It’s
upon us again – the haze, thanks to our neighbor, Indonesia, where, as everyone
knows, the burning of forests and plantations is underway to clear the land for
new crops.
In
Singapore the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) has hit record levels of 400 and
above -- conditions considered potentially life threatening for the weak and
the elderly. Our government appears to be doing its level best: raising
vehement protests with its Indonesian counterpart and urging it to action, and
pressing into effect precautionary measures at home. But somehow we still see
workers made to labor outdoors without masks, and the rest of us scrambling to
buy rapidly depleting -- if not completely depleted -- stocks of masks.
Meanwhile, the Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare in Indonesia, Mr
Agung Laksono, blames the crisis not on human action, but on Nature, and
accuses Singaporeans of being “like children, in such a tizzy.” As yet, no end
is in sight.
In my
family, we had several home recipes to “cleanse” our lungs and prevent cough
whenever we were exposed to smoke and haze. One of the most common and
economical was a dish of stir-fried chives and soybean sprouts. These days
soybean sprout has become scarce in the market and so we use bean sprout as a substitute.
We
often used fritillaria (川贝) too in our soups and drinks. This pearl-like herb is a
key ingredient in many Chinese medicinal concoctions meant to “cleanse” lungs
and prevent cough. In the recipe below,
loquat is paired with fritillaria, but since loquat is not in season now, I
have replaced it with apricot.
Stuffed
Apricot with Fritillaria
Apricots 10
Fritillaria 20 g, crush if necessary
Candied
persimmon 2, diced
Seasoning
A:
Water ¼ cup
Rock
sugar 30 g
Seasoning
B:
Water ¼ cup
Rock
sugar 40 g
Dried
osmanthus 2 g
Method:
11. Blanch apricots and remove pits
and peel.
22. Mix fritillaria, candied
persimmon and Seasoning A thoroughly. Steam for 20 minutes.
33. Spoon fritillaria mixture into
the core of apricot with syrup, and steam for another 15 minutes.
44. Boil Seasoning B (except
osmanthus) until it turns into syrup. Add dried osmanthus and stir
thoroughly.
Turn off the heat.
55. Pour syrup over steamed apricot and serve it hot or cold.