Typical Cantonese Soup

Sophie Lai
2015年12月5日
讀畢需時 3 分鐘

As a Cantonese, I used to have soup everyday since I was a child. In Guangdong, China, we have a long histroy of soup which is in relation to the geographical environment and the traditional herbal way of keeping well health. In ancient Chinese's opinion, each season has its own feature which our body should take good care of and they apply herbal into cuisine to make a better health. Besides, every food contains natural property which divide into hot, warm, cool and cold. For example, our body need to be warm up in the winter therefore, it's better to have more hot food such as loutus root, lamb, eel, chestnut, longan, etc.

From my point of view, one of the best soup to warm up my body is lotus root spare ribs soup. In the past winters, my mom always cooked this soup for our family which made the nights warm and peaceful. Thus, in this cold winter of Toronto, lotus root spare ribs soup is the best choice without doubt.

In China, claypot is generally used for soup cooking or stewing is generally known as Chinese: 砂鍋; pinyin: shā guo. By the way my mom and grandmother use claypot for soup cooking as well.

Benefits of Cooking in Clay

The first is that clay is somewhat porous. Heat and moisture circulate through the pot during cooking, unlike with metal or enamel-lined pots. Chef Charles Phan from The Slanted Door in San Francisco describes the cooking as "slow, even, delicate" in his ode to Bram Cookware in the latest Saveur 100. Most pots are also made with micaceous clay (clay containing mica flecks), and mica acts as a natural insulator.

The second thing that that makes these pots special is that the clay is alkaline. In a recent interview on KCRW's Good Food, clay pot maker Felipe Ortega explained that the clay will interact with acidity in the food, neutralizing the pH balance. Something that is naturally very acidic, like a tomato sauce, will take on some natural sweetness when cooked in a clay pot. (CHRISTENSEN 2011)

Recipe:

Pork bone/Rib 1lb

Lotus root 300g

Carrot 250g

mungbean 10g

Ginger 10g

longan meat 5g

medlar 3g

red date 4pcs

dried tangerine 1pc

candied date 1pc

1. Wash the pork bones. Boiled the bones with hot water for about 2 mins. Peel the lotus root and slice it to desired thickness.

2. Peel and slice the carrots, ginger.

3. Put the mungbean into cold water for half an hour.

4. Wash longan meat, medlar, red date, dried tangerine and candied date. Strain and reserve and later use.

5. Add pork bones, sliced lotus roots, carrots and ginger into a pot. Add enough cold water until all the ingredients are covered. Because I don't have a claypot in my appartment so I use stainless steel pot instead.

Bring it to boil and then reduce heat to slow. Simmer for one hour. Skim fat of the soup frequently.

6. Add longan meat, medlar, red date, dried tangerine and candied date into the soup. Continue to simmer for half an hour.

7. After simmering for one and a half hour, skim the soup and season with salt.

Lotus root spare ribs soup is ready to be tasted!

During the time of soup cooking, the soup releases meat and herbal's aroma. What's more, I think my soup is very good in color, flavor and taste after it's cooked. When I first tasted the soup, I felt so moved for it tastes almost the same as my mom's soup. The soup tastes fresh and light sweat and I can sense the unique flavour of lotus root. All the ingredients mix together make the soup perfect. To enjoy the weekend, I invited my friends Kate and Raine to come to my home for dinner. They liked my soup and thought it's really fresh and clear, delightful and heart-warming.

However, in order to make the soup better, I'd add corns or pick some ribs that contain less fat. As a result, the soup'll be more sweat and clear. And the most importantly, cooking needs patient and love. I believe that if I put lots of efforts in my cooking, whoever tastes my cuisines would sense my heart.