Radish Soup Recipe

Radish Soup Recipe

300g pork ribs or chicken, chopped into 3cm lengths

400 to 600g Chinese radish, watercress or any other root vegetable

3 dried Chinese red dates, optional

1½ liters water

½ to 1 teaspoon salt

To add a Malay flavor:

1 small knob of fresh turmeric root, peeled

½cm slice of peeled ginger

5 shallots, peeled

3 cloves garlic; peeled

2 candlenuts (buah keras)

1 cinnamon stick about 5cm long

3 cloves

½ teaspoon white pepper powder

1 stalk lemon grass, bruised (use only the bottom white tender part)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Method:

Blanch pork ribs in boiling water for 1 minute and then rinse with cold water to clean meat well.  If you are using Chinese radish or a squash like winter melon, peel and cut into wedges.  Other vegetables can be left almost whole.  Bring water to the boil and add pork ribs, dates and vegetables.  Boil over high heat, then turn to low heat to allow ingredients to simmer for 1 to 1½ hours until meat is tender and vegetables are soft.  For a Malay flavor, pound or grind turmeric, ginger, shallots, garlic and candlenuts until you get a fine spice mixture.  Heat the oil in a small saucepan, add the cinnamon stick and cloves and stir-fry for 1 minute.  Add spice mixture and the lemon grass; stir-fry over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until mixture is fragrant.  Add to the soup at the start of cooking.  If using watercress, you can either boil for a long time until it turns a greenish yellow - this flavors the soup really well - or add it in the last 15 minutes of cooking to keep it fresh and green.  You can use a variety of root vegetables including carrots, Chinese white radish, Chinese green radish, winter melon, lotus roots and potatoes.  You can also use a leafy vegetable like watercress.  Chye sim, xiao bai cai or Chinese cabbage should be added only during the last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking.