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Monday, February 23, 2009

Chicken Soup With Red Koji (Angkak)

I love Chicken Soup with angkak ="D
Especially when it's still hot. Having it in this cool weather is perfect!
What makes it special is not only the taste, but also the health benefits of this meal.

Actually angkak started in China a very long time ago, usually used as medicine.
In some countries angkak is known with different names, such as : beni-koji, hong qu, hung-chu, monascus, red koji, red leaven, red yeast rice, xue zhi kang, dan zhi tai. In China, zhi tai means angkak in a form of dry flour, and xue zhi means angkak that's been extracted with alcohol.
Angkak was first made in China under the Ming Dinasty. Since then, angkak was used as food and also medicine. It was said that angkak can be used as medinice for digestion and blood circulation.
Countries like Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Hongkong are producing angkak to be used as natural food coloring. Based on toxicity test, the pygmen in angkak is safe enough to be used in food. It actually can reduce the use of nitrite to fix the red color in processed meats such as sausages and ham. It also can hamper the growth of patogen bacterials in food.

Some researches have prooved that angkak is beneficial in reducing the number of fat in our body and also reducing cholesterols in our blood.

The chinese people usually pour the angkak into a boiling water and drink it as medicine. But I don't find it comfortable haha. So, its best to cook it along with the food we like. The benefits won't be lessen. Along with the chicken it can be a very healthy diet meal. If you want to reduce your fat, its best not to eat any fried food. Eat boiled food or steamed food. Here, we will boil the chicken along with dried bean curd sheets ("kembang tahu").


So with the chicken, tofu and angkak, its a great mix of healthy diet food. High in protein, reducing your cholesterol and fat.

So this is how we make the Chicken Soup with Angkak

Ingredients:
1 medium size chicken (cut it in small pieces)
1 pack of dried bean curd sheets (soak them in warm water until they are soft, cut 10cm long each)
1/2 table spoon of angkak (smashed them with a spoon =p)
1/4 tea spoon of ground pepper
1/2 table spoon of salt
2 tea spoon of salty soy sauce
1 tea spoon of sugar
1 leek (cut into thin slices)
2,5 litre of water

How to make:
Boil the chicken until the meats are soft. Add the spices : smashed angkak, ground pepper, salt, sugar and salty soy sauce. Boil them a little bit more to let the spices penetrate inside the meat. Add in the dried bean curd sheets and leek. Cook for a little more while and it's done.

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