How to meal prep Chinese soups in batch (for rice cooker or stove top)
I have no time!
I still want delicious Chinese soup!
I want something easy!
You got it! When I did my initial “experiment” on testing the rice cooker to make Chinese soup, I honestly didn’t know what to expect – BUT… it turned out amazing!
And then, it got me thinking, let’s do this in batch and frozen. Would it still work? And the answer – YES! Equally as amazing!
For this round of experimentation, I went with 4 servings of soup ingredients. This was as much as I could fit into my freezer!
The Test Case
4:30 pm: 1 hour gap between meetings
4:35 pm: Took out rice cooker (and air fryer for trout)
4:37 pm: Dropped in frozen soup into rice cooker + added fresh cut tomatoes, dried red dates, dried wolfberries, salt
4:40 pm: Add in maximum water to the water line
4:41 pm: Hit start button on my soup with 1:06 hour on the timer! Can’t wait, can’t wait!
5:30 pm: I can smell the fragrant soup from the kitchen!
6:00 pm: Dinner time with white rice! YUM!
Prep time: 60 mins to prep 4 portions of soups (for 1 rice cooker setting)
Serves: 2-3 bowls each portion
For the frozen soup packs:
- 4 fresh potatoes
- 1 large fresh white onion
- 2 fresh corn
- 40 small pieces of pork ribs (cut individually)
- 4 small fresh carrots
Dried Chinese Herbal Ingredients to add:
- Dried red dates are perfect for this soup! They add a slight sweetness and warmth.
- Or dried longans. You can add this on top with the red dates or by itself. It also adds sweetness and warmth to the soup.
- Dried wolfberries are great additions to this soup! They are neutral and also add a beautiful sweetness to the soup.
- Dried Chinese Yam is a definite great addition to any ABC soup base. They are also an edible root, soft and starchy as part of the meal.
Add 1 fresh ingredient! Take your pick!
- Fresh tomatoes are amazing! This is another addition to the ABC soup and gives the soup a sweet and tart taste which is appetizing!
- Fresh straw mushrooms – so yummy! One of my favourites in soup and they taste so amazing soft!
- Fresh chayotes are also a great addition to this type of soup base! They also make part of the meal.
- Any roots such as arrowroots or lotus roots are also amazing adds! They will soften and create a more earthy flavour to the soup.
Tips for meal prepping Chinese soup:
- Use small cuts of meat or vegetables because they store easier and cook faster
- Stack your packs flat so that they store easier
- Chinese herbs don’t need to be packed and can be dropped in dry into your soup
- Salt and seasoning can also be added afterwards as well
- I like cooking with meats on the bottom and vegetables on top, so I will pack my soup packs upside down so that I just drop it in upside down
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