ABC soup

This ABC Soup is my daughter's favorite.  Easy to put together and upon daughter's request, I am documenting it here for her to cook from now on as she has officially moved out of the school hostel and will have to cook her own meals from now on.

For safety, I will have to get either a double boiler or an electric pot as Asian soup tends to boil longer.

Finally, this blog which was set up with them in mind is being put to good use.

What you need:

yield for 2

2 Sweet corn

4 potatoes

2 tomatoes

1 big carrot 

400g Lean meat or pork ribs

Method:

Remove husk and silk from the sweet corn and cut them into chunks

Peel potatoes and cut into chunks

Cut tomatoes into halves

Peel the carrot and cut it into chunks.

Blanch meat in boiling water for 2 mins.  Discard water and rinse well the meat.

Place all ingredients into the pot.  Brisk boil for 1/2 hour.

Lower down heat and continue to boil for 1 hour or until meat is tender.

Season with soy sauce or salt.

Enjoy!

五指毛桃汤 (for cough and lungs)

I developed a really bad asthmatic cough that even antibiotics can't help much.  So during a trip to visit my relatives in HK, they boiled this soup 五指毛桃汤 that is good for the lungs as well as for cough.  Using 五指毛桃 to boil soup seems a very popular choice in HK and in China. 

五指毛桃 and 牛大力 are both roots and have medical benefits to it.  I am blessed to be able to get these home-grown roots that are of the best quality.

I had consumed it for two days and it seemed to bring some relief.  Brought home another 2 portions and continued to brew this soup.  

Source

The benefit of 五指毛桃

Strengthen the spleen, eliminate dampness, promote the flow of qi, resolve phlegm, relax the tendons, and dredge meridians.

The benefit of 牛大力

Nourish deficiency and moisturize the lungs, strengthening muscles and activating collaterals. It is often used for lumbar muscle strain, rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis, chronic bronchitis, chronic hepatitis, spermatorrhea, leucorrhea, etc

 

Hopefully, this nasty cough will go away before my next long trip.

 

What you need:

Yield: 2 persons

45g 五指毛桃 (root of hispid fig)

67g 牛大力 (Millettia Speciosa Champ)

300g lean pork

2 pcs honey date

 

Method:

 

Blanch pork.

 

Rinse 牛大力, 五指毛桃 and dates

 

Combine all ingredients and brisk boil for ½ hour.

 

Lower to med-high heat and continue to boil for 2½ hours.

Enjoy!

Easy Mushroom Soup (4)

I spent so much time trying to sort out my overloaded google photo account.  I had never really need to use that until I started to learn videoing and that created a huge mess for me.

Dropbox, google photo, iCloud etc... all sounded so alien to me back then.  Now at least I am no longer that confused.  Yes, call me a dinosaur auntie.

I totally forgotten my daughter is still on home-based learning and I had to feed her.  Luckily there were mushrooms and chicken stock in the fridge.

Got my act together and tada... Easy Mushroom Soup within 1/2 hour, I was able to produce pipping hot soup with my focaccia.  Simple and yet delicious.

What you need:

1 yellow onion, skin removed

15g garlic, skin removed

50g salted butter

400g sliced mushrooms

1 small potato, sliced thinly

300g chicken stock

300g water

50g whipping cream

4 bay leaves

Salt and pepper (adjust to your taste)

Method:

Place onion and garlic in TM bowl.  Chop at 5 sec/Sp 5.

Add in butter and saute at 2 min/Varoma/Sp 2.

Place sliced mushroom (remove a handful out first) and saute for 2 mins/Varoma/Sp2.  

Add in 100g chicken broth and saute for 2 mins/varoma/Sp2.

Blend for 10 secs/Sp10.

Add remaining chicken broth, water, potatoes and mushroom and cook for 10 mins/Varoma/Sp1.

Blend for 10 sec/Sp 10 to roughly chopped up the mushroom to give it some bits.

Add in cooking cream and bay leaves and coof for 10 mins/Varoma/Sp1.

Season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy!

Camembert Mushroom Soup (3)

Circuit breaker Day 14

Last week, when I saw this Camembert Mushroom Soup posted by my ABC Cooking Studio's instructor W.  I knew right away I will try it!  Why?  Because I have a block of Camembert in the fridge!    The downside, I don't have button mushroom!  so the wait ......

At long last, my fridge finally has space for replenishment.  I am sure many out there, it is the same situation right now.

We tried to minimize going out as it poses lots of negative impact to society.  Praying each day, we will overcome this crisis.  

