Apr 08 2008
Like, gag me with a…
Oh, that’s right. I don’t need a spoon to gag. It doesn’t take much for me to start hacking like a cat with a bad hairball.
Tomorrow marks my 16th week: 4 months! But alas, the 24/7 sickness and bionic nose still persist. I truly hope that I won’t be one of those poor souls that experience morning sickness until the day I deliver. That would just be cruel and unusual, if you ask me.
But, I digress. I prayed long and hard for this pregnancy, and by golly, if it takes 9 months of morning sickness to get this thing done, then so be it. It is one of the greatest blessings and miracles of my life and I don’t want to sound ungrateful now. But, it would be nice to be able to eat without fear of barfing. If not for me, at least for the baby. I’m sure the Snowflake would like a taste of okonomiyaki sometime soon, don’t you think?
Oddly enough, I have found one dish that I can eat in fairly large quantities: Chinese-style Cold Ginger Chicken. Since the chicken is boiled and served cold, it doesn’t emit an odor, and the ginger has a calming effect on my tummy without being overtly offensive to my taste buds. (I don’t care much for ginger, but they way they prepare it for the sauce is super yummy.) In fact, I’ve been eating this dish at least once or twice a week at work for lunch for the past few weeks with great results.
I found several recipes for Cold Ginger Chicken on the web and it looks so easy to make, I wonder if it’ll taste as good as the one I buy from my favorite Chinese restaurant? Maybe I’ll try making it over the weekend. Here’s the recipe from the HECO website:
Cold Ginger Chicken
Ingredients:
1 whole (3 to 5 lb) chicken fryer
Water
1 cup cubed ginger root
4 to 5 green onions, cut into 2-inch lengths
3/4 cup salad oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
InstructionsClean and trim excess fat from chicken. Fill a large stockpot 1/2 full of water; bring water to a boil. Add chicken and additional water, if necessary, to completely cover the chicken. Cover and bring water to a boil again. Turn off heat and let stand for 1 hour. Remove chicken from pot and drain. Cover chicken and refrigerate until chilled. Cut chicken into 2 x 1-inch pieces; place in serving dish. Combine ginger and green onions in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add oil, salt, and pepper; chill. To serve, pour ginger mixture over chicken or serve ginger mixture in a separate bowl. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
A 30-something Christian girl, blissfully wedded to her perfect match (the yang to her yin) of 14 years. A new mom to her miracle baby, born on October 4, 2008. Living life in Hawaii, less than 5 miles from her hometown, a slave to her mortgage payment, but seeking balance in her pursuit of family, faith, recreation, and rest.
Mmmm, ginger chicken. Actually, I just like the ginger sauce on my rice. The chicken part is okay - a long as there aren’t any bone chips. But give me just the ginger/onion sauce and hot rice!
The super bionic nose is fun especially when you smell something your husband doesn’t. I think I still have the nose, so maybe it’s something you get to prepare you for motherhood. There certainly are many things you will need to smell and determine what they are.
Hmmm…. cold ginger chicken. Eat what works for you. One day you will suddenly discover other things will sound and taste appealing again.
Sounds like it might be the ginger itself that’s working for you. Ginger has been known to have anti-emetic properties. Might be a good idea to get to know ginger better. Ginger tea, perhaps? Triple Leaf Tea makes a good one (takes a while to brew but tastes good). Or cold tofu with grated ginger shoyu? Maybe even ginger ale might ease that tummy. It’s worth a try…
Back when there was Island Chicken, it was recommended that you use Island Chicken for cold ginger chicken. Something about the yellow-ness of the mainland chicken that makes it gross for ginger chicken. Maybe you can seek an organic chicken? You wouldn’t want all the hormones and stuff they feed the gross chickens to get transfered to Snowflake.
By itself, I’m not a big fan of the dish but add a bit of chili-garlic sauce on the side and it becomes magical. Too bad the Electric Kitchen is no more. Allison Zeka, the last hostess now runs a consulting firm for employee HR training. Maybe some day, like Let’s Go Fishing, the Electric Kitchen will be resurrected. Oh, and I’m glad this dish works for you Donna!
The recipe I use also calls for 1/4 cup chopped Chinese parsley (or cilantro since I moved to the mainland), only 3 Tbsp ginger, some garlic, and sesame paste and oil. Some people don’t like cilantro (makes them gag, which is obviously not what you are going for), but if you like it, I recommend it. BTW, I’ve tried the method of turning off the heat twice now (just last night), and the chicken is always still partially raw an hour later, so I would leave it on low heat for a while. The recipe and more advice on my blog.