White Radish (Daikon) Soup 白蘿蔔湯

The soup season has began! It's almost the end of fall and there's no better way to warm yourself up with a steaming bowl of soup. This is an easy recipe with four basic ingredients - white radish (also known as daikon), carrot, pork ribs and water. I would love to add some dried cuttlefish and dried oysters if I have some in the pantry but since I don't, I just have to make do with what I have.

Daikon is very low in calories and rich in enzymes to help in digesting fatty oils and starchy foods. It has anti-inflammatory and sedative properties, an excellent source of vitamin C, phosphorus and potassium. The health benefit of daikon is endless but you may want to add some dried red dates, geiji (wolfberries) or ginger into the soup to balance the "cooling" nature of daikon.

Ingredients
600g pork ribs
1 large sized white radish, cut into pieces
2 medium sized carrots, cut into pieces
1.2l water

Method
Blanch pork ribs in a pot of boiling water, about 5 minutes, to remove excess fats and scums. (Blanching the pork ribs/chicken gives you a clear soup).

Put all ingredients in a clean pot and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 2 hours. Add salt to taste (I did not put any salt and seasoning as I like my soup to retain its original flavour).

Chinese Cabbage and Mushrooms Soup 冬菇白菜湯

This is a simplified version of my previous posting - Vegetables and Mushrooms Soup. I was craving for something light and refreshing after a few consecutive days of strong flavoured food.

I used Campbell's Salt Reduced Chicken Stock to save time (ahem, remember I am a busy working mum now?), soaked some Chinese mushrooms and coarsely sliced some Chinese cabbage. Bring everything to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

How simple can this get?! ;) Have a good weekend folks and a great time cooking in your kitchen!

Chicken and corn soup 雞蓉粟米湯

Chicken and corn soup is not a regular dish on our dinner table. As much as I love the soup (it's so easy to make and tasty!), B isn't a fan. I reckon it's a bit sweet for his liking, and it's not the traditional Chinese double-boiled or simmered soups that he's used to. It's one of my favorites anyway, so I want to share this recipe here.

This soup is full-bodied as you can see from the photo it is rather thick. No starch was used to thicken it, the whisked egg added near the end of cooking process did the trick. You can use left over roast chicken for convenience, or diced hams for some variations.

Here's my version of chicken and corn soup.

Ingredients
150g chicken meat
400g canned creamed corn
2 bowls water
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
Dash of sasame oil
Salt to taste

Method
Bring water to boil and simmer chicken until it is cooked, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken, let cool and shred meat. Keep the water and use as a stock.

Combine creamed corn, stock and wine. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the shredded chicken and slowly stir in beaten egg. Reduce heat. Dash in salt and sesame oil.

Stir well and serve hot.

Seafood Soup 番茄海鮮湯

Been super busy with work, baby, doctor visits, household chores and cooking. That pretty much sum up what I did the past few weeks. It's good to be back at work and learning new things in a new team. At home, I am starting to cook baby food as Bryan is now 6 months old and ready for some semi-solids.

Today I'm sharing a triple tested and tried recipe that started off as a fish soup and after a few experimentations, I added host of other ingredients and it became a one-pot soup meal. You will need some fresh ingredients to make a good seafood soup. I got my seafood from De Costi at Sydney Fish Market. The soup is slightly sour because of the tomatoes and makes it very appetizing, and if you don't eat prawns, just add more fish and vegetables of your choice (tofu, seaweed, enoki mushrooms, etc).

Ingredients (Serve 2-3)
400g fish fillet
6 big prawns, remove shells and deveined
1 squid/calamari, cut into rings
1 small piece ginger, cut into thin strips
5 cloves garlic, chopped
Lettuce leaves
2 tomatoes, quartered
1 piece silken tofu, cubed (optional)
1 small piece dried seaweed (optional)
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Cooking oil
3 bowls water
2 bunches coriander (for soup stock)
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method
Add water into a saucepan and bring to boil. Add tomatoes, some ginger and coriander, and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain stock through a colander; retain stock and discard ingredients.

Heat oil in a deep pan, saute garlic and remaining ginger till fragrant. Add seafood and pan fry for 2-3 minutes. Add stock, lettuce leaves, tofu and seaweed into pan. Bring stock back to boil for 1-2 minutes, add salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish soup with coriander leaves. Serve with rice.

Red Chinese Spinach (Amaranth) Soup 红莧菜湯

I love red amaranth, partly because of its colour, but more of its nutritional value, which is higher than English spinach. The red/purple blotches in the center of the leaves produces a reddish juice when cooked. I usually stir-fry the vegetable or make a soup with it.

