The joy of being preggers

The insufferable smothering heat has its fingers wrapped around my throat, making the mere act of breathing in this suffocating heat a feat. Being out of the pad is quite unthinkable now.

After the haircut last Friday, the short walk in the torrid sun to meet the man at the Chinese restaurant proved to be too gruelling. Finally seated, my body was palpitating wildly. I felt faint and sick. I couldn't even finish a quarter of the food we ordered and had to leave in a haste after packing the food.

The little ordeal worn me out completely and I took a much needed nap. Thankfully that left me revitalized afterwards!

Few days later while preparing dinner, I suddenly broke out into cold sweat and was feeling faint. I scrambled for a chair to sit down, but this time not without the new bestie who is never out of my sight now. Namely, the fan. The cool cool breeze luckily brought sweet relief. And the blood sugar level was restored after the dinner and some shut-eye.

I had to find out what's wrong with me! A quick research on the net concludes that such symptoms are due to overheating and are not uncommon during pregnancy. Phew...

No wonder lah! Even sleep eludes me these days. The term good night's sleep is now as alien to me as the extraterrestrial. The killer summer heat is not the only culprit though. Heartburn, gastric pain, frequent loo visits, body itchiness, false contractions gladly play the accomplice's role too. Some nights, even the leg cramps turn up unexpectedly to join in the fun.

Now in the 38 weeks and 19kg heavier, the huge bump really does get in the way. Even simple acts which we usually take for granted such as bending or squatting down to pick a thing up is now too strenuous and often leave me breathless.

Still, I find these minor inconveniences and common pregnancy ailments rather bearable. The air-con-idolizing Singaporean in me however is incapable of tolerating the hot spell. The essential but welcoming cold shower at least twice a day to cleanse away the dull lethargy has become inevitable.

Thus I am curious how long I am gonna last when the traditional Chinese one-month house arrest beckons.

Trivia

Helmut Schmidt, former Chancellor of West Germany

Possibly the only person whose lighting up on German national TV is tolerated. I kinda like his unyielding wilful spirit despite the controversy surrounding his chain-smoking. They certainly didn't elect him as Chancellor for nothing.

Pork Kakuni with Scallop Congee - Failed!

Give me slabs of ribs, briskets, cuts from shoulder, butt, belly or shank anytime and I will be more than happy to immediately seek out recipes to braise, stew or simmer the essence out of these inexpensive yet yummy meat. Sure, who doesn't love that tender juicy piece of steak? In fact, I've been lusting after it for months now. I just need to be more patient for abit longer... But I can never refuse a melt-in-your-mouth braise or stew. No matter how blistering hot the weather is. It is quite simply an all-time favourite grub.

Another comfort food will be the congee. Don't be fooled by its plain and unpretentious glob of mass. If you put heart into cooking it and add in some soul ingredients like chicken broth and dried scallops, the fine flavour of this smooth creamy rice soup will bowl you over for certain.

So what do I do when a recipe that calls for slow braising of pork belly and congee was lurking on the net, waiting for me to uncover it and I did? It got my mouth watering and I decided to cook up a storm! But not without weeks of procastination. Let's just say 8 hours of braising, 2 hours of simmering and other preparations is not exactly what I have in mind to spend my day. Until the pig in me dreamt of the dish. Well, high time to gather all the necessary ingredients to satiate the glutton.

The enthusiasm was unmistakable when I finally got the ball rolling. I was eager to savour the fruit of my labour especially when the reviews were raving so much about it.

I couldn't rein in my impatience any longer as I was plating the belly and congee for some photos.

After flexing my half-assed photography skill, it was time for my sweet reward. Literally, because simmering in a little soy sauce, sugar and mirin (I do not have sake hence I substituted it with mirin) for 2 hours inevidently sweetened the belly a great deal, as I had initially feared. Call me frog in the well as I had absolutely no idea pork kakuni is supposed to be so sweet. When paired together, the overpowering sweetness of the pork simply predominated the subtle flavour of the congee.

On its own, the congee was perfect. Smooth and delicate. I could gobble up bowls of it. And that's how I am going to cook my congee in future, provided I am not too lazy.

The pork belly was in fact meltingly tender with little hints of fat as the long braising had rendered most of the fat away. But with such a long tedious process of preparing the meat, I had expected the ensuing result to blow me away with its bursting flavours. What a disappointing letdown when it did not!

Hmmm... Perhaps my indiscernible palate is incapable of appreciating this fine Japanese delicacy. I think the Chinaman in me would rather have the Tau Yu Bak (Braised Pork in Soy Sauce) anytime.