What you need:

Serve 6

2 pcs med size potato

½ pcs med size onion

4 – 5 pcs bay leaf

100g Camembert cheese

400g button mushrooms

1000ml chicken stock

2 tbsp cooking cream

Salt and black pepper

Fresh parsley for garnishing (I did not bother with this)

Method:

Slice mushroom and onion.  

Cut the potato and cheese into cubes.

In a soup pot, some olive oil and stir fry the onion and mushroom.
In a TM, add olive oil and onion.  Cook 2mins/100°C/Sp 2

Add in the bay leaf and cook for 2 – 3mins.

Add in mushroom.  Cook 3 mins/100°C/Sp2

Pour in the chicken stock.

Add in the potato cubes and cheese.  On low heat cook for around 30 mins.

Add in chicken stock, potatoes and chicken broth.  Cook 30 mins/90°C/Sp 3

Add in salt and black pepper.  Remove bay leaf.

Pour the soup into a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour into the pot again and bring it to a boil.

Blend at 2min/Sp4 -7 gradually

Serve with fresh cream and chopped fresh parsley.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Soup (non dairy)

My kids do not like pumpkin and perhaps it is me that hardly introduce this delicious roots to them.

I also had phobia handling pumpkin because of a very bad cut I had before but since I found a way to handle them safely, now I am excited to explore more recipes using pumpkin.

Today, I shall make a Pumpkin soup without using cream which is a healthier version.

Enjoy!

Pork with wood ear and apple soup

By now you might have recalled that I did mention that eating wood ear is good for health.

So here is another option to incorporate wood ear into your diet.

This Pork with woodear and apple soup is easy to prepare and light on the palette.

What you need:

500g lean pork
2 apples
20g wood ear
2 honey dates
4 bowls water

Method:

Blanch pork and rinse well.

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook 6 hours.

Season with salt.

Enjoy!

Urticales coconut soup 五指毛桃椰子汤

During my last trip to HK, my cousin's mother-in-law brewed this Urticales coconut soup 五指毛桃椰子汤.  She said it is very good for cough.  Actually, I only know the herb in Chinese and did a google search for this herb to get the English name for it.

It is called 五指毛桃, because the leaves resemble 5 fingers, and the fruits when ripe have skin like the peach.  The roots after boiling tasted like coconut.

I have noticed a lot of people started coughing and my girl and I also have been coughing.  So shall make a pot of this soup for the whole family.

I am not sure whether this root is available in Singapore but if you know of any medical hall that sells this, please let me know as I only have 2 bundles.  

You can read more about this herb here. 

What you need:

8 servings

1 bunch of Urticales root 五指毛桃

20 pcs sweet almond

10 pcs bitter almond

1 old coconut (available in Mustaffa)

400g lean pork

3 litres of water

Method:

Blanched pork.

Rinsed Urticales root, sweet almond, bitter almond, and coconut.

Bring to boil the water and add in the Urticales root, sweet almond, bitter almond, and coconut.  Bring to a boil again and lower heat to a simmer and simmer for 4 hours.

For slow cooker: Combined water and all the ingredients.  Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Season with salt.

Note: if you put this in a slow cooker, you only need 4 bowls of water.

Enjoy!

Apple Black Fungus Soup 苹果木耳汤

Black fungus has extremely good healing properties in the Traditional Medicine world.   It is cheap and has lots of health benefits.

There are three types of fungus that the Chinese will eat.  They are snow fungus 雪耳.  This, itself have two varieties, one for dessert and one for soup. And there are wood ear fungus 木耳 and cloud ear fungus 云耳.  Wood ear fungus is bigger than the cloud ear fungus.  In terms of texture, cloud ear fungus is soft and is good for steaming, whereas the wood ear fungus, it has a crunch to it thus it is good in boiling soup and making cold appetizer.

With my dad and father in law having this heart issues, I think genetically, we are also affected by it.  So this will be our regular soup from now on.

My aunt recommend me to boil this soup, Apple Black Fungus Soup 苹果木耳汤 regularly for the family.  Black fugus is known to be able to improve blood circulation and it can also prevents blood clots and regulate lipids.  Regular intake of black fungus can also lower cholesterol.

I heard that drinking this for 20 plus days will prevent a patient from going through the ballooning procedures.  Not sure whether this is true but I guess not harm trying.

What you need:
Serve 4

40g wood ear fungus 木耳
3 red apples, skinned, remove core and pits
8 red dates, remove pits
400g lean pork, sliced
1 small slice dried orange peel
8 bowls water

Season to taste with soya sauce or salt

Method:

Soak dried black fungus and shred finely.

Peel off the skin of the apple and remove core and pits.

Remove the pits from the dates.

Slice lean pork.

Boil for 1.5 hours until it thickens.  

Serve.



Try it.

Mushroom soup (potato) (2)

My kids adore Mushroom soup.  The most unforgettable one, was served in Europa country club (defunct now).  

So far, we have yet to find one that serve up to that standard.  Then again, some are really horrible.  I wonder why they even have it on the menu.

I found another recipe and decided to give this a try using my machine.  It is sure fuss free to churn out this soup.  

Now I can teach my kiddos to make this cheap and most importantly, real stuff soup at home.  It can be also very filling especially good if you wanted something fuss free and quick to fill up the tummy.

Findings: Thick and yummy.

What you need:

250g fresh mushroom

100g cooked potatoes

600g water

150g cooking cream (less if you want less fats in the soup)

1 tsp salt

Method:

Using a thermomix, chop mushroom for 4 secs speed 4

(Using a hand blender, chop fresh mushroom).  Remove ⅓ and set aside.

Add in the cooked potatoes and water and cook for 20 mins/90°C/speed 2

(Pour pureed mushroom into a pot and add in the cooked potatoes and water and cook for 20 mins)

Add cooking cream and blend 1min/speed 10

(Add cooking cream and using a hand blender, blitz till fine).

Add in the remaining mushroom and cook for 2 mins/100degrees/speed 3

(Add in the remaining mushroom and cook for about 2 mins)

Season with salt and pepper.

Serve hot.


Cheers!

Corn soup (non dairy)

During a recent trip to a friend's house for lunch, her helper served a really yummy Corn soup.  It was so creamy and sweet and surprisingly it does not have any dairy cream in it.  

Here is how she taught me.  

What you need:

4 cob corn
1 yellow onion
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cup water
½ cube Knorr Vegetable stock cube
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Dice onion finely.  

Remove corn silk and shave off the corn niblets.

In a pot heated with olive oil, sauté onion until fragrant.  Remove

In a blender, add in niblets, onion, and 1 cup of water.  Blitz until it is creamy.

Sieve through corn mixture.

Add in the Knorr vegetable stock cube and bring to a boil.

Season with salt and pepper.

Serve hot.



Enjoy!



  

Tri colour Carrot Soup 三色萝卜汤

It's been a long time since I last made this, Tri Colour Carrot Soup 三色萝卜汤.  This soup reminded me so much of my late friend, LL.  She was the one that told me that this soup is good for detoxing.  

Looking at my girl, LL had already left us for 13 long years.  To date, I still miss her especially when I cook a dish or bake something that I had done with her before.

That is why when I saw a 16 years old killed himself, I feel really sad.  Sad for the deceased and also sad for his family, for the pain will always be there, no matter long time ago.

With the weather, I am pumping my family with more soup.  

What you need:

400g spare ribs
2 carrots
1 med sized green radish
1 med sized white radish
dried oyster (optional)

Method:

Blanched spare ribs.  Set aside.

Peeled carrots, green radish and white radish.  Cut into chunks.

All all ingredients into the pot.  

Add sufficient water to cover the ingredients and bring to a brisk boil for half hour.

Lower down to a simmer and let it simmer for 3 hours.  

Season with salt



Cheers 

   

Corn and Carrot Soup

My girl requested for ABC which is her favourite soup but unfortunately this blur mommy forgotten to buy potato so she has to make do with Corn and Carrot Soup.

I have nearly forgotten that I owned a Thermos pot.  Finally brought it out and put to good use once again.  This is a good utensil to own especially when you are a working mom.  I used to prepare porridge for my kids using a smaller pot as well.  Really easy.  Just prepare this before I leave to pick kids up and when we are back, the porridge is ready.

Well the corn and carrot still shine and this is so easy to make.  This time I used pig tail bone and it turned out to be really good.

What you need:

2 corn 

2 med sized carrot

400g pig tail bone

Water

Method:

Blanched pig tail bone.

Add all ingredients into a pot of boiling water.  I filled it up to 3/4 full.

Bring to a brisk boil and lower to medium heat.  Let it boil for 2 hours.  

Put the pot in to the outer thermos pot and let it sit for another 2 - 4 hours.

Before serve, I usually bring it to a boil again.

Season with soya sauce or salt before serving.




