ScarlettTangerine Peel and Mung Bean Sweet Soup
October 21st 2008 06:18
Tangerine Peel and Mung Bean Sweet Soup
About dried tangerine peel
Chinese shop sell this rather expensive ingredient for flavouring. However, it is something that anyone can make during the citrus season – the peels of oranges, mandarins, tangerines or tangelos can be dried out in a very slow oven or in a dehydrator, or left to dry naturally, then stored airtight. Do not remove the white pith, as it contains bio-flavonoids and is good for you. The Chinese believe that the older the peel, the better the flavour and the more effective its curative powers. One or two pieces may be added when braising or simmering long-cooked dishes such as duck and pork. Or the peel may be soaked in a little hot water until soft, pounded or chopped and incorporated in mixtures such as meat balls.
Simmered in braised dishes or soups, it adds a zesty flavour. Mixed with finely minced beef in those delicious, springy beef balls offered at dim sum, the flavour is intriguingly heady and fragrant. Pounded and mixed with sugar and sometimes tea leaves (dry) in a smoking mix, it imparts a delicate aroma to food which is steamed and then smoked.
Purchasing and storing: Either buy in packets from a Chinese grocer, or make your own. Store airtight and leave at least six months to age and mellow.
About sea kelp
Sea kelp can be found growing both in the marine salt waters as well as in fresh water lakes and seas. They commonly grow on coral reefs or in rocky landscapes, and can grow at great depths provided that sunlight can penetrate through the water to where they reside since, like plants, they need light for their survival. Sea kelps are neither plants nor animals but classified in a group known as algae.
Why would anyone want to eat sea kelps? Because they offer the broadest range of minerals of any food, containing virtually all the minerals found in the ocean-the same minerals that are found in human blood. Sea kelps are an excellent source of iodine and vitamin K, a very good source of the B-vitamin folate, and magnesium, and a good source of iron and calcium, and the B-vitamins riboflavin and pantothenic acid. In addition, sea kelps contain good amounts of lignans, plant compounds with cancer-protective properties.
Sea kelps, are nature's richest sources of iodine, which as a component of the thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), is essential to human life. The thyroid gland adds iodine to the amino acid tyrosine to create these hormones. Without sufficient iodine, your body cannot synthesize them. Because these thyroid hormones regulate metabolism in every cell of the body and play a role in virtually all physiological functions, an iodine deficiency can have a devastating impact on your health and well-being. A common sign of thyroid deficiency is an enlarged thyroid gland, commonly called a goiter. Goiters are estimated to affect 200 million people worldwide, and in all but 4% of these cases, the cause is iodine deficiency.
About lotus seeds
Lotus seeds or Lotus nuts are the seeds of plants in the genus Nelumbo, particularly the species Nellumbo nucifera. The seeds are of great importance to East Asian cuisine and are used extensively in traditional Chinese medicine and in Chinese desserts. The seeds are most commonly sold in the shelled and dried form. Fresh lotus seeds are relatively uncommon in the market except in areas of lotus root and seed production, where they are sometimes sold as a raw snack.
Two types of dried lotus seeds can be found commercially; brown peel and white. The former is harvested when the seed head of the lotus is ripe or nearly ripe and the latter is harvested when theseed head is still fully green, but with almost fully developed seeds. White lotus seeds are de-shelled and de-membraned. The bitter tasting germ of the seed is also removed at the time of harvest using a hollow needle, though some may still remain in the seed due to production oversight. Brown peel lotus seeds are brown because the ripened seed has adhered to its membrane. These seeds are usually cracked in half in order to remove the germ since the seeds are hard enough to make the germs’ removal by needle difficult.
Dried lotus seeds past their prime oxidize to a yellow brown colour. However, this is not necessarily an indicator of freshness since sellers of dried lotus seeds may choose to bleach their products with hydrogen peroxide, sodium hydroxide, or other more toxic chemicals (in Chinese).
Dried lotus seeds that are sold in packages or in bulk at many Asian markets must first be soaked in water overnight prior to use due to their hardness and toughness. They can then be added directly to soups and congee, or used in other dishes.
Fresh lotus seeds are sold in the seed heads of the plant and eaten by breaking the individual seeds out of cone shaped head. The soft rubbery shell that surrounds each seed should be removed before consuming.
INGREDIENTS
1 tael / 38 gm mung bean
½ piece dried tangerine peel
½ tael / 19 gm sea kelp
½ tael / 19 gm lotus seeds
2 pieces brown cane sugar
5 bowls water
1. Wash mung beans. Soak the dried tangerine peel till soft, remove pith.
2. Wash kelp, slice into thick pieces.
3. Remove bitter germ of lotus seeds, then wash.
4. Place mung beans, tangerine peel, kelp, lotus seeds and 5 bowls water into a saucepan, bring to boil.
5. Switch to slow heat, cook till all mung beans turn mashy.
6. Add brown cane sugar and cook until well dissolve.
7. Serve hot.
**From “Next Magazine”, “Asiafood.org/glossary_2.cfm”, “dkinages/discover/food and drink”, “The world’s healthiest foods” and “wikipedia, the free encyclopedia” **
| 55 |
| Vote |
Shared on
Subscribe to this blog
