Herbal Soup...1973

So far, most of the posting have been about nostalgia – old friends, old photos & old memories. It took us 35+ years to get back together again and in a moment of musing, I realized that I don't really know most of you. And, there's only so much nostalgia can sustain.

So I am putting up something old, something new, that has nothing to do with BP High School Class of '74 but related to the era. Hopefully, you guys/gals will also post something about yourselves so that I can get to know you, as a person, more.

I cooked some herbal soup the other day, not any herbal soup but one that my mum used to make for us. It is 老熟地 lao3 shu2 di4 (Prepared Rehmannia Root) with duck. The prepared root was made by my mum in 1973. You can buy the prepared root from Chinese medical halls but those are usually 3-5 years old.

To prepare the root from its raw tuber form, you have to steam cook it with Chinese wine and then sun-dry it and cycle is repeated nine times. The longer it is stored, the better the potency. I used to have some left over from the days of my maternal grandma which were more than 60 years old.

Here's what the root look like.

You also need to add in some ginseng roots (洋参须)

Place the ginseng roots into herb-bags for easy removal

The duck & herbs are then slow-cooked in a clay pot for about 3 hours.

The end result is a mildly sweet soup that tonifies yin, blood deficiencies and replenishes the liver and kidney yin – good for both men & women alike.

Here's a picture of my stock of 老熟地