Selected Recipes for My Karen

by: Morris, Alan (Mok Tin Chi) with his wife Eleanor

Hong Kong China: Hai Bin Book Company 2006, $69.00, Paperback
ISBN: 988-202-378-9

Reviewed by: Jacqueline M. Newman
Winter Volume: 2007 Issue: 14(4) page(s): 20

With numerous endorsements before the recipes, this sequel to the best-seller Nutritious Soups for my Dearest Karen, is written by the parents of an Asian top-pop diva. Dad is considered an authority on Taoist Secret Documents and known for his knowledge of the I Ching. In this volume both share family secrets for a healthy life. The chapters tell how; they are titled: For Nourishing, For Beauty; For Clearing Heat; and Recommendations from Friends.

Many recipes have herbal ingredients, all easily available, and every recipe is easy to make and touted as a valuable addition for health and well being. For example, Pork Ribs with Pumpkin in Fermented Black Bean Sauce is not only easy to make, they say it benefits spleen, lungs, and other internal organs.

Stewed White Fungus with Papaya, considered a nourishing recipe, is also easy to prepare. This dessert-like soup is often served when eating a fine family meal in an upscale Chinese restaurant. It advises it nourishes the lungs; improves skin texture, and benefits internal organs. The Stir Fried Pork Ribs with Bitter Melon is touted to clear heat and improve skin texture. The authors recommend its use in summer.

Try the recipes for Steamed Eggplant, Stewed Pear with White Fungus that includes sweet and bitter almonds and rock sugar, the Chicken Soup with Dried Black Mushrooms, the Lime Jelly with Papaya, and the Almond and Lotus Seed Drink with Hard-boiled Eggs. This drink is for beauty and it is said to strengthen qi, promote blood regeneration, improve skin texture, and ease indigestion.

The authors advise health is life's most precious treasure. Their family's heart-warming love for one another seems to nourish it. Try their recipes, claimed to be their secrets to a healthy life. Who would not want that?

Stewed White Fungus with Papaya
Ingredients:
1 ripe papaya, just under a pound
1 Tablespoon dried white fungus
8 regular almonds, blanched
8 bitter almonds, blanched
4 red dates, pits removed
Preparation:
1. Peel papaya and cut it into one-inch or smaller cubes.
2. Soak white fungus until soft, cut into one-half to one-inch pieces, and blanch for fifteen seconds in boiling water.
3. Put all ingredients in the top of a double boiler, add three cups of boiling water, cover and cook for one hour, then serve.

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