Have you tried a bashful pink soup like this? Trust me, it tastes wonderful and I really like the colour. Just lovely.


Ingredients
1 bunch amaranth
Ikan bilis stock (2 bowls water cooked with half bowl ikan bilis)
Salt to taste

Method
To make the soup stock, heat 1 tbsp oil in a pot and stir-fry half bowl of ikan bilis for about 30 seconds til brown and fragrant. Add two bowls of water, bring it to boil and simmer soup for 30 minutes. Discard ikan bilis and stock is ready for use.

Bring soup to boil, add vegetable and cook for about 3 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Serve hot.

Glass noodles and egg drop soup 粉絲蛋花湯

This is a delightful and simple soup that takes less than 5 minutes to cook if you have the soup stock ready or made in advance. I have some left-over ikan bilis stock and decided to whip up a quick soup for dinner. This soup is versatile and can be further enhanced by adding fish balls or meat to make a nutritious wholesome dish.

Ingredients
1 packet glass noodles, pre-soaked to soften
Ikan bilis stock (2 bowls water cooked with half bowl ikan bilis)
Choy sum, or vegetable of your choice
1 egg, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
To make the soup stock, heat 1 tbsp oil in a pot and stir-fry half bowl of ikan bilis for about 30 seconds til brown and fragrant. Add two bowls of water, bring it to boil and simmer soup for 30 minutes. Discard ikan bilis and stock is ready for use.

Bring soup to boil, add glass noodles and vegetable. Lower heat and slowly pour the beaten egg through a fork into the soup. Once the egg sets, stir gently. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Dish and serve immediately.

Mee Hoon Kueh 面粉粿

At last, I have created a post on my ultimate comfort food - Mee Hoon Kueh, a homey dish I have been eating since young (being a Hokkien) and never get bored with.

I have always preferred home-cooked mee hoon kueh over commercially sold ones as most are machine-made these days and cut into regular square pieces, which kind of lose the elasticity and chewy texture a good mee hoon kueh should have. Mee hoon kueh should be tore (not cut) into irregular shapes and sizes - the beauty of imperfection.

I don't have the exact measurements of the flour and water used to make the dough as it's purely based on estimation and judgment. The process of experimenting, mixing and matching the ingredients is what that makes all cooking experiences unique and fun.

This is a simple recipe without any deep fried anchovies and shallots garnishment. We did make a soy-vinaigrette sauce (mixing soy sauce with Balsamic vinegar) with some cut chillies to go with, a superb condiment for mee hoon kueh.

Ingredients
Dough:
Plain flour
1 tbsp corn flour
1 tsp salt
Water

Soup stock:
Half bowl ikan bilis (anchovies) with 4 bowls water
1 tbsp oil

1 bunch Choy Sum, or vege of your choice
Pork strips marinated with soy sauce and corn flour

Method
To make the dough, mix plain flour, corn starch and salt in large mixing bowl or on a big wooden chopping board. Slowly stir in water and start kneading into a smooth dough. Use your judgment and add more flour or water if need be so that the dough will not stick to the bowl or board. The whole process of kneading takes around 20-30 minutes. Separate the dough into portions and make into 2 balls (for 2 pax). Leave them to stand for 30-40 minutes.

To make the soup stock, heat 1 tbsp oil in a pot and stir-fry ikan bilis for about 30 seconds til brown and fragrant. Add four bowls of water, bring it to boil and simmer soup for 30-40 minutes. Discard ikan bilis and stock is ready for use.

This is how the doughs look like after 45 minutes, ready to be pulled and tore into pieces.


Give the doughs a few good pulls. Tear dough into thin bite size pieces and drop them into the soup. Stir occasionally. Add choy sum and pork slices and cook for about 2-3 minutes (do not overcook it). Season with salt to taste.

Dish and serve immediately.

Chicken Herbal Soup 药材炖鸡汤

I have been experimenting with Chinese herbs lately. In the past I used to buy pre-packed herbal mixes to brew the soups. I have since stocked up different types of herbs and mix and match the ingredients together. It's so much more economical but do be careful on excessive use of certain herbs as they may be too "warm" or "cooling" to some bodies.

This herbal chicken soup is sweet and nourishing but a bit towards the heaty nature because of the ingredient - dong guai, though I used it sparingly.

