Madeleine met her Ahma for the first time on the 4th of February. Ahma flew all the way over from Taiwan and stayed for two weeks, helping me out primarily in the kitchen department. She made me lots of good ol' taiwanese food I had forgotten after 7 years of being away.
One thing she made was Hong Dou Tang (red bean soup). According to the ancient Chinese post-partum confinement tradition that lasts one month ( 坐月子 zuo yuezi ), red bean soup is what you have to eat to boost your blood supply since you lose so much blood and helps with water retention. Zuo yuezi literally means to "sit the month," meaning you don't do jack during a whole month ater giving birth, you eat a bunch of really nutritious food and put on a couple of kilos, you drink some nasty chinese medicine soup that's suppose to cleanse your insides, and you don't take a shower. I lasted only 3 days without taking a shower. On the 4th day I was like enough of this, I can't look ugly AND smell bad at the same time. I'm sure they only tell you not to take a shower because they didn't have blow-dryers back in the day.
One thing she made was Hong Dou Tang (red bean soup). According to the ancient Chinese post-partum confinement tradition that lasts one month ( 坐月子 zuo yuezi ), red bean soup is what you have to eat to boost your blood supply since you lose so much blood and helps with water retention. Zuo yuezi literally means to "sit the month," meaning you don't do jack during a whole month ater giving birth, you eat a bunch of really nutritious food and put on a couple of kilos, you drink some nasty chinese medicine soup that's suppose to cleanse your insides, and you don't take a shower. I lasted only 3 days without taking a shower. On the 4th day I was like enough of this, I can't look ugly AND smell bad at the same time. I'm sure they only tell you not to take a shower because they didn't have blow-dryers back in the day.
Anyway! Back to Red Bean Soup, it supposedly boosts your milk supply on top of all that. This is my way of making it, you're supposed to not use water but rice wine but since I'm breatfeeding, I decided to go with water....as much as my mother reassured me that "all that alcohol evaporates since you cook it so long!" Yeah, well...no.
Hong Dou Tang
- adzuki red beans (soaked in a large amount of water over night)
- water
- brown sugar
1.Bring lots of water to a boil in a large pot and toss in your pre-soaked beans (I always just put a bunch, like 300-400 g).
2. Let it boil boil boil while checking from time to time to see if your red beans are cooked. This will take a while (like more than an hour), and you may need to add more water if you see it's drying out. They should be soft but not mushy.
3. Add sugar and let it cook for another 20 minutes.
4. Eat it hot!
Since my instructions are so precise, here is a picture of what it should look like:
Hong Dou Tang
- adzuki red beans (soaked in a large amount of water over night)
- water
- brown sugar
1.Bring lots of water to a boil in a large pot and toss in your pre-soaked beans (I always just put a bunch, like 300-400 g).
2. Let it boil boil boil while checking from time to time to see if your red beans are cooked. This will take a while (like more than an hour), and you may need to add more water if you see it's drying out. They should be soft but not mushy.
3. Add sugar and let it cook for another 20 minutes.
4. Eat it hot!
Since my instructions are so precise, here is a picture of what it should look like: