Foodie

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Lotus Root Soup

Li Yü, Ch'ing dynasty poet and essayist, said this about soup:

"As long as there is rice, there should be soup. The relationship between soup and rice is like that between water and a boat. When a boat is stranded on a sandy bank only water can wash it back to the river; rice goes down better with soup. I would go so far as to say that it would be better to go without all main dishes that to have no soup." So very well said and this is my version of the soup.


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Ingredients:

1 lb lean pork ribs
1 section of lotus root - peel and cut into slices
8-10 dried pitted red dates
1 cup raw peanuts - wash and drain
1 piece of dried squid - wash
6 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

Wash pork ribs and have enough of water to cover the ribs.

Bring to the boil for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour away the water.

Wash the ribs with cold running water.

Put ribs back to pressure cooker and add 6 cups of water, sliced lotus root, drained raw peanuts, pitted red dates, washed dried squid and pressurise on high for 30 minutes.

Turn off heat and let the pressure go down before opening lid.

Remove lid and add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot.


Serves

9 comments:

ioyces said...

hi Lily!

wow, the soup looks very nourishing!!
I have just bought some dried lotus...it is white and chalky-looking...do you know if i can use them in the same way as the fresh ones as well??

and if i leave the soup in a slow cooker, will 2 hours on high be sufficient?

thank you!

Unknown said...

joyces

the dried lotus roots are pretty good. soak say about 5 - 6 pieces and when they are reconstituted, cut them into smaller slices.

When using a slow cooker, start with boiling hot water and when the contents come back to the boil, then 2 hrs will be ok. it depends on the brand of slow cooker too - check for doneness.

ioyces said...

thanks for the prompt reply!!! :D

cheers!!!

me said...

Lily,

Your recipe bought back the memory of my late grandma. She used to cook this dish for me.

Thanks

House

Anonymous said...

ahh Aunty Lily I have been looking for this for quite some time.. no mummy to cook for me...
I was wondering if I replace Squid with something else what would be best since I'm not a fan of anything with 8 limbs.
Also wondering if I can add Ginko into the soup or will the soup or the ginko ruin each other?

Unknown said...

ryuenuriko

you could use dried scallops or omit the friends from the sea.

gingko is neutral in taste, i think you can add them in the soup. Since it is expensive, i rather use it as a main ingredient.

玉燕 said...

Hello Lily,

Thanks for sharing your recipe with us. I wonder how long should we cook the soup? I love soup with rice very much and the only soup I know how to cook is the ABC soup. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.Thanks again!

Unknown said...

张玉燕

the longer you simmer soup the better tastewise and other factors.

i use the pressure cooker and it takes 20 - 40 depending on how fast i want to get it on the table but if you cook on the stovetop, make sure it is simmering for at least 1 hr and remember that the lid must be on.

Floppy Ears said...

ahh my mom used to cook this when i was young. ^^ this is gonna be next on my list to try! thanks for all the wonderful recipe. I'm happy that i can somehow recreate all these childhood food now that i live far from home. Wonderful!

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