Job's Tears Seed, Dried Beancurd & Gingko Nut Sweet Soup Dessert (Tong Sui) 白果腐竹薏米糖水

It's almost one week since my last entry here. Most of the time, it's not that I'm taken over by lazy bones; Oftentimes, I am too occupied with other things in life. Here's to thank you and whoever out there who take the time and read my every single word! You've made my day and I cherish every bit of it! Thank you! And if you've got any questions--or just about anything--that you'd like answered and that are within my capability to do so, please let me know! I shall try my best to help you. =)

It's amazing the impact little and simple things can make on our lives. People who know me for sometime have said that: "Pei-Lin, put more faith in yourself. I can't see the confidence in you." Just yesterday, a really good, kind-hearted colleague reflected the same thing to me. And with just this one sentence, I've been driven into a state of SERIOUS philosophizing again in almost four years--till now. (The last time was when I took a philosophy course with one of the best tutors in my life. Thanks, Dr. Bill Borges! It was the course that changed my life!)

I apologize, first of all, as I start to sound very philosophical and deep in my thoughts LOL! Frankly, I believe different people perceive a person of self-confidence differently. Words and pictures better express me. When I'm submerged in a crowd of people e.g. at a party, it is my reflex to quiet down and be somewhat inactive. Instead, I'd sit and observe people from one corner--of course, a little bit of talking and socializing is inevitable ... And, I don't mind that at all. It's just that when I've talked a lot, headache will strike me and that's when I call it quit.

So, for these past few hours, I've been wondering what's self-confidence. Does that mean that people who don't show their confidence explicitly are doomed for self-destruction? I can't answer that because there's no right and wrong in this world; we are living in a world of relativism. I believe it's my stance as an atheist and a Confucianist 儒家思想 (except for the sexist part) that guides most of my actions. That's why I believe you determine your own fate--along with some luck, karma and the Buddhist-Chinese concept of yuan fen (緣份.)

An atheist often lives on the more pessimistic side of life--BUT, that doesn't mean our thoughts are ruled by all things negative e.g. suicide and isolation, which is a bad stereotype anyway. We are only different due to our religious stance--we can be as moral as any other theists can be! Because of that, I appear somewhat unconfident to others with my silence and inactivity in the public. But, my reason behind is simple: I don't want to overestimate and overthink the given situation before time matures. In other words, don't count your chickens before they are hatched. (Thanks for the teaching, Steve!) It's just going to be yet another emotional upset if things turn out below my expectation.

And, I apply the same principles to my kitchen experiments, too! Mishaps and failures are inevitable. In fact, it's baking and cooking that have made me even more thick-skinned! It's part of learning. =) Here's a good example of my flops from this past weekend. It was still edible, but I won't say the recipe was good enough to be published now LOL! It was one of the compulsive experiments I did out of irrationality once in a while hahaha ...! Presenting to you, my FAILED verrines of coconut panna cotta, durian mousse and pandan gelée =P :

 

 

Oh, well ... Sorry for puzzling you with all these philosophical terms hahaha ...! At least, I feel I've let out my thoughts! Anyhow, I've been haunted by a cold and slight fever in the past three days, which explains my six-day absence from the food blogosphere. It seems like it's almost over now, hopefully ... Feeling sick has bogged me down and discouraged me from working in the kitchen. ="(

In many cultures, chicken soup and sometimes, chicken noodle soup, is often served to the sick. For us people of southern Chinese descent, we often fix some savory rice porridge (粥) to call it for the day--simple, quick and nutritious. What a comfort food! (Especially true with my family being half-Teochew [潮州] and half-Cantonese [廣府人])

However, I have a strange habit of fixing some sweet soup desserts, or tong sui (糖水) in Cantonese, when I want a sweet fix on sick days. Of course, I also make these traditional Cantonese desserts anytime my craving hits! Tong sui are one of the things many Cantonese start out with in the kitchen for the first time. Growing up, my favorites include tofu pudding (豆腐花), sweetened peanut and black sesame seed paste desserts (花生糊和芝麻糊), sweetened mung bean soup (綠豆沙) and azuki bean soup (a.k.a. red beans among many Chinese 紅豆沙), a Nyonya specialty bubur cha cha--and how can I not mention this: Job's Tears seed, dried beancurd and ginkgo nuts sweet soup dessert (白果腐竹薏米糖水!!)

Job's Tears seeds (薏米) are commonly and MISTAKENLY referred to as pearl barley among Asians. Actually sort of to my disgust, I was taught to call Job's Tears seeds as "barley" since the day I began learning to speak! Barley and Job's Tears seeds are of two different groups!! Goodness! I was very upset about my mistake when I found out the term "Job's Tears." As weird as it might sound to us, Job's Tears seeds are "barley" indeed because these grains resemble the shape of teardrop! Sigh ...

