Posted by Patrick.C
It is always good to have a bowl of slow cooked soup for body rejuvenating and reinvigorating after a worn-out week. Weekend is normally the best time for me to boil soup especially slow cooked soup. It requires several hours (at least 3 hours) for simmer. Dried bok choy soup (菜干湯) was what I’ve boiled last weekend. This homespun soup was one of my favorites back in Malaysia.
Back in ancient times, bok choy was dehydrated for preservation until the next harvest but nowadays you can easily get the fresh boy choy all year round. Besides, you do not need to dehydrate the bok choy because packages of dried bok choy can be easily in most Asian markets. Some of the packages of dried bok choy are labeled as “dehydrated cole”.
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Posted by Patrick.C
I have been eating a lot since the holiday season and last week I just wanted to have something simple and light for the next few days. Making a soup would be a great idea since I love soup. Having one big bowl of soup would be satisfying and replacing as my regular meals. Thus, I was able to cut down my appetite.
As usual, slow-cooked soup (老火湯) was what in my mind and this time I’ve prepared the lotus root soup (莲藕湯). Lotus root is the root portion of the lotus plant and it is believed to be rich in dietary fiber and vitamin C. So far, I only know how to use it for soup making and stir-frying.
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Posted by Patrick.C
The Cantonese watercress soup (西洋菜湯) is one of my favorite slow-cooked soups that I grew up with. Slow-cooked soup, or lo for tong (老火湯) is a Cantonese specialty which is a broth produced by simmering meats, bones, vegetables and other ingredients for 3 to 6 hours. Essentially, most of the Chinese soups are great for health benefits and the watercress soup is good for releasing heat in our bodies and clearing sputum in our lungs.
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Posted by Patrick.C
There were some leftover red fermented bean curds (南乳) in the fridge. So I decided to utilize them to prepare the fried pork with red fermented bean curd for tomorrow’s lunch. I prepared this dish using pork loin instead of streaky pork (五花肉) because I preferred to have leaner meat this time. But I suggest you to use the streaky pork in order to keep the perfect tenderness and natural juiciness of the pork after deep frying. It is also recommended to marinate the meat overnight in the fridge so you are able to enjoy a robust flavor of the meat.
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Posted by Patrick.C
Daikon is a white East Asian radish that could be easily found in the Asian market. It looks like a giant carrot but in white color with roughly 10 to 14 inches long. In Chinese, we called it bai luo bo (白萝卜). It can be cooked in a variety of methods but this time I’ve used it to make the daikon soup.
I remember I disliked this soup when I was small. Every time when my mom cooked it, I would try to find an excuse for not taking it. I thought the taste is weird but I guess my sense of taste changes as I mature and I love it now. One thing you might not like is the smell of it during simmering. Believe me, bear with the smell and enjoy it after.
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