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Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Fever



I have been absent from blogging for a couple days for one single reason: T was hospitalized. Well, yesterday he was discharged from the hospital and now he is fine and resting at home.

T admitted himself to the hospital after vomiting a few times in his office on Saturday afternoon while I was in the middle of a photography seminar. And he chose the hospital close to my residence to make it convenient for me to go and visit him. Couldn’t believe he still had a very clear mind in the midst of all the discomfort and illness. He was diagnosed of having intestine infection that later at midnight led into high fever. 39.5 degree Celsius and no doctor was available to attend to him because it was a weekend.



I was worried that his body temperature might rise even higher and whether this was H1N1 cause apparently he was having headache, fever, and vomiting. Ice pack, bed bath and body scrub didn’t seem to help much. The temperature was still above 38.5C. He lost his appetite and any smell of meat, no matter how subtle it was made him want to vomit.



Nurse informed us that only the next morning (if we were lucky) the doctor might come early or else normally he would come late on Sunday morning. I didn’t want to take that chance. Emergency department was contacted and I managed to get the Emergency nurse to pressurize the nurse in charge of T to make a serious phone call to the responsible doctor or anybody else who could replace him. I was very upset.



At 6 am in the doctor came. He confirmed then a blood test and H1N1 test were necessary and an hour later the result came okay and H1N1 was negative, so he said that the fever could be due to other reasons, if not just intestine infection alone. T needed to stay in the hospital for a few days until his body temperature went back to normal and stayed stable for 24 hours. In the meantime he was taking pills for both fever and infection. Bought a handy battery thermometer to monitor T’s body temperature constantly and stopped getting annoyed by the fact that the nurse was not measuring as much as what I thought she should be doing...



After staying there for 3 nights and 4 days his condition improved and finally was allowed to go home. This was our first experience staying together in the hospital as I was on work leave to be with him. At the end of it, I could say that no matter how much a hospital was upgraded to be much patient friendly and more-like-a-resort, a hospital was still a terrifying and boring place.



Being in the hospital environment made me realize how much I want to be at home and have a home cooked meal. And this was just what I had in mind…..



LOTUS ROOT SOUP
Serves 4

Ingredients:
- Water > 2 litres
- Chicken carcasses – remove skin > 2
- Big carrots – slice coarsely > 2
- Lotus roots – slice to thickness of 1cm > 300 grams
- Salt > 1 teaspoon



- Granulated sugar > 2.5 teaspoons
- Pepper > 1/2 teaspoon
- Water chestnuts – peel, boil > 100 grams
- Spring onion – chop > 1 stalk
- Coriander leaf > 1 stalk



Method:
- Whack hard the chicken carcasses through the bones to get sections about 3" big. The more bone that is exposed, the more marrow that gets in the soup which will make it richer and more flavorful. Whack several places along the bone just to expose more marrow. Leave aside.
- In a large pot, fill with water and bring to boil. Add chicken carcass sections and boil for 5 minutes. Lots of foam and fats will float on the surface. Remove from stove, drain and rinse chicken carcass sections of the scum and wash the pot thoroughly too. Refill pot with 2 liters of clean, cold water.



- Add chicken carcasses and carrots in the pot. Boil. With a large spoon, skim the surface of any fats and impurities. Fold in salt, sugar, and pepper.
- When carrots are cooked, add in water chestnuts and lotus roots.
- Cook for 20 minutes more.
- Remove chicken bones. Place soup on serving bowl and garnish with chopped spring onion and coriander.

26 comments:

  1. I hope T feel better now.

    That soup looks lovely. Lotus roots are so decorative and pretty...

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. I am glad T is okey.

    Chicken soup is amazing to recover from an illness, yours look stunning and very appetizing, I am sure T will bounce back quickly.

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  3. I've never heard of lotus before, what does it taste like? Your photos are, as ever, amazing!

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  4. Hospitals suck. All of them. I had surgery last summer and cannot believe how bad the hospital was. I even hired a private nurse for 24 hours!
    Hope T is better by now.

    Have never had lotus root. I love the looks of it in your soup. What does it taste like?

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  5. I am sorry to hear about the hospital stay. I have never stayed in a hospital before but I am sure that I wouldn't like it.
    Your soup looks really good. It looks like something we eat in Japan. I love lotus roots but it is a bit difficult to find them in where I live right now so I buy them when I go to a Japanese super market. I love the texture!

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  6. Kris, Good for you for taking a proactive approach! Sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands to get things done! I'm glad that T is better, and home. Home always makes you feel better:) Is the Lotus root the little, round, wheel-looking ingredient in the soup? I like how it looks, almost like pasta:) I'm sure your soup would make anyone feel better!

