I’m starting to get some success at making clear Chinese soups at home. My initial attempts gave really bland results. Two mistakes I tend to commit in the past: 1) use of excessive water, and 2) use of high heat.
This recipe for lotus root and peanuts soup makes very flavourful soup. We liked it very much. The quantity of ingredients used below serves 3-4 persons.
Ingredients
Lotus root (15-20 cm segment, peel skin and slice to 0.5 cm thickness)
Peanuts (dried version, 1 cup, soak in water overnight, rinse well before use)
Pork soft bone (250g, remove fatty layer and cut into bite-sized chunks)
Pork soup bones (250g, wash to remove small bits of bony material, remove any fats)
Seedless dried red dates (5, rinsed)
Dried cuttlefish (2 pieces, rinse and cut into 2-3 segments with a pair of scissors)
Carrots (3 sticks, peeled and cut into chunks)
Pan salt (1/2 tsp or as desired)
Tap water (800 ml)
Method
1) Place lotus root slices, peanuts, red dates, cuttlefish and carrots into a pot filled with 800 ml water and bring to boil.
2) Blanch pork soft bone and pork soup bone pieces in boiling water to remove scum. Do this when the other pot of ingredients has started to boil.
3) Use a pair of chopsticks to transfer all the blanched pork pieces into the pot with all the other ingredients. Wait for the water to boil again.
4) Cover the pot and simmer the soup by reducing the heat to the lowest. Simmer for 3 hours.
5) Season with a little salt at the end of cooking. Serve soup with steamed white jasmine rice and a small dish of freshly cut chilli padi in premium light soy sauce dip.
A note on using pork for soups. Prime ribs are preferred for soups due to its tender and superior meat. I discovered that the meat of pork soft bone was a good alternative and value for money. It imparts aromatic, meaty flavours to the soup and its meat becomes very tender and juicy after simmering in soups for hours.
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