I'm writing this with a heavy heart. I received a phone call from DC last night informing me that YL just passed away. We are expecting her demise since her cancer cells kept coming back after her chemo sessions and operations, but not so soon. I'm worried for her 6 year old daughter, what is going to happen to her? At such a young age, can she handle it? It is going to be very tough on her.
I cannot imagine myself leaving my kids behind. But no one knows when one will have to leave, I always believe that it is all predestinated, when the time comes, if you have to go, you just have to go. And this is one of the reasons why I started this blog, I want my loved ones to remember me by (and also to have a record of what food I've prepared for them) if I were to disappear for no apparent reasons.
Anyway, back to what I've been cooking. I found out about this Zhi Ke Tang (止咳汤) in a forum, highly recommended by a few forumers. They claimed that this drink is good for cough with phlegm. They bought the prepacked so was unable to advice on how much ingredients to use. Since I've got all the ingredients at home, I decided to concoct my own.
It is believed that this soup/drink relieves cough and strengthens function of the respiratory system.
After cooking this several times, I finally bought a pack from the local supermarket to try it out, just to see if they tasted the same.
Zhi Ke Tang 止咳汤
(serve 3-4)
10g Fritillaria, crushed (川贝母)
20g Apricot kernels/chinese almonds (南北杏)
1 - 2 dried orange/kat paeng (桔饼)
30g Dried Figs (无花果)
4g Liquorice Root (干草)
1.5 litre water
Method
- Rinse all ingredients.
- Put all ingredients in a pot with 1.5 litres of water. Bring to boil and simmer for 1 - 2 hours.
And thanks to all the well-wishes posted in my blog, emails, sms, msn and skype. I managed to trim off my broken nail and life is back to normal now.
I feel sad for your friend and the little girl. My deepest condolence to your friend's family. Life is short, we really have to treasure every single moment we have with our love ones.
ReplyDeleteHi BH, I feel so sad for your friend's family especially the 6 yrs old daughter which is same age as my daughter :(. May your friend rest in peach and condolence to the family.
ReplyDeleteI always stock this "化痰止咳汤" at home but I buy those pre-pack from Zheng Zhong Peng, buy 2 get 1 free :P. I will let my daughter drink to nourish her lung.
Great to see that your finger is recover! Take care ya.
Take care of that finger of yours! My 'tall man' finger suffered the same fate whilst cutting turnip to make popiah!
ReplyDeleteI believe the drink does help in the cough. And it's quite nice to drink.
Gosh, if you were to lose your two front teeth now I'd drop my jaw.
ReplyDeleteWow, you really have all those stuff at home?? For me, I only have red dates, black dates, dang shen, wolfberries, and some angelica. The rest, I only buy when I want to use and only buy what I need. haha. Salute you la.
I'm going to try out this for nourishment, see if my girls like it. :)
Very sorry to hear your friend passed away. This is the second death that I have heard this week on the blogosphere....really so sad. Life is indeed very fragile. Let's be happy and live life to the fullest. Thanks very much for sharing that lovely drink. I would love to try but I can't get that kaet peng here. Hope one day I can cook it. Have a lovely day.
ReplyDeleteHi Blessed Homemaker,
ReplyDeleteI like the cough remedy soup you posted. I will try it when the need arise.
Feel really sad to know of your friend's death, esp. left behind a little girl. Wonder what will happen if one day I am gone, will my boys miss me and who will look after them..... :( Send my deepest regards to your friend's family.
ReplyDeleteHi, I happened to visit your blog again when I saw u post a reply to another blog post regarding Konnyaku Jelly. I was trying to find out if malic acid is necessary to make konnyaku or for taste only. Anyway, I decided to visit your site again to see wat you've been up to lately...:o) and saw your post regarding YL. I dunno YL personally though i know she was in Creative, but her daughter is in the same class as my son in K2 in Creative O and the principal informed us parents in her class about this. I was in Perth during the Sep holidays and only found out from my email msgs when i came back and by that time the funeral was over. The K2 kids have just come back from their 3-day camp at St John's island last week. We casually asked my son if he missed us, or anyone cried during the camp, and he mentioned about YL's daughter, who was sleeping at a bunk beside him cried on the first night becos she missed her mummy. So sad... But anyway, she didn't cry anymore on the 2nd night.:)
ReplyDeleteKaren,
ReplyDeleteYou may be right, I always omit malic acid and that might be the crucial ingredient.
Rgdg YL, although I'm not her close friend, we are on talking/chitchat terms. I get goose pimples whenever I think of her now, just feel so sad that she's gone, leaving her husband and her girl behind. I can only hope for the best for them.
finally, I posted this on my blog
ReplyDeleteafter so long, hahaha!!!
http://wendyinkk.blogspot.com/2010/11/figs-and-tangerine-tea.html
Hey, regarding the comment above about malic acid and konnyaku jelly. Actually anything acidic will do the trick. Lemon juice or lime juice can be used. The thickening substance in the jelly which is carageenan needs acid to act. Konnyaku jelly without acids taste much softer.
Wendy,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like this :)
And thanks for sharing the info on malic acid, I've yet to try it with lemon/lime juice.