This is a very traditional breastmilk-making fish soup that Chinese women make for their daughters or daughters-in-law to encourage breastmilk production in the early weeks of establishing breastfeeding.
My mother-in-law swears by this recipe. This is her recipe – she made it for me when my children were babies and now she is passing it on. Thank you, Kim Mar Young!
Recently Kim and I made this for Naomi and her new gorgeous baby Koben. It has helped her with breastfeeding and general health, along with the many soups that were made for her by her loving friends and family.
This fish soup tastes good and according to Chinese medicine it will help to build your Blood supply. So you don’t have to be breastfeeding a baby to benefit.
If you have amenorrhoea (absent periods) or a very light flow, if you get dizzy, have dry skin and hair or have low blood pressure, then this soup will also be great for you.
If you’d like to try it yourself, here is the recipe.
Ingredients:
2 leather jacket or 1 flathead (choose a bony fish as a lot of the nutrition is in the bones), cleaned and scaled
1 small paw paw
1 knob of ginger
½ kg shin beef
Method:
- Cut off the fish head. Slice into the fish 3–4 times on both sides (not all the way through), wash the fish and add some salt.
- Fry the fish on both sides until brown. Set aside.
- Slice the beef into big chunks. Place it into a pot, cover with water and heat on high on the stove. When the water starts to boil, empty all the water. This is a traditional method of cleaning the meat.
- Peel the ginger and place into a large stock pot. Ginger is warming for the digestive system and also helps to take away the fish smell.
- Put beef into the soup stock pot with the ginger, cover with water, bring to the boil then immediately turn down to low. Cook on low for half an hour.
- Add the fried fish and bring to the boil. Add the chopped up paw paw, reduce the heat and simmer for an hour.
To increase your milk supply, have one serving of this soup daily for as long as it takes to increase your supply. Engage other methods too and remember, be kind to yourself and to your body. As lactation consultant Pinky McKay would say, “Every breastfeed is a success”.