Soup1

Three Beans with Wakame Soup

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Ingredients

• 1.5L Water
• 30g Dried anchovies (debone)
• 50g Raw soy beans
• 1″ Ginger (sliced)
• 1/2 block Silken tofu (cut into small cubes)
• 2pcs Fu-chock (bean skins)
• 10g Wakame (Japanese seaweed)
• Salt and pepper to taste

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Methods

1. Heat up stock pot with a little oil and fry the ginger slices till fragrant before adding the dried anchovies and stir a bit. Then slowly add in the water and soy beans and bring it to boil. Bring down the heat to small and let it boil for 30 minutes.
2. Remove all the ingredients (dried anchovies, soy beans and ginger slices) and leave the soup to continue boiling.
3. Add in the silken tofu, wakame and fu-chock and stir till they are soft.

   Fresh Fake Cordycept Soup

   

   

   Dried Cordycepts - Image taken from here

   

   Fresh Cordycepts

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   Ingredients

4. 250g Fresh fake cordycepts
5. 2.5L Water
6. 300g Spare Ribs or Chicken pieces
7. Some Wolfberries
8. 8-10pcs Red dates

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Methods

1. Heat water until boil and add in the spare ribs or chicken pieces and let it boil for a few minutes.
2. Toss in the cordycepts and red dates and let it come to a boil before switching the flame to low. Boil for 1.5 hours.
3. Add in the wolfberries before you switch off the fire.

   Shan Yào with Spare Ribs Soup

   

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   Ingredients

4. 300g Spare ribs
5. 1 stick Shan Yao root
6. 10pcs Red dates
7. 2.5 L Water
8. Salt to taste

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Raw Shan Yao roots

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Methods

1. Sliced off the skin and wash thoroughly before slicing diagonally around 8mm thick. Be sure not to hold with your bare hands as the sticky slimy stuff could cause itch.
2. Boil water in a pot till boil. Throw in the spare ribs and let it boil for 5 minutes.
3. Add in the sliced shan yao and red dates and boil on low heat for 2 hours . Add salt to taste before serving.

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Gobo with Spare Ribs Soup

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Ingredients

• 1 stick Gobo roots - sliced slanted
• 300-400g Spare ribs
• 2.5L Water
• 10pcs Red dates
• Wolfberries (a small handful)
• Salt to taste

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Raw Gobo

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Methods

1. Boil water in a large pot. When boiled, add in spare ribs.
2. Boil the spare ribs for about 5 minutes, add in the sliced gobo and red dates.
3. Boil soup for 1.5 - 2 hours on low heat.
4. Add in the Wolfberries when about to switch off the gas.

   Corn with Spare Ribs Soup

   

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   Ingredients

5. 3-4 sticks Corns (cut into smaller blocks)
6. 300g Spare ribs
7. 3L Water
8. 1-2 sticks Carrots (cut into smaller chunks)
9. 4-5 pcs Dried oysters or scallops (optional)
10. 6-8 pcs Water chestnuts (optional)
11. 10pcs Red dates (pitted)

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Methods

1. Bring water to boil, add in the spare ribs and let it boil for 5 minutes.
2. Add in the the corn blocks, cut carrots, water chestnuts, red dates and dried oysters or scallops and bring to boil before turning the fire to small.
3. Let the soup boil for 2 to 2.5 hours before adding some salt to taste. I prefer not to add salt since I’ll be feeding Darrius some. The soup gets its sweetness from the corn and water chestnuts.

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White Fungus Soup

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Ingredients

• 50g White fungus (get those with slightly yellow tone)
• 300g Pork ribs or Chicken pieces
• 80g Lotus seeds
• 10pcs Red dates (pitted)
• 15g Chinese Wolfberry
• 2.5-3L Water
• Salt to taste

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Methods

1. Soak white fungus in water for 10 minutes till it soften and cut away the harden area at the bottom. ut into smaller clusters if it is a big piece.
2. When water is boiling, put in ribs or chicken pieces and let it boil for 5 minutes.
3. Add in fungus, lotus seeds and red dates and continue to boil on small fire for 2 hours.
4. When ready, just before you switch of the fire, add in the wolfberry and cover.

Notes: Do not boil wolfberry for too long or it will give a sourish taste to the soup.

Turnip and Carrot with Pork Ribs Soup

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Ingredients

• 1pc Turnip - Large or medium size
• 1-2 Carrots - Medium size
• 300-400g Pork ribs
• 8-10pcs Red dates - pitted
• 3-4 pcs Dried cuttlefish (1″x1.5″)
• 3.5-4L Water
• Fish sauce or salt for taste

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Methods

1. Slice away the skin of the turnip, cut into free-shape cubes of about 2″. Same for the carrots.
2. Boil water till boiling, add in pork ribs and allow to boil for 5 minutes before adding in the turnip and carrot cubes. Boil for a while and add in the red dates and dried cuttlefish slices. Boil under small fire for about 2-2.5 hours.
3. Add fish sauce or salt to taste.

Note: If you prefer to taste the natural sweetness of the turnip, try not to add in fish sauce or salt but instead put in more pork ribs.