The amounts of herbs used in this soup are only my estimates, in fact most of my cooking are based on estimations and I don't follow recipes strictly.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken, cut into 4 pieces.
1.2 litre water
3 pieces dong guai
12-15 pieces yuk chok
5-7 pieces wai san
5-6 sticks dong sum
5-6 red dates, stoned
A handful kei chi/wolfberries
Salt to taste

Method
Blanch chicken pieces in a pot of boiling water for about 3 minutes to get rid of excess fats and scums.

Rinse all herbs to remove dirt. Set aside.

Place all ingredients except salt in a pot, herbs below and chicken on top. Add hot water and boil the soup for 10 minutes and simmer, covered for at least 1.5 hours. You may also slow cook or double boil the soup but the cooking time will differ.

Skim off oil on the surface of soup. Add salt to taste. Serve immediately.

Vegetables and Mushroom Soup 冬菇白菜汤

It's the season for soup and stew again. I love winter, other than having to wear layers of clothes to work, but at any time I'll pick winter over summer. Sydney doesn't usually have showers during winter but it's been raining practically non-stop since Sunday. The sky cleared up this morning but remained gloomy and cold.

There's no better way to keep warm than to have some good old home-made soup. Forget about canned soups, cook soup from scratch with all the fresh ingrdients.

Here's sharing with you one of my favourite soups - vegetables and mushroom soup. This soup is healthy and great for ladies who want to keep in shape.

Ingredients
2-3 carrots
6 dried Chinese mushrooms
1/2 head Chinese cabbage
3 chicken bones
1.6 litre water
Salt to taste

Method
Soak mushrooms in cold water for about 45 minutes until soft. Remove hard stems. Retain the liquid used to soaked mushrooms. Separate leaves of cabbage. Wash and drain. Cut leaves into halves lengthwise, then cut into 2-inch long sections. Cut carrots into bite size pieces.

Bring water to boil. Add all ingredients, including the mushroom liquid and brew soup over medium heat for 15 minutes. Lower heat and simmer for another 45 minutes to an hour. Season with salt.

Dish and serve.

Peanut and Chicken Feet Soup 花生鳳爪湯

Most of my western friends will cringe just thinking about chicken feet, not to mention at the sight of it. I hope you would not be grossed out by this post.

Chicken feet is a delicacy in its own right, it is a palatable dish served at Chinese restaurants and yum cha is not complete without the steamed phoenix claws aka chicken feet.

Chicken feet contain high level of protein and collagen, which is good for the skin. I love the gelatinous tenderness that almost melts in the mouth. The soup has a delicate flavour and luxurious fullness as the collagen released gives the soup a silky body and richness.

May I present the soup of the day - Peanut and Chicken Feet Soup.


Ingredients
500g chicken feet, about 13 of them
100g raw peanuts
5 red dates, pitted
1 piece dried cuttlefish (optional)
2 litre water
Salt to taste

Method
Soak peanuts in warm water for about 30 minutes.

Clean the chicken feet by removing the outer skin layer and trimming the claw tips. Blanch the chicken feet in boiling water for about 3-5 minutes. Remove and discard water.

Place all ingredients except salt in a pot of water. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for two hours.

Add salt to taste. Dish and serve.

Noodle Soup 麵湯

I am in need of some comfort food. It's not winter yet but it's getting pretty cold these days. The gloomy sky and non-stop rain are making me depressed, and so more when coupled with a headache and cold.

A steaming hot bowl of noodle soup will make me very happy now. But, sigh.. there's no more noodles left, I can only make do with my leftover chicken curry rice from last night.

So here's sharing with you my version of noodle soup that makes it to my top 3 ultimate comfort food.

Ingredients
Noodles of your choice
Pork slices, marinated with soy sauce and corn flour
Prawns, deveined and cleaned
1 bunch choy sum or baby bok choy
Egg
Salt to taste

Soup stock
Half bowl ikan bilis (anchovies)
Half bowl soy beans
1 tsp oil
Water

Method
To make the soup, heat oil in a pot and stir-fry ikan bilis for about 30 seconds til brown and fragrant. Add soy beans and four bowls of hot water, bring it to boil and simmer soup for 30-40 minutes. Discard ikan bilis and soy beans. Keep stock for use later.

Meanwhile, set a pot of water to boil, cook noodles in boiling water till al-dente. Remember not to over-cook it.

Bring the stock to boil again, add pork slices, followed by egg and prawns. Add the noodles and choy sum last. All the ingredients cook fairly quickly so it should be ready in about 3-4 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Garnish with fried shallots and spring onions if desired. Serve with cut chili and minced garlic in soy sauce.

