Chinese Herbal “Confinement” Soup, a broth flavored with an assortment of dried Chinese herbs, is just one reason I find living in Malaysia so endlessly fascinating. The Chinese, Malaysains, and numerous other Asian cultures have a centuries-old tradition of serving new mothers foods that will restore their energy, alleviate pain, and improve their general health. So, why am I writing about this unusual soup?
As the U.S. Ambassador’s wife, one of my “duties” is to celebrate important events in our embassy community, which is comprised of about 100 American employees and their families. When it was brought to my attention that we had TEN new mothers (a mini baby boom of sorts) at Embassy Kuala Lumpur, I just couldn’t resist hosting a lunch for them. As I was going over the menu with my Chinese cook, Luann, and residence manager, Jennifer, they both jokingly suggested that I should serve confinement soup. “What’s that?” I asked. They laughed, then explained that this broth is served to new mothers throughout their first thirty (some say forty or more) days of being confined to their homes with their babies while being waited on and fed (sounds good to me, I think we need something like this back home).
The day before the lunch, Luann showed me a plastic bag filled with a bunch of dried herbs she bought from the Chinese market. I opened it. We both giggled as I pulled out small bags of truly weird looking stuff. One bag contained a piece of a very thin white root, Fook San, that resembled dry wall or plaster (all if could think of was pica, the pregnancy disease where a woman craves non-food items). Other bags contained small red berries, Kei Chi; red dates the size of cherries, Hong Cho; a yellowish root resembling long strips of apple peelings, Yok Chok; a long, scraggly, dried beige root, Tung Sam; and a long, thin snow white root, Wai San. I haven’t found a reputable source to tell me what all of these herbs do, suffice to say, they are purported to be be healthy for new mothers and others as well.
On the morning of the lunch, Luann washed all of her dried loot then placed it into a pot containing chicken broth and brought the concotion to a boil. She reduced the heat and very gently simmered (more like steeped) it for about 2 hours. After straining, she served it with some of the berries and dates floating in the bowl. It tasted like a chicken broth with slightly sweet and tart overtones.
Just in case you’re wondering, the rest of the delicious lunch menu looked like this:
- Chinese Herbal “Confinement” Soup
- Pad Thai with Shrimp
- Quick and Easy Chicken Curry (from Eating for Pregnancy)
- Steamed Tofu with Pork and Salted Radish
- Sauteed Mixed Vegetables
- Coconut Rice
- Strawberry-Blueberry Chiffon Cakes
The meal was fabulous. As a party favor, each guest received a copy of my book, Eating for Pregnancy: The Essential Nutrition Guide and Cookbook for Mothers-to-Be. They were very happy, and I was too. PS: Flavours Magazine in Malaysia covered the event…I’ll post the link on twitter http://twitter.com/cjonescooks when the article comes out. Look forward to more recipes…I’m working on the chicken curry.
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