Saw this post of Wendy's [Table for 2 or More] which reminds me of the pork ribs soup which I had long ago when we [my hubby and I] visited my late father in-law in JB. I remembered he took us to a restaurant which serves very nice Teochew Bak Kut Teh, Peppery Pig Tripe Soup and Red Braised Pig Trotter. I remembered the soup was very peppery and fragrant. According tothe recipe, it is not a difficult soup to prepare. The ribs are cooked to tender but do not separate from the bones. Dip in garlic, chilli and soya sauce, hmmm... very tasty. Good soup for a rainy night.
Ingredients
1 kg meaty pork ribs - cut in 2" pieces
6-7 bulbs [200 gm] garlic - separated but skin intact
1 tbsp white peppercorns - good quality ones [cracked and lightly toasted]
2 litres of water
salt to taste
some light soy sauce when serving
- Blanch pork ribs in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Drain and rinse under running water to remove the scums.
- Bring water to boil in a pot.
- Put in the garlic and peppercorns, followed by the pork ribs. Bring to boil again.
- Add in salt to taste, cover and reduce to medium low heat and simmer for about 1 hour or until the ribs are tender but does not drop off from the bones.
- Season to taste, off heat and add some light soy sauce before serving.
- Serve hot with white rice, garlic/chilli sauce.
These meatballs are made with minced meat and mint leaves [the waxy specie]. I don't know what is the specific name for this kind of mint leaves but I know there are some medicinal value. It is remedy for cough. Anyone who knows the name of this mint, please let me know. In Hokkien, it's called Ang Mo Poh Hoe.
Updates [14/8/14] - from Yal "My Indian and filipino colleagues call the leaves oregano. Filipino squeeze out the juice and add kasturi juice for cough whereas Indians soften it first with a heated metal spoon before squeezing it".
If you like mint flavour, these meatballs may be acceptable to you. A very simple, yet tasty soup.
Ingredients
[serve 3]
150 gm minced pork with some fats
5-6 mint leaves - chopped
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp light soy sauce
650 ml water
salt and pepper to taste
- Marinate minced meat with some salt, msg. pepper and cornstarch. Stir in one direction and well mixed.
- Add in chopped mint leaves and mix well in one direction until paste is sticky. Set aside in the fridge until required. Shape into meatballs.
- Heat a little oil in a soup pot, saute garlic until fragrant, add in light soy sauce. Then add in the water.
- Bring to boil, add in the meatballs to cook for several minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
Sudden craving for soup makes me try cooking this soup. Happy with the taste and definitely a keeper.
Pearly Beans
The soup has its' natural sweetness, the pearly beans are just tender. The original recipe uses big chunks of sweet corn but I used fresh baby corns as I have them in my fridge.
Ingredients
[serves 3-4]
300 gm pork ribs - cut into pieces
150 gm pearly beans
1 sweet corn [replaced with 6 baby corns] - cut into pieces
8 red dates
800 ml water
salt to taste
dash of pepper [optional]
- Scald pork ribs in boiling water for several minutes. Drain and rinse with water until clean.
- Bring water to boil in a soup pot [I used claypot], add in pork ribs to cook until tender [about 30-40 minutes].
- Add in the remaining ingredients, bring to boil then lower heat to simmer for 15 - 20 minutes or until the beans are soft.
- Add salt to taste. Serve hot.
A very homely noodle, mee hoon kueh used to be popular in most Chinese homes. It is similar to the noodle which we call Pan Mee. However, mee hoon kueh is neither yellow or springy in texture like other wheat noodles, as alkaline water is not added to it. Since ready made Pan Mee is easily available at most supermarkets, fewer families are preparing this noodle at home.
It is a comfort food for the family. The dough can be prepared and refrigerated until required. It can be rolled into strips but authentic mee hoon kueh should be torn into pieces by hand and the texture is different from that of the machine rolled.
Recipe Source - Home Cooking Magazine - July 1999
Ingredients for Noodle Dough [serves 5]
300 gm plain flour
1 tbsp tapioca flour [optional]
1 tsp salt
1 egg - lightly beaten
2 tbsp cooking oil
150 ml water [as required]
- Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
- Make a hole in the centre, add in the egg and oil.
- Slowly knead the flour mixture into a dough, adding water gradually until it forms a soft dough.
- Shape into a ball, cover to rest for at least 1/2 hour before shaping the mee hoon kueh for a quick preparation [I prepared the dough earlier and refrigerate until needed].
- Flatten the dough and shape into noodles with a noodle maker or pinch the dough into small flat pieces [mee hoon kueh].
- Bring a big pot of water to boil, blanch the mee hoon kueh to cook. When the kueh floats up, it is cooked. Dish up and add to boiling soup to serve.
Ingredients for Mee Hoon Kueh Soup
50 gm anchovies - rinsed and drained150-200 gm minced meat 3 dried mushrooms - soaked and cut stripsa bunch of sweet leaves [mani chye] or choy sum1.5 litres water1 cube ikan bilis stock granulessalt and pepper to tastesome chopped garlicsome chopped spring onions or coriander leaves - Marinate minced meat with some salt, pepper, sesame oil and cornstarch. Shape into meatballs, set aside.
- Heat up some oil to fry anchovies until golden and crispy. Dish out.
- Using the remaining oil, fry garlic until aromatic, add in the mushrooms.
- Add in the water, bring to boil for several minutes.
- Add in minced meat, seasonings to taste.
- Add in blanched mee hoon kueh and vegetables.
- Once vegetables are cooked, dish out into individual bowls to serve.
- Top noodles with fried anchovies and chopped spring onions/coriander leaves. Serve with cut chillies in soy sauce.
This herbal soup is highly recommended for women [taken after menstruation]. It is good for blood deficiency, too.Here, I didn't use the dang qui available at medical halls. I was given some Dang Qui from Vietnam, so I used it in this soup. Anybody visiting Vietnam, do look for it, quite worthwhile to get them. Very fragrant and tasty soup. I supposed the benefits are the same as if you are using the normal dang qui slices.
Recipe adapted from Krista of The Soup Queen [slightly modified]. This recipe can be cooked in the slow cooker at Auto mode for 3-4 hours.
Ingredients
[enough for 2 persons]
2 chicken thighs - skin and fats removed
9-10 slices Dang Gui [I used Vietnamese Dang Gui] - rinsed
8 large pieces of red dates - stone [I used more]
1/2 tsp salt to taste
600 ml water
- Boil water in the soup pot [I used a claypot], add in the herbs and dates to cook for several minutes.
- Add in chicken pieces. Bring to boil then lower heat to simmer for about 30 minutes or until soup is aromatic and chicken is tender.
- Add salt to taste. Serve warm.
Notes: No Chinese tea or cold drinks for at least 12 hours after consuming this soup.
If using slow cooker, place herbs and date in the pot, put chicken pieces on top. Add in boiling water. Set slow cooker at Auto mode. Let simmer for 4 hours or until soup is ready.