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  7. Wow what a harrowing experience. I'm so glad that T is on the mend. Your soup looks like just the right medicine to speed his recovery.
    Mimi

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  8. Popped in to say hi! I hope everyone feels better!

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  9. Look delic, remind me one of mom's soups. Might make that tomorrow. Thank you for sharing your recipes.

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  10. O that must have been so scary! Glad to hear that he is back on his feet now! You are so right about hospitals being boring and well, a hospital... I used to work there in a former life and I never got used to the smell and the general atmosphere...
    Love your dish too! Looks like just the thing for a recovering illness

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  11. I hope T is feeling MUCH better!!! Don't you just wish doctors were around all the time in such cases of an emergency? But I suppose they're only human. I adore lotus root soup though, and I'm sure it'll fix his appetite right back!

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  12. Rosa : Thanks, T is fine and back to work today. Yes, I think no other vegetable has such attractive wheel shape and volume.

    Laura: Thanks, Laura!

    LindaMary: Lotus root tastes a bit like water chestnut. Cook for a short while will get it crunchy but long enough, it will turn powdery. Doesn't have a strong taste but absorbs seasoning very well. Thais like to have it as sweetened lotus roots.

    Barbara: Thanks Barbara! Lotus root tastes a bit like water chestnut. Cooking in chicken soup brings a certain degree of sweetness from this root.

    Mausi: Yes, nice crunchy texture. Surprisingly it is very easy to find in Bangkok. I am very happy being here.... And yes agree, should stay away from hospitals...

    Sue Sparks: Thanks, Sue! Yes, lotus soup is the wheel-alike circles, only that it is not small. The big ones could have the diameter as big as our arm's. Next time you are in Bangkok, you will have a chance to try this soup :-)

    Mimi: Thanks, Mimi! He is back in the office ....

    The Blonde Duck: Thanks, everyone is okay!

    My Little Chateau: You are welcome! Let me know how you like this soup :-)

    Simone: Yes, the smell..... of the hospital is very strong...

    Vickys: Well, generally speaking, it is just bad to be admitted in the hospital here during weekends..

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  13. Oh the things these men do... you poor thing! I hope all id very well now. In the midest of all this, I have to say that this is a stunning post! I love the soup & the play of colours! FAB!!

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  14. This sounds so good!

    I just came across your blog, amazing!

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  15. Gosh, I'm so sorry for the unpleasant experience. Shouldn't there be an on-call doctor?? Anyway, I'm glad to hear T is getting better. You make sure you take care of yourself too!

    The soup looks delicious!

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  16. Oh no! That was a while T was in the hospital. I hope he's healthy and back to enjoying your lovely food now.

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  17. Sorry you both and to go through this. I have been in the hospital several times and you described it perfectly! I would have been dreaming of coming home to this soup too! Glad he is doing better!

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  18. So sorry to hear that! It must have been terrible for the both of you. Ahh what a wonderfully restorative soup made even better as it's made with love :)

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  19. I know what you feel when someone get sick and you couldn't do much to help. Terrible sad, but thanks GOD, T is fine now. And you too, Kris.. take care of your self, Ok.. don't get sick. Keep eat healty food *I know you know better than me :)

    *sst..why i feel the spoon tight with the rope is meaning something *emm..probably symbol of you two :) - what the taste of lotus anyway ?

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  20. A hospital stay is never a fun thing! You are right - it's pretty boring no matter what you do! Hope T is feeling better and that soup does look like a perfect remedy to make anyone feel better!

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  21. This soup looks so comforting after your hospital ordeal! Hope T is feeling much better!

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  22. Take care of yourself too and I hope T. is feeling much better now.

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  23. what a story. I myself had to go into the hospital a few times and most of the times it was the weekend.
    the good thing is that here in Germany there always is a doctor around. And in the case of the paediatrician most of the times there are two and more.
    the bad thing is that most of them have worked for more than 40 hours and alone the idea that somebody this sleepy is the one that makes the call is gives me a queasy feeling.

    I hope all is well again and he and you can eat all the delicious things you come up with.
    love this soup, the pictures are stunning.

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  24. I thought I already commented on this! I'm so confused :X Beautiful soup. I hope everything is okay!? That sounds awful. I've heard of lotus root, but have not tried it yet. I'm pretty sure we can get some in one of our asian markets here in California. I will have to try this lovely soup. Take care!

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  25. Hope T's fine now. Hospitals are always miserable places no matter how good or well equipped, as I've found out.

    Love your pictures on this one. Really like the clarity of the lotus root in them.
    In our part of India, we also marinate and sundry them in summer and deep fry them like crisps.

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  26. Oh no! I hope T is doing better now.

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