As mentioned in the previous post, I had a secret weapon for healing my pimples on my face after recovering from dengue fever. My pimples were huge and red; I swear, my skin was horrendous and I just want to hide myself at home. At first I thought it was because of my period, but the pimples continued to pop out after my period. It was then my mother exclaimed the dengue virus caused the blood in my body to be dirty. So in other words, my vital organs or blood were not ‘cleansed‘ after I have recovered.
As Chinese, we believe in using Chinese herbal medicine to build up our immune system (清血补气、美容养颜). We bought ready-to-consumed Hashima (Hasma; Snow Jelly; 雪蛤) from a local TCM shop, Hockhua. A little background information on Hasma. It is a Chinese and widely Central Asian dessert ingredient made from the dried fatty tissue found near the fallopian tubes of the Asiatic Grass Frog, also known as Winter Frog. Hasma is taken for medicinal purposes such as strengthening the internal organs especially replenishing vital essence in the lungs and kidneys, improving skin complexion, improving production of red blood cells and stimulate brain growth. They were having their Anniversary sale so we bought 7 boxes of bottled Hashima. Each box contains 6 bottles.
I drank one bottle every morning with an empty stomach. After a week, my skin was OBVIOUSLY getting better. As in, the current ones healed much faster and no more huge and red pimples popping out. What a relief, I tell you! I religiously drank a bottle a day for three weeks. Now, my skin is back to normal! My period came again and usually I will have cramps for the first two days but this time round, no discomfort or cramps at all. Money definitely well spent. If you find buying the bottled ones too expensive, you can buy their dried (raw but cleaned) ones. It comes in a small packet (SGD 42 from Hockhua) and can be cooked for 6 pax. This is how you prepare Hasma and you can cook it into a sweet and delicious dessert easily.
1. Soak the dried Hasma flakes in a bowl of tap water overnight or at least for 4-6 hours.
2. By now, the dried hasma will be expanded up to 10-15 times in size. Individual pieces are off-white in colour. Drain away the water.
3. Wash the dried longans and red dates.
4. Put in the rehydrated Hasma into a pot and fill it with water. Water level should be at least 4 fingers above the Hasma.
5. Bring to boil. Add in the red dates and dried longans.
6. Simmer for another hour.
7. Add rock sugar to taste. Remember not to add in too much as the red dates and dried longans naturally give a sweet taste to the dessert.
8. Serve warm or chilled.
If you want, you can add in more ingredients such as lotus seeds and white fungus. More nutrition in the dessert! This is the traditional dessert recipe for Hasma. You can find many more creative and newer renditions of recipes on Google.
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