Pork Rib Soup with Peanuts and Tangerine Peels

Purpose:

To strengthen spleen and enhance appetite.  To nourish blood and stop bleeding.  To prevent hemophilia and bleeding problems.  This soup can be used as food therapy for patients who feel a general weakness and low spirit, patients with swollen feet, weak feet and legs, patients with vitamin B1 deficiency symptoms, and patients with diseases such as thrombocytopenic purpura and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasis.     

Material:

Pork ribs (back or country)                           600 g
Peanuts （花生）                                            200 g 
Dried tangerine peel                                       10 g (about 1 peel of 1 tangerine)
Salt                                                               some
          

Note:

Baby ribs or country ribs are both good for this soup.  The ribs need to be boiled first in order to remove the white foam and scum before adding peanuts and tangerine peels.  Tangerine peels (not orange peels) should be available from some specialty stores for spices or Chinese grocery stores.  You can prepare your own dried tangerine peel by sun-drying or air-drying the tangerine peel after you have eaten the fruit.  Collect them in an air-tight jar. Peanuts with skins are to be used for full therapeutic effects.  If you just want the good taste of the soup, you can use peanuts without skins.  Fresh peanuts sometimes are available from grocery stores, but they are usually more expensive and take more time to remove the shells.  Peanuts taste best in soup when they are cooked enough to become loose and soft, so expect to cook for about 3 hours.

Procedure:

a.   Soak to soften tangerine peels, and then rinse to clean. Cut ribs into about 1 inch pieces.

b.   Boil about 10 cups of water with pork ribs.  When the water starts to boil, use strainer(s) to remove white foam and scum.  After the soup becomes clear, add peanuts and tangerine peels.  

c.   Bring to boil and cook at medium heat for about 3 hours.  Remember to check the water level during cooking and add water as necessary, since boiling at medium heat could evaporate some water away.  Start to check the softness of peanuts after 2.5 hours. 

d.   Add some salt to flavor when cooking is done.  Ready to serve. 

        

Comment:

When I cooked peanuts without skin in the soup, the soup has a pleasing, very light amber color, a special fragrant smell of peanuts, and a fresh taste of rib soups.  The meat is ready to fall off the bones after cooking.  Both the meat and peanuts taste great.  The most important part of the cooking is to make sure that peanuts are thoroughly cooked.  You can eat the soup right after cooking, or keep it in the refrigerator and eat later.  If you need to reduce fat intake, remember to do the following: keep the soup in the refrigerator for a few hours; take it out and remove the top layer of solid fat while it is still cold.  Microwave to warm up before serving.  Meat soups always taste better when they are hot.  This soup is great as a snack soup when you get home after a day's work.  Spleen in traditional Chinese medicine implies not just the organ, but also the digestive system, and the body's ability to generate healthy blood, i.e. to have right stuff in the blood.

Peanuts（花生）

Chenpi （陈皮）

Ribs ready to cook （排骨）