Tofu Soup with Nori and Pork

Purpose:

To supplement Zhong qi and benefit qi in general.  To clear heat and lubricate lungs.

Material:
 
Tofu （豆腐）                                             200 g (1/4 to 1/3 of a 19 oz-box)

Pork tenderloin （里脊肉）                          30 g     

Nori （zicai, 紫菜）                                      15 g 

Green onion                                               10 g
Cooking wine                                             1 tbs

Starch                                                                       2 tsp          

Salt                                                                            some    

Note:

Tofu and nori (zicai) are available in most Asian supermarkets.  Use the soft variety of tofu (vs. the medium or firm).  There are also many varieties of nori.  Use the kind that has a dark color and loses up when soaked in water (vs. the green sheets for sushi).  

Procedure:

a.   Soak nori in water.  Use a strainer to separate nori from water when the leaves are well separated.  Rinse clean tofu, and cut into 1.5 cm dices (about 1/2 inch).  Rinse clean green onion and cut to small pieces.

b.   Rinse clean pork, and cut into thin slices.  Mix cooking wine, starch, and about 1 g of table salt.  Stir the mixture even and add to the pork slices.  Mix even.  Let sit for about 10 minutes.  

c.   Add tofu and about 4-5 cups of water to a pot, and bring to boil at high heat.  Add pork slices and bring to boil.  Remove white foam and scum if there is any.  Cook for about 10 minutes (or until pork slices are ready).  Add nori, and let boil for about 5 minutes.  

d.   Add green onion, boil for 1-2 minutes, then add salt to taste.   Ready to serve.

        

Comment:

This soup is nourishing, easy and quick to prepare.  It has a delightful combination of colors: white tofu, pink meat, green onion and purple nori in a light amber color soup.  Everything in it tastes great.    
 

Tofu （豆腐）

Nori （zicai， 紫菜）

  

Soaked Nori （泡水紫菜）

Beef Soup with Adsuki Beans and Peanuts

Purpose:

To strengthen the spleen and remove stagnant water.

Material:

Beef shin （牛腱肉）                                    250 g

Adsuki beans （chixiaodou，赤小豆）          150 g
Peanuts （花生）                                          100 g  
Garlic （大蒜）                                             30 g     

Salt                                                             some        

Note:

Beef shin, or lower leg muscles of beef and Adsuki beans (chixiaodou) are available from Chinese grocers.  Adsuki beans are small red beans.  This variety is different from a larger size red bean variety in terms of therapeutic effects; Adsuki beans are more effective.

Procedure:

a.   Rub and rinse clean Adsuki beans.  Rinse clean peanuts.  Remove garlic skin.  Slightly crush each garlic by placing it on a cutting board and hitting gently with the side of a kitchen knife. 

b.   Clean and cut the beef to bite size.  Add beef and about 6 cups of water to a pot.  Bring to boil at high heat.  Remove foam and scum.  Then add Adsuki beans, peanuts, and garlic.  Reduce to low heat and cook for about 2 hours.  

c.   Add salt to taste.  Ready to serve.

        

Comment:

This soup has a strong garlic smell and is delicious.  The meat, beans and peanuts taste great too.  It is good to go with rice or bread, or eat alone.  Strengthening the spleen and removing stagnant water are two effective ways in traditional Chinese medicine to reduce weight.  So, this is a nutritious weight-loss recipe. 

Adsuki beans （赤小豆）

Peanuts （花生）

Beef Shin （牛腱）

Tilapia Soup with Mushrooms

Purpose:

To detoxify the liver and clear vision.

Material:

Tilapia （鲫鱼）                                      500 g

Dried small mushrooms （香菇）             7

Fresh ginger （姜）                                 10 g   

Green onion （葱）                                 one plant (about 20 g)
Salt                                                       some

Note:

Use whole tilapia - better freshly killed and cleaned; cut into 3-4 segments: head, tail, and 1-2 central segments.  Fresh tilapia can be purchased from Chinese grocery stores.  Fresh water fish sometimes have some remaining muddy smell after cooking.  Here is a way to remove that smell: after clean and cutting, soak the fish in water, add about one table spoon of cooking vinegar and one tea spoon of white pepper powder, and then mix even.  Let sit for about 15 minutes, and the fish can be taken out for cooking.  Whole dried mushrooms are available from many Asian supermarkets.  Small dried mushrooms have a diameter of about 2-3 cm.  You can reduce the number of mushrooms if you use larger ones. 
  
