November was indeed a very busy month for us because it was a month filled with many holidays, parties and travelling.
We drove up north to Betong, Thailand so we can experience some Thai during Diwali holidays,

 

 

It was an awesome trip with lots of Thai food and Thai shopping..LOL! Stay up to date on my "Live" status update on The Almost Famous Mom Facebook page.

Now let me share with you one of the latest recipe....Copycat Tony Roma's Chicken Soup. Tony Roma's happen to be one my favorite restaurant because they served awesome food especially "the ribs"..yum! I fell in love with the TR's Chicken Soup and decided to re-create this clear chicken soup at home with the help of my super Philips Pressure Cooker.

Here in Malaysia, we are getting lots of rain and storm lately...so what can be better when you are at home on a rainy day enjoying a bowl of warm chicken soup? Let's not tempt you any further but to share this quick and easy recipe with you!

Copycat Tony Roma's Chicken Soup

500gm Chicken (de-skinned and blanched)

1 large Yellow Onion (peeled and chopped)

1 medium Red Onion (peeled and chopped)

1-2 medium Carrot (peeled and chopped)

2-3 stalks Celery (chopped)

3 cloves Garlic (peeled and chopped)

1 Bay Leaf

1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper

3 1/2 cups Water

Salt 

A dash of Ground Cumin (optional)

Directions:

• Prepare the ingredients and select Bake mode for Chicken on Philips Pressure Cooker . 
   
  
• Place chicken, onions and garlic into the pot and let it cook until the chicken is lightly browned (about 3-5 minutes). 
  
• Then add the remaining ingredients and stir well.
   
  
• Close the lid securely and position the valve to Seal.
• Reset the Philips Pressure Cooker to Soup mode with KPT (Keeping Pressure Time) of 30 minutes.
   
   
   
   
  

My late granny "Fei-Popo" was an expert in cooking this soup...i miss you my dear granny! She was a well-known Confinement Lady in the 90s, she was so popular that she was featured in The Star (a local newspaper) for her special confinement service and of course the recipe of this very popular soup too!

I grew up enjoying ABC soup prepared by my Fei-Popo and since then this soup has become an official family's favorite soup. 

Definitely a hearty soup that will make your tummy smile and it is very simple to prepare..as simple as ABC. 

Malaysian ABC Soup (Potato, Carrot and Tomato Soup)

2 pcs Whole Chicken Leg (or any meat of your choice; blanch meat to remove the gunk)

4 medium Carrot (peeled and cut into small chunk)

3 medium Tomato (quartered)

3 medium Potato (peeled and cut into small chunk)

1 large Onion (cut into small chunk)

2 cups Water

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Salt

Directions:

• Put all the ingredients into the Philips Pressure Cooker and add salt and pepper to taste.
   
   
   
   
  
• Close the lid securely and position the valve to Seal.
• Turn on the pressure cooker and select Soup mode.
• Press & Hold the Keeping Pressure Time button to activate the selection then increase the KPT to 59 minutes.
  
• Press and hold the Start button for 3 seconds to activate the cooking process.
   
   
   
  

I'm still very much operating under "vacation-mode" after my trip to Hong Kong and Macau! So not really into complicated cooking or baking...LOL!

 

 

It is time for a simple bowl of comforting soup (something easy to cook! Yay!). Chinese Radish Soup definitely works well in soothing and cooling our body, all thanks to the hardworking "Sun" for giving us really hot weather lately. 

The Chinese Radish is also know as Daikon Radish. It looks like an oversize white carrot and it is a very versatile vegetable as you can use it to cook basically with anything (such as stir-fry or use it to make lobak cake).

This is a simple recipe for someone like me who is still in her "vacation-mode"! Just prepare the ingredients, put all the ingredients into the Philips Pressure Cooker and that's it! I love this soup very much, especially when I was breastfeeding my little darling. Believe it or not, Chinese Radish soup is listed as one of the most effective milk booster. All breastfeeding mommies, drink and eat more Chinese Radish ya! 

Chinese Radish Soup (Pak Lobak Tong)

250-300gm Pork Ribs (you can use chicken meat, I used soft pork ribs)

1 medium Chinese Radish (peeled and cut into large chunks)

8 pcs Dried Oyster

3 cups Water

Directions:

• Over a gas stove, bring a pot of water to boil and blanch the pork ribs (meat will only cook slightly). Remove the pork ribs and discard the water. 
  
• Put all the ingredients into the Philips Pressure Cooker. 
   
   
   
  
• Close the lid securely and position the valve to Seal.
• Select Soup mode then Press & Hold the Keep Pressure Time button to activate the selection then increase the KPT to 59 minutes.
• Press and hold the Start button for 3 seconds to activate the cooking.
  
   
   
   
  

I'm not a very good cooker when it comes to Chinese food especially boiling soups. Even my own mom cannot believe I can boil herbal soup...LOL! I am sure this is the work of "motherhood"! My boy is my main motivation that drives me to try and keep trying to fine-tune my skills in boiling Chinese herbal soups.
I still remember very clearly his reaction and how he responded the first time I cooked Chinese herbal soup for him, he was only 13 months old. He told me "goot" with his "index-finger up" - that is his way of saying good and thumbs up.
Today's lunch I cooked Lingzhi Ching Pu Soup for my boy. He just recovered from a really bad flu, cough and fever after having taken the Pneumococcal vaccine so I suppose a good bowl of herbal soup will be good for him and to tonifies his body's Qi. The soup has a little bitter taste to it (Lingzhi is slightly bitter) so I have to add a little salt to make it more palatable for him.

What herbs are found in the package: Lingzhi, Dang Shen, Ginseng, Red Dates, Wolfberries (Goji) and Dried Longan.
In the section below I will share the goodness of the herbs used in this soup (extracted from Miraculous Soup by Wu JiLin).

Lingzhi is a type a of mushroom, known as the of immortality, it is bitter and neutral in nature. Its effects go into the internal organs and it tonifies the whole body's Qi. It improves overall health, strengthens the immune system, protects the liver and detoxifies. It also calms the heart, strengthens the stomach, expels phlegm and improves blood flows.

Dang Shen is sweet and slightly warm in nature. It tonifies the torso, improves Qi and strengthens spleen and stomach.

Ginseng has a bitter sweet taste and is warm in nature, ginseng is well-known to rejuvenate Qi and strengthen the lungs. It improves the Yin, moisturizes the body ad is a precious herb.

Red Dates taste sweet and is neutral in nature. It replenishes Qi, strengthens the spleen, replenishes blood ad soothes the mind and nerves.

Wolfberries (Goji) has sweet and sour taste and it is warm in nature. Rich in polysaccharide  and vitamins, it nourishes the liver and kidneys, improves eyesight, heals weakness and fatigue, and strengthens the muscles and bones.

Dried Longan is neutral in nature and it tonifies and improves the heart and spleen, nourishes the blood and soothes the mind.

Rinse the herbs under running water to wash away any dust residue that might stick on the herbs during the drying process. My TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) doctor advised me to never soaked the herbs as the essence might be wasted in the soaked water.
After rinsing, boils the soup with 8 bowls of water under high heat.

As for the meat, I used a whole chicken leg. Remove the skins and fat. In another pot, blanch the meat in boiling water for about 3 minutes. This is to remove excess fat and oil from the meat then add the blanched meat into the pot containing the boiling herbs. Soup with blanched meat will usually looks clearer and less oily compare to the soup with un-blanched meat.

After boiling for about 15 minutes with high heat, turn it to low heat and continue to boil for about 45 minutes. You may add some salt to make the soup more yummier.