Dried beancurd 腐竹, of soluble type

According to the Chinese medicine, Job's Tears seeds and the soybean-based dried beancurd (腐竹) help you release the heat "pent up" in your body once consumed. As for the ginkgo nuts (白果), they are good for the kidney, help stop coughing and cases of asthma, boost your stamina as well as lower blood pressure--ONLY when they're eaten COOKED!!! Raw ones are especially poisonous because of the weak acid hydrogen cyanide concentrated within the green bitter core within each nut. So, make sure they're cored and cooked before consumption, and of course--consume in moderation. =) 

Ginkgo nuts 白果

I still remember how my American friends reacted to the idea of SOUP DESSERTS and the tong sui I cooked for them hahaha ...! Never in their world would they imagine desserts can be EXTREMELY RUNNY. It was very nice of them to at least give tong sui a try though they still don't like soupy desserts. *chuckling* I admire you guys for your cultural openness!

Rock sugar 冰糖

Fresh pandan leaves to be picked from my mom's garden, a common sight in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand & Indonesia

Here's my recipe ... erm ... or, I should say rough guidelines (i.e. estimation based on memory) for cooking Job's Tears seed, dried beancurd and ginkgo nut sweet soup. If you happen to be living in the U.S., Europe and other Western countries, you should be able to find the ingredients at most Asian grocers. Rock sugar (冰糖) is used to give the soup a mellower and richer taste as it's raw sugar. (Chinese even use it in braising meat.) Pandan (screwpine) leaves, or the vanilla beans for us in Southeast Asia, are used to give the more dimension with its unique fragrance. Seriously, there is no fast and fixed rule to it ... typical of Chinese cooking. Feel free to adjust and cook it to your taste by following your instinct. As long as it's sweet, it's tong sui. And if you're new to tong sui, why not give it a shot for a true cultural experience! =)

Job's Tears seeds, Dried Beancurd & Ginkgo Nut Sweet Soup Dessert (Tong Sui) 白果腐竹薏米糖水

100-150g dried Job's Tears seeds 薏米

50-70g ginkgo nuts 白果, or to taste

1.5-2 Liters room-temperature water, or more

*No worries, water will be slightly reduced as you cook due to evaporation mostly

3-4 fresh pandan (screwpine) leaves, knotted

**Well, it's optional as only the Chinese from Southeast Asia would include it into the cooking of this soup. But, its addition does make a difference. Sometimes, I also forget to add it, like this time! LOL!

30-40g candied winter melon 糖冬瓜, or to taste
**It was a way our forefathers used to preserve winter melon in the olden days ... I used to treat it as candies LOL!!

1-2 large sheets of dried beancurd 腐竹, torn into smaller pieces

**There are two types in the market: insoluble type and soluble type. Get the soluble one for tong sui

2 small- or 1 medium-sized rock sugar 冰糖, should 10g or less--or, adjust to taste

2 eggs, or to taste & at room temperature (optional)
**To make egg drop (蛋花), eggs have to be at room temperature

1. Wash to clean Jobs' Tears seeds well by rinsing with water and draining them a few times--pick out the "bad" ones if there are any. Then, submerge them in enough water to soak them for about one hour aside
2. Meanwhile, prepare the ginkgo nuts:
• If yours come with skin on, blanch them in rolling-boil water for a 2-3 minutes; remove and drain them well from the water. Set aside to cool till they're cooled enough to be handled by hands. Next, peel off their skin--the blanching should have made peeling off the skin much easier. Slice each nut in half and remove the bitter green core; set aside (Hey, I learned these from the grocer! =D ...)
• If yours were found in the refrigerated section at the grocer, the nuts have probably been skinned. If that's the case, you just need to wash them clean, slice each nut in half and remove the bitter green core; set aside. Less work, eh?
  
3. Bring the water to a rolling boil in a big pot over high heat, then add in the soaked and drained Jobs' Tears seeds and pandan leaves to cook together--reducing the heat to low.
   
4. When the grains look half-cooked (about 20 or 25 minutes,) add in the prepared ginkgo nuts and continue to cook the whole deal over low heat
   
5. Add in the candied winter melon when both ginkgo nuts looks almost cooked, which should take about 20 minutes or less ... depends ..., then continue to let them cook for about 15 minutes or so, over low heat--place the lid over the pot to cook this time. Halfway through, add in pieces of the torn beancurd sheet and rock sugar
   
6. When the rock sugar has completely dissolved and the beancurd sheets look "disintegrated" into REALLY TINY pieces--BUT, NOT to the point whereby it's completely "dissolved" into the soup--crack the eggs and slightly beat them up. Alternatively, you can cook till the dried beancurd has fully "dissolved" into the soup like how some people prefer theirs to be.
   It's time to make egg drop: while still having the heat turned on at low, slowly pour the beaten eggs down into the soup in a thin stream while going around, over the pot of soup in circular motions or zigzag pattern. You'll see tiny streaks of cooked eggs floating and flowing around in the soup in a few seconds.
7. Immediately turn off the heat; discard the pandan leaves. Sometimes, I'd cheat though however LOL! That is, add more water to thin out the soup if you find the end product to be thicker (and slimier) you'd prefer it to be--also, adjust the sweetness to your taste again with rock sugar as the soup has been thinned out.
8. Serve your tong sui hot, warm or chilled! I prefer mine warm, such a comfort food on a cold, rainy (and sick) day. =)