Meal for one

Learn from my grandma and mom how to make this soup, using the same herbs my grandma used: red dates and goji berries. “Daikon radish is known by a variety of other names, including lo bak, white radish, Chinese radish, Oriental radish and icicle radish.”

“A carrot is a root vegetable (Daucus carota) rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants—especially beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. Its beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin help protect the retina, reduce night blindness, and lower the risk of age-related eye conditions. Half a cup provides over 50% of the daily value for vitamin A, supporting immune function and healthy mucous membranes. Vitamins A and C promote collagen production, improve skin elasticity, and help protect against UV damage. Carrots also provide potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure, and soluble fiber, which lowers LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, while their high fiber content supports a healthy gut microbiome and regular digestion.”

“Daikon is a crisp, low-fat vegetable rich in essential nutrients. Daikon is milder in flavour and less peppery. When served raw, it’s mild and tangy, with a crisp and juicy texture. When cooked, it has a concentrated, sweet flavour similar to cooked turnips.”

Today, I’m adding herbs to my leftover carrot and daikon pork spare rib soup I made a few days ago. I reheat the soup with the herbs for about 10 minutes, as I don’t want the carrot and daikon to become mushy, though it could be cooked longer. Follow the recipe below. My soup is herbal, flavourful, colourful, comforting and delicious with bee hoon. Let’s cook!!!

Ingredients

1.2 kg pork spare ribs, butcher cut it to about 1 inch
1 fairly big daikon, peeled cut into big chunks
2 medium carrots peeled and cut into large chunks
3 slices of peeled ginger, cut into 1/4 inch slices
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 1/2 L water or chicken stock
10-12 goji berries
1-2 red dates, lightly smashed
1 Tbs Shao Xing Chinese cooking wine
salt
pepper

Extra ingredient

1 block bee hoon

Method

Rinse spare ribs as you never know whether butcher’s bench is clean; you don’t have to and add ribs to boiling water and parboil them for 3 minutes over medium-high heat. Discard the water, rinse spare ribs with cold water and gently scrub until the water runs clear. (Scrubbing is optional but helps with creating a clear broth at the end), drain well, and set them aside.

Next, place spare ribs back into the pot, along with carrots, daikon, garlic, ginger, goji berries, red dates and 1 1/2 L of water. Bring to a boil on high heat and cover for 5 minutes. Lower heat to a simmer for 40 minutes to an hour, or until spare ribs, carrots and daikon are soft. Now season with Shao Xing Chinese cooking wine, salt and pepper to taste, and cook a further 3 minutes. In the last 1 minute, add in bee hoon and swirl around to softened it. Or you can place your bee hoon in a metal basin, pour enough hot boiling water in and gently swirl around. Drain and place in bowl. Ladle 1-2 ladles of pork spare ribs and vegetables herbal soup over the prepared bowl with bee hoon. Serve with a glass of Sweet Lips Moscato white wine!!!

Note: you can add 1 more carrot along with daikon and spare ribs. You can omit Shao Xing Chinese cooking wine and use 1/2 Tsp Chinese cooking vinegar. Garnish with spring onion or coriander or scatter some fried shallots. For extra flavours you can add dried squids about 1-2 small pieces or some dried scallops. If you like you can substitute pork spare rib with chicken pieces. You can use more bee hoon if you like or serve with rice and a plate of meat or fried vegetables.

https://helenscchin.com/2022/10/31/pork-spare-ribs-and-vegetables-herbal-bee-hoon-noodles-soup/

My other Carrot and daikon chicken soup:

https://helenscchin.com/2020/12/12/carrot-and-daikon-chicken-soup/

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