Soup Name: Chinese pumpkin with sweet potato and tomato soup

Traditional Chinese Name: 三甘湯 (sān gān tāng)

Introduction:
The name is quite interesting because I learned about this soup from my vegetable vendor in the wet mart in Hong Kong.  The 3 (三 – sān) implies 3 keys vegetables ingredients, that being:  Chinese pumpkin, sweet potato and tomatos.  The base of this soup is rich in vitamins, extremely sweet and a neutral soup for the whole family to drink.  You can add other ingredients to this vegetable soup pending your creativity and physical needs.

What Ingredients are required?

1 pound of fresh pork shank (optional if you want a vegetarian soup)
1/2 fresh Chinese pumpkin
5 fresh tomatoes
3 fresh sweet potatoes
10 dried longans
2 fresh onions
2-3 L of water
1 teaspoon of oil (optional to pan-fry onions)
How do I prepare it?

1. Boil your soup water
2. Blanch pork in boiling water
3. Cut up pumpkin, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and onions into large cubes
4. In a shallow pan, quickly fry the onions (optional step, but it really enhances the flavour of the onions in the soup)
5. When water boils, add all the ingredients together
6. Boil on high for 30 minutes, reduce to simmer for another hour.
7. Serve and enjoy!

Any benefits?

Excellent soup for children (including the rich broth and hearty ingredients)
Soup is rich in Vitamin A, C, and beta-carotene
Ingredients are great for the eyes and aides in digestion

Any precautions?

• None!  Enjoy!