Procedure:

a.     Rinse clean mushrooms, ginger, and green onion.  Soak mushrooms in water; when soft, remove and discard the stems.  Skin ginger and cut to slices.  Clean green onion and cut to 1-2 inch segments.  Rinse clean the fish and cut to 3-4 segments.

b.     Cook the tilapia using a water bath: boil water with high heat in a large pot with a small metal rack.  Add fish, mushroom, ginger, and green onion to an enamel bowl (or a stainless steel bowl) of appropriate size, then fill water to about 3 cm over the ingredients.  The water in the pot should be high enough so that the top surface of water in pot covers about 2/3 height of the bowl. 

c.     Put the bowl into the pot when water (in the pot) is boiling.  Continue with high heat for 15 minutes. 

d.     Open the cover and add some some salt to taste.  Continue to boil for 5 min.  Ready to serve.

        

Note：  The reason for cooking with a water bath is not to overcook tilapia.  An enamel bowl or a stainless steel bowl can conduct heat better than a ceramic or glass one.  A bowl of appropriate size means that it should be large enough to contain all the ingredients and small enough to sit on the metal rack, fit in the pot, and leave room under the cover for steam to come in.  

Comment:

This is a delicious soup that is simple and quick to prepare.  After cooking, the soup has a clear amber color and distinct mushroom aroma.  The tilapia has a delicate texture and tastes great.  If you soak the fish in vingegar and pepper water before cooking, the soup will also have a tint of pepper flavor which is quite enjoyable.  The soup tastes best right after cooking.  Warm up with microwave before serving if you need to put it away in a refrigerator.  Fish soup always tastes better when it is hot. 

Dried mushroom （香菇）

Green onion （葱）

Tilapia （鲫鱼）

Pork Soup with Qianshi and Tangerine Peels

Purpose:

To strengthen spleen and nourish kidney; to heal spermatorrhea and improve the essence; to nourish and strengthen the body .     

Material:

Pork shin （猪腱肉）                               250 g 

Qianshi （芡实）                                      120 g

Tangerine peels （陈皮）                          10 g

Salt                                                         some

Note:
 

Pork shin is the leg muscles of pork.  Qianshi and tangerine peels are available from Chinese grocery stores. You can prepare your own dried tangerine peels by sun-drying or air-drying the tangerine peels after you have eaten the fruit.  Collect them in an air-tight jar.  Refer to footnotes in a previous post for the concept of kidney and another post for essence in traditional Chinese medicine.

Procedure:

a.     Rinse clean qianshi and tangerine peels.  Soak tangerine peels in water to soften.  Wash clean pork shin and cut to bite-size slices. 

b.    Add pork slices and about 5 cups of water to a pot and bring to boil at high heat.  Remove white foam and scam.  Add qianshi and tangerine peels.  Bring to boil at high heat, then cook at medium heat for about 2 to 3 hours.  At this point, the meat is cooked to very soft and qianshi is opened like a  popped popcorn.     

c.    Add salt to taste.  Ready to serve.

Comment:

This is a delicious soup.  After cooking, the soup has a light amber color.  There is quite a bit of qianshi in this soup, but I know not everyone likes to eat qianshi as it is quite plain.  Qianshi is a revered grain (refer to a previous post) and is the ingredient in this soup to strengthen the kidney.  Therefore, I suggest that you try to like it.  If not, try other recipes.

Qianshi （芡实）

          Tangerine Peel （陈皮）

Pork shin （猪腱肉）

Pork Heart Soup with Dried Longan Fruits

Purpose:

To improve the spleen and enhance appetite.  To nourish blood and supplement the heart.     

Material:

Pork heart （猪心）                                        1 (about 300 g)
Dried longan fruits （龙眼干）                       40 g 
Ginger （姜）                                                  10 g 
Salt                                                                some
          

Note:

Pork heart and dried longan fruits are available from Chinese grocery stores.  Longan fruits grow only in tropical or subtropical climates - southern China or south eastern Asia.  Freeze-dried longan fruits have a lighter color than sun-dried or oven-dried.  Pork heart is considered as neutral and sweet, and has a calming and sedating effect.  

Procedure:

a.   Cut open the pork heart and remove fatty tissues.  Rinse clean.  Cut the pork heart into about 1 inch pieces.  Rinse clean dried longan fruits.  Skin and cut ginger into thin slices.

b.   Put the pork heart into a pot.  Add about 4 cups of water and bring to boil with high heat.  Remove foam and scum.  Add dried longan fruits and ginger.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat to simmer for 2 hours.    

c.   Add some salt to taste.  Ready to serve. 

        

Comment:

This is a soup with an amber color and a sweet  taste.  It is easy to imagine that pork heart muscles are somewhat tough since the heart serves as a pump to push blood circulation.  After cooking, the meat is slightly chewy, but already quite manageable and has a special good taste.  Cooked longan fruits are sweet and edible.  

Dried longan fruits（龙眼）

Pork heart （猪心）

Black Boned Chicken Soup with Danggui and Huangqi

Purpose:

To supplement blood and nourish organs.  To improve spleen and heart.  This soup can be used for treating weak body and lack of strength due to insufficent qi and blood.       

