Thanks to her nanny (who is a Cantonese BTW), Hannah grows up with tasty and nutritious Chinese soups for her meals. Ann (our church friend) once commented that it was the simmered soups that Hong Kongers drank daily that gave them their good complexion. Complexion aside, I’m thankful that Hannah has developed a preference for soups as they contain much of the natural goodness from the ingredients used.
We are talking about clear soups which are simmered on low heat for hours here.
Ever since Hannah started joining us at our dining table for dinner, I have been making an extra effort to prepare a pot of soup so that she could continue to enjoy it and at the same time ensure sufficient fluid intake. She could easily down a bowl of soup at the end of the meal.
Lately, Hannah picked up a new eating habit. She loves to eat corn on cob that is cooked in soups. I usually chop a cob into small chunks for my soups and Hannah would hand pick these sweet morsels and bite the corn kernels off methodically. If I didn’t stop her, she would have finished up all the corn in the pot of soup! Eating corn on cob can be quite additive LOL :)
Anyway, back to the recipe of the soup I wish to share today. Tis the season for white radish now as you could see them appearing in large quantities at supermarkets. When they are in season (winter and spring), they are so plump and juicy. Read somewhere that this root veggie is a poor man’s alternative to ginseng, i.e. it has many wonderful nutrients and properties to promote good health. While very low in calorie (hello, dieters!), the radish is rich in anti-oxidants (especially Vitamin C), minerals (e.g. iron, magnesium, copper and calcium), phytochemicals and fibre.
The recipe for white radish corn pork soup is easy peasy. :)
Ingredients (Serves 2)
- White radish (~15 cm long or half of a long radish) – keeps well in the fridge for 1-2 weeks
- Fresh sweet corn on cob (1 cob, remove leaves and silk) – avoid keeping corn in the fridge for more than 3 days as it will lose its sweetness and increase in starchiness
- Pork soft bone OR spare ribs OR prime ribs (300 – 350 g)
- Dried red dates (pitted) – 3
- Candied date – 1
- Water – 500-600ml (add just enough water to cover the ingredients)
- Salt – 1/4 tsp
Method
1) Peel the radish and cut into bite-sized chunks. Put them into a medium pot.
2) Use a cleaver to chop the corn into 4-6 chunks (individual preference). Throw them into the medium pot.
3) Brush the skin of red dates in running water to remove dirt and rinse. (I used a cheapo toothbrush for the job). Place them into the medium pot
4) Rinse the candied date. Place it into the medium pot.
5) Add water until all the ingredients are just covered, about 500-600 ml. Bring the water to a boil.
6) In the meantime, cut away the fats from pork, if any, and cut the meat into bite-sized chunks. Blanch the pork in boiling water for a few minutes.
7) Once the water is boiling in the pot, use chopsticks to transfer the blanched pork to the pot and let it boil for a few minutes. Make sure all ingredients are covered in water. If not, just add a little more hot water.
8) Cover the pot, reduce the heat to lowest and simmer the soup for 2 hours.
9) Season the soup with 1/4 tsp of salt, stir briefly and turn off heat. The soup is ready to be served. Goes well with steamed white rice with cut chilli padi in premium light soy sauce as condiment for pork. :)
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