Malay Confinement Food Recipes to Spice Up Your Post-delivery Palate - February 2025

Confinement is the process that every woman have to go through after labour. For Malay mothers, it took 44 days for them to undergo the confinement period, in order for their body to recover after delivery. They take strict dietary requirements which allow the mothers to get rid of the "wind" in the body after labour. It is also to encourage blood circulation and strengthen the articulation joints and help in supplying milk for breastfeeding. During this phase, mothers are only allowed to eat confinement food that has heaty elements and avoid food that chills the body. Some mothers prefer to drink "jamu" which is a supplementary drink that has the properties to keep the body warm. Aside from "jamu", the mothers still need to observe their diet during the confinement. Their body is rather sensitive at this phase. The best is to eat food that is nutritious enough to promote fast recovery. Malay Confinement Food Recipes We, Malays, believed that mothers that are in their confinement phase should elevate their turmeric, ginger and Moringa leaves after labour. These ingredients used in a lot of the traditional Malay confinement food. Tumeric is believed to act as an antibiotic and allow a healthy circulatory system. Ginger is considered to have heaty elements which are suitable for the body. It cleanses the blood, boosts appetite, lessens the wind in the body, and strengthen the muscles. While Moringa leaves are believed to be rich in proteins, vitamin C and A, beta-carotene, iron, calcium, potassium and other minerals. Below are some of the confinement food recipes that often consumed by Malays' mothers. Image from makchic.com Ginger Fried Rice Ingredients 1 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil 2-inch ginger, julienned 2 eggs, beaten 1 1/2 bowls leftover rice 1 teaspoon light soy sauce 1 stalk of spring onion and coriander leaves, chopped 120 grams of any meat of your choice, optional (chicken, beef, etc.) Method: Heat the sesame oil and sauté ginger until aromatic. Add your choice of meat and cook well done. Add in the beaten egg and when the eggs are almost ready, add in the rice. Stir the rice thoroughly and add the light soy sauce and stir till well combined. Add the chopped spring onion and coriander leaves to garnish the dish. Image from stock.adobe.com Fried Tumeric Fish Ingredients Any small fishes of your choice (such as Mackerel, Malong, Sardine, Snapper, Grouper, Sole) 1 teaspoon turmeric powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon cornflour Method: Marinate the fish with turmeric, salt and pepper Drench the fish into the cornflour and shake off excess flour. On medium heat, fry the fish. Drain excess oil and serve while warm. Image from stock.adobe.com Ayam Percik Ingredients 4 pieces of chicken, whole legs 2-inch ginger pounded 3 teaspoon turmeric powder 1 tablespoon coriander powder 2 tablespoon tamarind paste, mix with water 1 tablespoon salt 20 pieces of dried chillies, hit 8 cloves garlic, pounded 10 pieces shallots, pounded 5 pieces buah keras, pounded 1 tbsp belacan, pounded 3 stalks serai, pounded 700 ml of coconut milk 2 tablespoon sugar Method: In a bowl mix in the turmeric powder, ginger, coriander powder, tamarind paste and salt to marinate the whole chicken legs for 3 hours. In a wok heat 4 tablespoons of oil and fry the dried chillies, garlic, shallots, ginger, buah keras, belacan and serai till aromatic. Add in the coconut milk and sugar and bring to a boil. Chuck in the chicken and simmer on low heat until tender. Place the chicken in aluminium foil, and bake it in the oven at 220° Celcius till golden brown. Keep the gravy to serve it with the chicken. Image from stock.adobe.com Stuffed Tofu Ingredient Stuffing: 1/3 vegetable cup 2 firm tofu, cut into squares ¼ cup beansprouts, blanched ¼ cup English cucumbers, unpeeled and shredded ¼ cup jicama, shredded 1/8 cup lettuce, shredded Sauce: 1/3 whole red chilli 1/3 clove, sliced 1/3 shallot, sliced 1/3 teaspoon vegetable oil 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped 1/3 teaspoon tamarind paste, dissolved in 2 tbsp water and strained 2/3 tablespoon sugar Method: Tofu: Prepare the tofu by heating the oil in a wok and deep fry the tofu till brown on both sides Drain excess oil on paper towels and let it cool Cut in half into 2 triangles or 2 rectangular diagonally. Mix in the bean sprouts, cucumber, jicama, and lettuce together to make a stuffing. Cut open a slit in the tofu to stuff in the stuffing into each half of the tofu. Serve it in a serving platter and enjoy! Sauce: Blend in the chillies, garlic, and shallot together in a blender with a bit of water to loosen it up while blending it. Heat the oil in a skillet and stir fry the garlic-shallot paste till aromatic. Mix the paste with all the remaining ingredients into a thick sauce, add sugar or hot water if it is too spicy for your liking. Serve the sauce in a bowl from the tofu. Each ingredient in these confinement food recipes help a particular part of your body, and it is good to take care of your body during confinement and get that confidence back once you are done with it. You may need to focus on taking care of your newborn but you also have to put extra care on yourself after the delivery. Your body needs to recover. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks and check out Mamahood.com.sg for your baby items.

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