Food for new mothers

New mothers are forbidden to drink raw water. Instead dried longan pulp and dried Chinese jujubes are boiled together every morning, and the big jug would be fed to the nursing mother all day.

This is because longans and jujubes are the traditional "blood boosters", and they are quick energy drinks.

Special dishes are cooked during this period, with a lot of ginger to soothe the postnatal flatulence. The Chinese believe that ginger, with its natural heat, will also prevent excessive coolness.

The most common dish is chicken stir-fried in sesame oil with ginger, and stewed in quality rice wine. The alcohol evaporates in the cooking, but the fragrance remains, and this is a tonic dish which is eaten frequently.

If the mother had lost blood during birth, she will be fed plenty of liver. Fresh pig liver is carefully cleaned and slivered and stir-fried with plenty of ginger and sesame oil.

Similarly, a soup made of carefully cleaned pig liver and kidneys are dropped into boiling water seasoned with ginger slivers. This hot soup is supposed to cleanse the blood.

Silky chicken, with its black bones, lean meat and thin subcutaneous fat is a favorite ingredient for soup. Thin pieces of dried angelica root (danggui) is believed to help the womb recover from its recent trauma and so the mother is fed this as often as the family can afford.