Note
- Some of my fav noodles are mee sua, mee huen kueh, and "you mian". I used Beijing noodles this time, which is somewhat similar to the "you mian" back home.

- I prefer to cook noodles separately to prevent the soup from getting cloudy and thick. I like my soup clear.

Seaweed Egg Drop Soup 紫菜蛋花湯

This is one simple soup dish that I grew up, it's easy to make and I cook this on weekdays when I don't have time to brew my soup for hours. Healthy soup for lazy, opps, I mean busy people like us. Seaweed soup is packed with minerals and nutrients, the seaweed provides good source of iron, iodine and ikan bilis is calcium rich. I prefer making my own ikan bilis (dried anchovies) stock, which takes about 20 minutes, to using ready-made bullion cubes.

Ingredients
Half bowl ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
Half piece dried seaweed
1 egg, lightly beaten
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil
Water

Method
To make ikan bilis stock, heat oil in a pot and stir-fry ikan bilis for about 30 seconds til brown and fragrant. Add three and a half bowls of hot water, bring it to boil and simmer soup for 20 minutes. Discard ikan bilis.

Add seaweed and allow soup to boil, add beaten egg and salt to taste.

Dish and serve hot.

Note:
Some other ingredients that you may want to add to this soup include minced pork, tofu and fish balls.

Bitter Gourd Soup 苦瓜湯

Ingredients
1 medium size bitter gourd, remove seeds and cut into pieces
1 carrot, cut into pieces
4 red dates, pitted
2 pork shanks
1.5l water


Method
Blanch the pork shanks in a pot of boiling water to get rid of excess fats and scum. Remove and set aside.

Add 1.5 litre water in a pot and bring to boil. Add all ingredients, including the pork and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat. Lower heat and leave the soup to simmer for one to two hours. Add salt to taste just before serving.

Chinese Cabbage Soup with Mushrooms 金针木耳冬菇白菜汤

Ingredients
40g dried lily bulbs, pre-soaked
5-6 dried Chinese mushrooms, pre-soaked and retain water
40g dried black fungus, pre-soaked
1/2 head Chinese cabbage
1 chicken carcass
1.5 litre Water
Salt to taste



Method
Soak mushrooms, lily bulbs, black fungus in 3 separate bowls for at least an hour. Change the water for soaking lily bulbs and black fungus several times. Drain lily bulbs, cut and discard the hard ends. Tie the bulbs into knots. Cut and discard the hard ends of black fungus.

Remove hard stems and cut mushrooms into halves. Retain the liquid used to soaked mushrooms. Separate leaves of cabbage. Wash and drain. Cut leaves into halves lengthwise, then cut into 2-inch long sections.

Bring water to boil. Add all ingredients, including the mushroom liquid and brew soup over medium heat for 15 minutes. Lower heat and simmer for another 30 minutes. Season with salt.

Dish and serve.

Choko & Carrot Soup 紅蘿蔔佛手瓜湯

Choko, also known as chayote, is a pear-shaped squash belonging to the gourd family. The Chinese call it 佛手瓜 or 合掌瓜 because it looks like the Buddha's palm or two fists joining together.

Choko is low in calories and sodium and high on nutrients. It contains a rich source of potassium and anti-inflammatory nutrients that help to relieve urinary infections and renal stones. The fruit is also a traditional remedy for hypertension.


Ingredients
2 chokoes, peeled, seed removed & cut into pieces
2 carrots, peeled & cut into pieces
2 pork shanks
3 red dates, stoned
10-20g sweet & bitter apricot kernels
2 litre Water
Salt to taste


Method
Blanch the pork shanks in boiling water to get rid of excess fats and scum. Remove and set aside.

Add 2 litre water in a pot and bring to boil. Add all ingredients, including the pork and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat. Lower heat and leave the soup to simmer for one to two hours. Add salt to taste just before serving.

Soup for the soul 煲一锅靓汤

Chinese soup has long history in the kitchen. Chinese believe that soup is very nutritious and can easily be absorbed by the body. Soup is a wonderful hydrator and gives the body much-needed liquid. Drinking hot soup and breathing in the steam can decongest the respiratory system. Depending on the ingredients used, some soups help to cleanse the organs and have therapeutic effects. Chicken soups and broths are commonly believed to relieve colds and flu.

Contrary to western tradition, soups at a Chinese meal are served after or together with the meal and not at the beginning as a starter. They can also do double duty as mealtime beverages. Family members would help themselves from one large communal bowl but you may prefer to serve in individual small bowls for hygiene purpose.

