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.

Confinement Food (月子餐) : Pork Knuckles in Ginger and Vinegar 猪脚姜醋

Curious about whether I am in confinement period??? Not yet, but pretty soon! :-). This is why I said I couldn't move fast in my prior post. I think some of you may have already guessed I am pregnant. :-p. After the moving and un-packing, we are now busy with baby stuff shopping and buying my confinement food ingredients. One of my tasks before labor is to cook excessive food that is freezable for my honey - Tom. That way he doesn't have to eat too much of the high sodium frozen foods that are usually sold at supermarkets here.

I think I have got most of the confinement recipes ingredient stocked up in my pantry, but as most of them are not the same as what are available in Malaysia, I am going through some "rehearsals" on some of the common confinement meals in order to get the right amount to make it taste like what I usually cook. I am so lucky that I have some friends here who are volunteering to help me through out this critical post-natal period. I think it is also better for them to know ahead what kind food I can handle and write down proper recipes for them to follow.

Pork Knuckles in Ginger and Vinegar is one of the Chinese traditional confinement foods that help to increase milk supply for breastfeeding moms. I got different types of vinegars at Lee Lee. Since the one I used in Malaysia was special made to cook this, I didn't have to mix different types of vinegar to make up the right taste. The ratio of mixing the sweet and sour vinegars depends on personal taste, and you can adjust the ratio according to your liking. Recommended ratio is 60~70% sweetened vinegar, 30~40% black vinegar.



我在坐月子中吗???目前还不是, 不过也快了!!我想一些人已经猜到为什么我在之前的搬家文章里面谈到为什么我不能搬太快了吧?我觉得自己在2010年完成了很多事情咧..拖了两年的婚礼, 搬家, 生小孩...感觉到这一年过得特别快.

搬 完家之后就是在忙BABY的必需品和月子餐材料的的采购, 还蛮多东西要买的咧. 列单中应该买的都已经七七八八了. 家里储藏室里的角落也堆满了月子餐所需要的材料, 之前也有从PENANG带一些中药回来. ARIZONA的华人不像CALIFORNIA那么多, 这里没有月子中心, 我听说还有人特别从CALIFORNIA聘请坐月婆过来, 费用不少哦...大大超出我们的预算了...很幸运的我在这边有一些肝胆相照的朋友, 义务帮我煮月子餐, 真的让我很感动. 因为材料的出产地不同, 我想我需要事先"彩排"一下, 写好材料的用量和做法, 让我的朋友跟着食谱来做, 这样她们就比较了解我可接受的口味, 那就比较节省时间了.

首 先出场的这一道是猪脚姜醋, 很普遍的一道马来西亚华人的月子菜. 据说可以促进乳汁分泌, 对想喂母奶的妈妈们很有帮助哦. 以前在PENANG可以买到特制的乌醋, 酸度和甜度刚好. Lee Lee 这边卖的种类看得我眼花缭乱, 花了一番之间研究, 最后选了以下3种. 用量的比例可依照各人的口味调整, 建议比例是 60~70% 甜醋, 30~40% 乌醋/黑米醋.

Recipes & Steps :

1. 1 pork knuckle (have the butcher cut to desired size of chunks) - pre-washed with boiled water, 用滚水川烫备用.
2. 1 bottle (590ml) sweetened vinegar (添丁甜醋)
3. 280~300 ml black vinegar (Koon Chun -冠珍 brand or Kong Yen-工研 brand) - I prefer Kong Yen brand as it tastes better and much more smooth (less harsh) sourness. 我比较喜欢工研醋, 感觉酸度没有那么呛, 比较香和顺口.

4. 2~3 tbsp black sesame oil
5. 2 chunks ginger (approx. 3 inches - will add more during confinement period, add 2 to 3 chunks more. 目前不加太多, 会上火气, 真正做月子的时候要加多一两块)
6. Salt to taste (not recommended during confinement period - 普通日子可加盐调味, 做月子的时候可以不加就不加)

7. Some black beans - 黑豆 (optional - can help on back/lower back bones soreness, 可以随意加点黑豆, 对减轻腰骨酸痛有帮助哦).

8. Hard boiled eggs - optional

**Use clay/ceramic/glass ware to cook or serve this meal, don't use metal ware. 用瓦磁或玻璃锅/碗烹调或盛载为家, 忌用金属.**

Steps :

1. Grease the slightly heated pot with sesame oil, fragrant the ginger chunks.
2. Pour in desired ratio of vinegars.
3. Add in pork knuckles, black beans (optional), hard boil eggs (optional)
4. Bring to boil, simmer for 40~60 minutes or until desired tenderness.
5. Salt to taste (can be omitted during confinement period)
6. Skim the excessive oil before serve.