Material: 

Black boned chicken （silky fowl，竹丝鸡）     300 g
Huangqi （黄芪）                                             10 g 
Danggui （当归）                                              5 g
Dried red dates （红枣）                                   5
Salt                                                                 some 

Note:

All ingredients are available from Chinese grocery stores.  Black boned chicken (silky fowl) have snow white feather and dark skin, claws and beaks.  They are usually cleaned and frozen, and sold in individually sealed packages.  The skin of silky chicken is a bit bluish before cooking.  After cooking, the skin, meat and bones all appear black - to be more accurate, the skin is black, the bones has a partial coat of a thin black film, and the meat has a tint of black.  There are many varieties of danggui and huangqi, so it is better that you buy both herbs from a Chinese herb shop if therapeutic effects are important to you.  Silky fowl, danggui, huangqi, and red dates are highly valued ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). They are all considered as nutritional supplements.

Procedure:

a.   Remove fat, skin, and organs (if there are any) from the silky fowl.  Cut the meat and bone into medium size pieces ( 2-3 inches).  Rinse clean danggui, huangqi, and red dates.

b.   Add about 5 cups of water and bring to boil with high heat.  Add the chicken and cooked for about 5 minutes.  Use a strainer to remove chicken pieces from the pot.  Rinse the chicken clean.  Pour away the water.  

c.   Add the chicken and herbs to a clean pot.  Add about 5 cups of water.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours.    

d.   Add some salt to taste.  Ready to serve. 

        

Comment:

This is an excellent soup.  Both huangqi and red dates have sweet tastes that go well with meat, while danggui has a special aroma that feels great when it is not too strong.  Silky fowl is famous for its delicate texture and delicious taste.  After cooking, the chicken meat can be easily separated from the bones.  You can eat the soup alone, or with a meal.  Eat the meat and red dates and drink the soup.  Some people also eat cooked danggui and huangqi.  My suggestion is that you can eat them if you find them tasteful; but you are not wasting much if you just discard them.  The useful components of the herbs have gone into the soup after such a long period of cooking.
 

Dried red date （红枣）

Silky fowl （竹丝鸡）

Danggui （当归）

Huangqi （黄芪）

Black boned Chicken （竹丝鸡）

Pork Bone Soup with Soybeans

Purpose:

To improve spleen and enhance appetite.  To remove wet and reduce swelling.  To nourish and strengthen without inducing dryness.  This soup can be used for prevention of rickets of children and bone demineralization of old people.  It can be used as food therapy for weak body constituents, malnutrition, weak feet and legs, low spirit, and exhaustion due to excessive sweating.     

Material:

Pork bones for soup （煲汤骨）                     500 g
Soybeans （黄豆）                                           500 g
Dried and salted mustard root （大头菜）     25 g
Ginger （姜）                                                    10 g 
Salt                                                                  some
        

Note:

Pork bones for soups are available from Chinese grocery stores.  These are bones (neck bones, shoulder bones, or spinal cords) with plenty of meat still attached.  You can ask the butcher to cut them into about 2 to 3 inches pieces if it is not already done.  Check to see if grocery stores other than Chinese ones have this kind of pork bones, as I am not quite aware of them.  There are some varieties of dried mustard roots.  If you read Chinese, this blog is the best source to learn all about it (http://26652839.blog.163.com/blog/static/334793442011015113032170/).  For soups, the dried and salted variety (without further pickling) is the most suitable.

Procedure: 

a.   Soak dried and salted mustard root in water to soften and desalt.  Rub in water to clean soybeans, and then rinse clean.  Stir fry soybeans (without cooking oil) for a while until the beans are dry and hot. 

b.   Boil at high heat about 8 cups of water.  Add pork bones and boil for about 5 minutes.  Remove and rinse clean the bones.  Pour away the water.  Bring to boil at high heat another 8-9 cups of water in a clean pot.  Add bones, soybeans, mustard root, and ginger.  

c.   Bring to boil at high heat and then reduce to cook at medium heat for about 3 hours until soybeans are well cooked. 

d.   Add some salt to taste.  Ready to serve. 

        

Comment:

This is a tasty pork bone soup with an amber color, a light sweet taste, and a pungent flavor of mustard.  The meat is ready to fall off the bones after cooking.  When cooked thoroughly, soybeans are a good treat for taste buds.  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 leave the soup in the refrigerator for a few hours, and then take it out and see if there is any solid fat that can be removed from the top layer.  From my experience, these bones are usually quite lean, and there is little fat to be removed.  Microwave to warm up before serving.  Meat and bone soups always taste better when they are hot.

Soybeans （黄豆）

Dried and salted mustard roots （大头菜）

Pork bones for soup （煲汤骨）