to move. I was worried it might be a stroke but yet I endured the pain and waited for my Chinese physician to come back.

First thing on Monday morning I went to see the Chinese Physician. After a thorough investigation, he found that it was only a bad sprain and overworked muscle. Phew! I was given a massage and put on a heat therapy.

The massage was a really painful one. I'm bruised and still in pain. Fortunately I'm able to move my right hand now. I hope to get better in the next few days and visit all my blogger friends. Thanks for your visits and comments.


Weekend Snapshot

You need balls for this!!! Homemade Herbal Wine

Guess Christopher's age.

Many people who have met my husband have commented on his youthful look. hehehe.... He's my work of art. sengkor, I'm answering your question now on Chinese viagra. I was going to bring it for you to Kuching.

Chris drinks a cup (150ml) of herbal wine every night. Yes, reptiles and bugs soaked wine! kakaka........


Actually many Chinese herbs are used in each concoction. Different contents for different purposes. I learn from my sifu (master) who 's a Chinese Physician in Taiwan. He has a huge collection of herbal wine in his house. He's 73, looks no older than 50....... as strong as a bull. He has 3 wives.

The wine strengthens the body system and aids blood circulation. It prevents hair loss. Increases immunity, slows down ageing.........

养生蛇酒
功能 - 具有扶正固本、延年益寿、补肾壮阳、养血安神、强壮筋骨、祛风湿、镇痛、养颜、生发、免疫调节，增强体质、抗疲劳、延缓衰老等作用.

In a few months' time, Christopher will be half a century-year-old. Big 50!

Chinese traditional treatment - Herbal Concoctions

Chinese medicinal herbs..... and it included dried insects.

My son had a medical condition that baffles the western specialist doctors. He was put through many medical tests and given medications. He was also given a nasal spray. He had side effects from these treatments, resulting in swollen lips and face. He felt drowsy in school. He couldn't exercise without feeling sick.

Jaymes even collapsed twice in school and had to be sent to hospital in an ambulance. After a year of treatment at a well-known local hospital, I decided to try Chinese traditional treatments at the suggestion of my Chinese partners. They found several well-known Chinese physicians in China and Taiwan. I brought Jaymes to consult them.

I was given herbal prescriptions which had to be boiled for hours. The herbs looked like dried twigs and leaves and there was a handful of dried insects! For 3 months, my house was filled with the pungent smell of boiling medicine. Jaymes had to drink the nasty brew every morning and night.

A year later, Jaymes is much healthier now. He swims daily, he plays basketball and soccer. He is not dependent on medication anymore. I'm glad I sought alternative treatment.