There's nothing quite as comforting as a bowl of steaming hot soup to warm us during winter. In summer, braise winter melon soup or boil watercress soup to replenish the body's lost nutrients and ward off the summer heat. They are also a good water supplements.

There are a many types of Chinese soups, ranging from the most common clear vegetable and bean curd soup, to the expensive shark’s fins and bird’s nest soups. The time taken to make the soup varies as well. If you have time, you may slowly simmer your soup to flavour. This will usually take 1 to 2 hours but it does make a huge difference to the taste. A faster way of cooking soup is to make quick-boiled soup with ready-made stocks. There is a great range of variety and flavours of ready-made soup stocks available in the market. They come in cubes, canned, packets, powder and liquid concentrates, and there are soup stocks with poultry, fish, seafood and vegetable bases. These are really great time-savers. Just put the ingredients and soup stock into a boiling pot of water and a wonderful hearty soup is ready in minutes.

Whilst the ready-made stocks are quick and handy flavour enhancers, I prefer my homemade stocks as most of the ready-made stocks are processed and contained high sodium, MSG and preservatives.

Making your own soup stock from scratch is not difficult, though it could be rather time-consuming. To save your time and effort, make a big pot of stock at one go and store it in the freezer for future use. I like to freeze my concentrated stock into ice cubes to use as a substitute for bouillon cubes. After the cubes get frozen, I store them in a container and use them for cooking soup or noodles dishes.

Hairy Marrow Soup 毛瓜湯

Ingredients

1 hairy marrow, peeled and cut into pieces

2 pork shanks

6 red dates, stoned

2 litre water

Salt to taste

Method

Peel and cut hairy marrow into pieces. Blanch the pork shanks in a pot of boiling water to get rid of excess fats and scum. Remove and set aside.

In another pot, add 2 litre water, pork shanks, hairy marrow and red dates. Bring the soup to boil and simmer for at least an hour.

Add salt to taste. Dish and serve.

Apple & Fish Soup 苹果炖鱼汤

Ingredients

Fish head with bones and meat (I used Salmon)

3 red apples, peeled, cored & sliced

1 carrot, peeled & cut into big pieces

10-20g sweet & bitter apricot kernels

3 - 4 slices ginger

Salt to taste

5 bowls water

2 tbsp oil

Method

Heat oil in a non-stick fried pan over medium heat and saute ginger slices till fragrant. Pan fry fish head till slightly brown.

Transfer fish and ginger into a pot of cold water. Once boiled, add the remaining ingredients and lower heat to simmer for at least an hour. Remove any floating oil. Add salt to taste.

Dish and serve hot.

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Note

- Do not blanch the fish to remove the fishy smell. Pan fry the fish helps to prevent flaking and get rid of the smell.

- Unlike pork/chicken, do not cook the fish in hot boiling water, use cold water instead.

Watercress soup 西洋菜南北杏豬展湯

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Ingredients

1 big bunch watercress

300g pork loins

10-20g sweet and bitter apricot kernels (nan bei xing)

1 dried arhat fruit (luo han guo)

1.5 litre water

Salt to taste

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Method

Clean and wash the watercress thoroughly. Blanch the pork loins in a pot of boiling water to get rid of excess fats and scum. Remove and set aside.

Pour 1.5 litre of water in a pot. Once boiled, add all ingredients into the pot, including the pork loins. Cover and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down till the water simmers slightly. Leave to cook for one to two hours. When the soup is done, add some salt to bring out the flavor.

Dish and serve.

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Note

1. Watercress contains vitamins A, C and K. It is a good source of iron and calcium and is full of beneficial glucosinates. Luo han guo and nan bei xin help to relieve cough and nourish the lung.

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2. Make sure that the watercress is washed well to remove soil and worms that may be found in burrows within the body of the leaf.

3. Cooking watercress in cold water will make the soup bitter. Always make sure that the watercress is added to boiling water.

Carrot and Green Radish Soup 青红萝卜汤

Ingredients
1 green carrot, peeled & cut into pieces
2 red carrots, peeled & cut into pieces
3 large tomatoes, cut into wedges

10-20g sweet and bitter apricot kernels

300g pork ribs

1.5 litre water
Salt to taste

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Method
Blanch pork ribs in a pot of boiling water for about 3 minutes to remove excess fats and scum. Rinse and clean pork ribs under cold water. Drain and set aside.

Add all vegetables and pork ribs in a pot of water (1.5l water) and bring to boil. Simmer the soup, covered over low heat for one and a half hour. Add salt to taste.

Dish and serve.