Cheers

Watercress Soup 西洋菜汤

With such humid weather, I decided to boil Watercress Soup 西洋菜汤.  When I was young, we were made to sit at the table to pluck this vegetable.  The stem is then tied together to cook together with the tender leaves and meat.

These days, we no longer need to do this process, everything is done for us.  

The other day, dad was complaining that I don't cook soup for my family but little that he knew that I do but not as often as my mom.  Sometimes, the family's words are really harsh and judgmental.

This is one of my favorite soups.  It is light and still able to have a full body taste because of the meat.  The sweetness from the vegetable as well as the honey dates comes off just the right balance.

What you need:

2 bundles of watercress

3 honey dates

400g meat

water

Method:

Blanched meat.

Wash the watercress making sure no worms.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, and add in all the ingredients.  

Bring to a boil and then let it simmer for 4 hours.

Season with soya sauce.

Cheers

Cream of mushroom soup (1)

My kids love Cream of mushroom soup.  It is a compulsory item whenever we dined out.  Most of the time, it is just crappy stuff.

One of the best tasting Cream of Mushroom Soup that I tasted, was from a club that no longer exist.  Such a pity.

Making this soup seems easy based on the method.  The only hard part is slicing up the mushrooms!

Findings: I don't know why my mushroom soup has a slight tinge of bitterness.  Hubby said could be too much mushroom?  Is there such a thing? 

Perhaps I should omit the red wine?  

Okay back to the drawing board, this recipe I don't think my kids like it.

What you need:

1 dollop of unsalted butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

500g fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 onion, diced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup red wine

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Method:

Melt butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. 

Saute garlic and mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 5-6 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. 

Stir in onion and cooked until translucent, about 2-3 minutes.

Add in wine and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. 

Add in chicken broth, heavy cream and thyme.

In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Stir in mixture to the soup until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. 

If the soup is too thin, add more cornstarch as needed until desired consistency is reached.

Serve immediately.

Chicken with abalone and scallop soup

Mom has been complaining that I am not cooking soup for the family.  

When she was in Hongkong two weeks ago, her friend recommended her to buy this Abalone trimmings.  The friend told her that it is as good as adding abalone for making soup so mom bought a packet for me to try.

True enough, this seriously tasted really good.  Just like if I put a whole abalone in to cook and I only used 6 pcs of this trimmings.

My family did enjoy this Chicken with abalone and scallop soup 鸡鲍鱼汤 at a fraction of the price!

What you need:

Serve 8

2 chicken breast with skin removed
6 pcs abalone trimmings
3 pcs dried scallops
8 bowls water

Method:

Blanced chicken with boiling water.

Soak abalone trimmings for 10 mins.

Using a slow cooking pot, add in the chicken, abalone trimmings and dried scallops.

Fill water to cover the ingredients. 

Slow simmer overnight.

Note: If you are using gas to cook this soup, min cooking time is 4 hours.  (refill water when low).

Black Chicken Herbal Soup 乌鸡汤

For our Yuan Xiao gathering (last day of Lunar New Year), my mom prepared Chicken with Abalone Soup.  After that, my kids can't stop commenting that they missed their grandma's soup.  婆婆的汤太棒了!

Yes, I haven't been boiling soup for my family.  I am sure my mom disapproves of that.  It is hard to match mom’s standard especially when my kids always use that as their benchmark.  For me, it is a heavy pressure to churn out a pot of nice soup that please my kids.

As I was queuing to buy chicken, I decided to grab a black chicken. First thing that came to mind was Black Chicken Herbal Soup, something that I like very much when my mom prepared for us when young.

Gosh I didn't expect the herbs to be so expensive.  For the blue dates (藍枣) it cost me S$5 for a mere 72g and the Huai Shan was S$3.5 for 100g.   Now I am wondering whether I can substitute blue dates with black dates instead when I am done with that 72g.

I decided to use a slow cooker to boil this for 100% successful rate.  

Totally no regrets!  

What you need:
Serve 4

1 black chicken (skinned, cut into 4)
38g Huai Shan
40g wolfberries
3 blue dates (藍枣), deseed
3 slices ginger
1 litre water

Method:

Blanch chicken with hot water and rinse with water.

Rinse huai shan, wolfberries and blue dates.

Add all into the double boiler and let it cook for 6 hours or more.

Season with salt.  

Wintermelon Soup （冬瓜汤)

I haven't been cooking soup of late and we are definitely missing it.  Since I saw some wintermelon during my grocery, I decided to make wintermelon soup （冬瓜汤).  

As the weather has been unbearably hot it is ideal to cool down and balance off our body and balance the yin and yang.