Posted by Patrick.C
It has been more than half year I didn’t have the Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶). So I decided to boil it last weekend. I miss this! It is one of my favorite soups back home. Bak Kut Teh is actually a Hokkien name for this dish, literally translated as “meat bone tea”. It is a famous Chinese herbal soup cooked with pork meat served in Malaysia. You can find it almost everywhere especially in Klang, where it is believed to have the best Bak Kut Teh across the country.
Bak Kut Teh consists of meaty pork ribs simmered with herbs and spices such as Dong Quai (當歸), star anise, cinnamon, cloves (丁香) and garlic. Additionally, it is loaded with some other ingredients such as dried shitake mushrooms, golden needle mushrooms, button mushrooms, and fried tofu puffs. Normally, it requires a couple of hours for simmering. Just like those slow cooked soups I made previously.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Patrick.C
Lotus root soup is one of the famous slow-cooked soups to be served in the Chinese New Year eve’s reunion dinner for most Cantonese families. It is named jia ou tian cheng (佳藕天成) in Chinese, which literally means a pair of couple is born to be married with each other. The Chinese singles believe will have a good marriage in the coming year by consuming this soup.
Since I just made the lotus root soup recently, I didn’t want to have the same thing again for the weekend. So I looked out for something new to try out and finally what came across my mind was one of my favorite soups that I usually have when I dine at a local authentic Taiwanese restaurant. It is the American ginseng chicken soup (花旗參雞湯), an herb soup with slightly bitter flavor but it is definitely delicious and health benefits.
Read the rest of this entry »
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.
Read the rest of this entry »
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.
Read the rest of this entry »
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.
Read the rest of this entry »