Suan-Lat Tang (Sourish & Spicy Soup)

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Ingredients

• 2 medium sized Sze Chuan Vegetable (sliced to 5mm thickness)
• 400g Pork ribs (an also use chicken)
• 2 sticks Carrots (cubed)
• 3 medium sized Tomatoes
• 3-4 litre of Water
• 2pcs Soft tofu
• 1/2 tsp Peppercorns (more if you like it to be more spicy)
• Shallots (optional)

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Methods

1. Boil water till boiling, add in pork ribs and let boil for 2 minutes.
2. Add in sliced Sze Chuan vegetable and let it boil for another few minutes then add in the cubed carrots, shallots and crushed peppercorns boil for an hour on low fire.
3. Cut tomatoes into four sides, seeds removed and add into soup and cook for another hour.
4. When about to turn off fire, put in the cut soft tofu and let it boil for 5-10 minutes.

   Old Yellow Cucumber with Pork Ribs Soup

   

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   I seldom prepare this soup but I used to drink a lot when I was younger as this is one of my mom’s favourite soup. Even my grandmother loved to prepare this soup and during the bygone days, there are not so much choices in the market everyday anyway, so the old yellow cucumber is one of the daily item you can find in the vege stalls… ok… I hope I don’t sound too crapy with this yesteryear stuff… hehhee

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   Ingredients

5. 400g Pork ribs
6. 3L Water
7. 1 Old yellow cucumber
8. 8-10pcs Red dates
9. 3-5pcs Dried osyters (ho-see) or dried squid
10. 1 stick Carrot (optional)
11. Fish sauce or salt for taste

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Methods

1. Cut the two tips off the old yellow cucumber and gently rub the end of the cucumber using one tip on one side. You will see some foamy stuff coming out after a few seconds. Do for about 20 seconds and wash away the foam. (I was told that this process will wash away the bitterness from the cucumber) Cut the cucumber into half and remove the centre (seeds) then cut into thick long strip (1st picture above). Leave the skin on.
2. When the water come to a boil, put in the pork ribs then boil for 5 minutes. Add in the cut cucumber and carrot (cubed) followed by red dates and dried oysters.
3. Wait for it to boil for 5 minutes and turn to slow fire. Continue to boil for 2.5 hours.
4. Add in fish sauce or salt before serving.

   UFO Soup
   

   

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   According to a nursing mom from the breastfeeding forum I participated in, said that lotus roots soup with added peanuts can help to boost milk production. As I am still nursing, there is no better reasons to boil this soup every week! Yeap! I make sure I have at least a serve of this soup every week to help me with my milk production.

   I’m not sure how true it that but my little monster who needs his mama’s milk is one satisfied baby till today!

   
   

   Ingredients

5. 3 L Water
6. 400-500g chicken pieces (old mother hen)
7. 2 sections of Lotus roots (sliced)
8. 2? Salted preserved vege (tai-tao-choy) cut into strips
9. 8/10 pcs Red dates (remove seeds)
10. 150g Raw peanuts (pre-boiled in another sauce pan)
11. 3-4 Slices of dried cuttlefish (about 3×5 cm)

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Methods

1. When water come to a boil, add in pork ribs or chicken pieces and boil for 5 minutes.
2. Add in sliced lotus roots and boiled peanuts and let it boil for another 10 minutes. Then add in the other ingredients and let it boil for a further 5 minutes.
3. Use slow fire and boil soup for 3 hours.

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Winter Melon Soup.

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Ingredients

• 1 slice Winter melon (based on the diameter of 8″ and thickness 2″)
• 400gm Pork ribs or Chicken pieces
• 3.5-4 litre Water
• 8-10pcs Red dates
• 3-5pcs Dried oysters (ho-see)
• 3tbsp Fish sauce or salt to taste

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Method

1. Boil water and add in pork ribs/chicken pieces and let it boils again.
2. Cut winter melon into small cubes of 1″ (removed seeds and cut away skin) and add into boiling water with pork ribs/chicken pieces, continue to let it boil for 10 minutes.
3. Add in red dates and dried oysters and boil with slow fire for 2.5 hours.
4. Add in fish sauce or salt for tastes.

   Dang Shen (Codonopsis Pilosulae) Soup

   

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   Ingredients

5. Pork ribs or 1/2 lao-mu-ji (old hen)
6. 3L Water (or depending on how many pax you are preparing for)
7. Dang Shen - the ginseng look-alike
8. Shan Yao (Chinese Yam /Dioscorea Opposita) - the white pieces
9. Yuk Chok (Solomon’s Seal /Polygonatum Officinale) - the thin yellowish slices
10. Red dates (seedless)
11. Dried longans - the brown looking stuff
12. Chinese Wolfberry (Fructus Lycii) - the tiny red stuff

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Method

1. When water boiled, add in the ribs and boil for 5 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.

   Watercrest Soup

   

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   Ingredients

2. Pork ribs
3. Watercrest
4. Red dates
5. Salt to taste

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Methods

1. Wash and separate the watercrest’s sprouts and stems and put them in a different bowl.
2. Boil water in a stockpot and add in pork ribs once it’s boiling. Then throw in the watercrest stems and red dates then boil for 1.5 hours.
3. Remove the stems from the stockpot and put in the watercrest sprouts and let it boil for another 1/2 hours.
4. Add salt before serving.

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