Arrowroot and Water Chestnuts Vegetarian Soup

Arrowroot and Water Chestnuts Vegetarian Soup

by | May 11, 2012 | Soups for Children, Vegetarian | 5 comments

Arrowroot and Water Chestnuts Vegetarian Soup

Soup Name:

Arrowroot and Water Chestnuts Vegetarian Soup

Traditional Chinese Name:

馬蹄粉葛湯 (mǎtí fěn gé tāng)

 

This soup is great for heated bodies and sore throats. It is mildly cooling, but extremely soothing with it’s sweet taste and smoothness.

Since it’s meat free, it’s completely oil free and by adding more carrots, you can sweeten it to the point where you can consider drinking it cold (definitely tasted amazing cold because it really helped cool my poor, fiery throat).

You can consider adding other ingredients as well, such as corn, onions, pumpkin or even meats (pork, chicken or fish are all good meats to “salty” up the soup).

What’s involved?

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 1 hour and 30 mins

Total time: 1 hour and 45 mins

Serves: 6 bowls

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

  1. Peel and cut arrowroot into large cubes
  2. Wash & peel water chestnuts
  3. Wash, peel and cut carrots into large cubes
  4. Wash and prepare dried tangerine peel (by scraping it with a flat knife on both sides)
  5. Boil your soup water and when it boils, add all the ingredients together
  6. Boil on high for thirty minutes and reduce to medium boil for another hour
  7. Serve and enjoy!
  8. Can be served cold, so you can refrigerate before serving

Any benefits?

  • Helps eliminate sore throats and heaty bodies
  • It is a mildly cooling soup
  • It’s quite diverse in that you can add meats (to make it more salty or just add salt in moderation) or keep it a sweet, cold drink and refrigerate prior to consumption
  • Excellent for young children

For videos, visit us on YouTube. 

EXPLORE MORE

A Chinese Herbal Tea to Nourish, Heal, and Strengthen the Lungs

Tea Name: Nourishing, Healing, and Strengthening Chinese Herbal tea for the lungs (and cooling) Traditional Chinese Name: 羅漢果雪梨茶 (luó hàn guǒ xuě lí chá) Nature:  Cooling Taste: Sweet and sour (You can read this article on the impact on your body of different food...
Read More

Cooling Snow Pears and Apples in a Chrysanthemum Tea

Tea Name: Cooling Snow Pears and Apples in a Chrysanthemum Tea Traditional Chinese Name: 雪梨蘋果菊花清熱茶 (xuě lí píng guǒ jú huā qīng rè chá)  Nature:  Cooling Taste: Sweet and sour (You can read this article on the impact on your body of different food tastes!) For more...
Read More

Japanese Inspired Vinaigrette (for Beef Carpaccio or Salad)

Sauce Name: Japanese inspired vinaigrette (for beef carpaccio or salads or as an appetizers) Nature:  Warm (which is primarily the vinegar) Taste:  Sour and bitter and slightly sweet Targets: Liver and stomach   For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.Yes! ...
Read More

6 Practical Applications of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Every Day Life

6 PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE IN EVERY DAY LIFE(A TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE PERSPECTIVE)Practicing and living in Traditional Chinese Medicine concepts isn't hard!  It's actually all about what you consume, when you consume it, your...
Read More

Green radish with carrots & corn in a Chinese herbal pork broth

Soup Name: Green radish with carrots & corn in a Chinese Herbal Pork Broth Traditional Chinese Name: 紅青蘿蔔湯 (hóng qing luóbo tang) Nature:  Cooling Taste: Sweet and savory For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.My parents came home last night from a cruise...
Read More

A Chinese Herbal Tea to Nourish, Heal, and Strengthen the Lungs

Tea Name: Nourishing, Healing, and Strengthening Chinese Herbal tea for the lungs (and cooling) Traditional Chinese Name: 羅漢果雪梨茶 (luó hàn guǒ xuě lí chá) Nature:  Cooling Taste: Sweet and sour (You can read this article on the impact on your body of different food...
Read More

Cooling Snow Pears and Apples in a Chrysanthemum Tea

Tea Name: Cooling Snow Pears and Apples in a Chrysanthemum Tea Traditional Chinese Name: 雪梨蘋果菊花清熱茶 (xuě lí píng guǒ jú huā qīng rè chá)  Nature:  Cooling Taste: Sweet and sour (You can read this article on the impact on your body of different food tastes!) For more...
Read More

Green radish with carrots & corn in a Chinese herbal pork broth

Soup Name: Green radish with carrots & corn in a Chinese Herbal Pork Broth Traditional Chinese Name: 紅青蘿蔔湯 (hóng qing luóbo tang) Nature:  Cooling Taste: Sweet and savory For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.My parents came home last night from a cruise...
Read More

Hot and slightly spicy Korean Kimchi and Tofu Jjigae (soup)

Soup Name: Korean  Kimchi and Tofu Jjigae (Soup) Nature:  Cool (although could be warmer depending on how spicy you make it, but this is driven by the cooling white radish and tofu) Taste:  Sweet, Salty For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.I know there's a...
Read More

Chinese-Styled Cream of Corn Egg Drop Soup

Tea Name: Chinese-Styled Cream of Corn and Egg Drop Soup Chinese Name:  玉米湯 (yù mǐ tāng)   Nature:  Warm Taste:  Sweet, Salty For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.There are as many versions of a Chinese-styled corn and egg drop soup as there are likely ABC...
Read More

Arrowroot and Water Chestnuts in Chicken Soup

by | Jun 16, 2010 | Soups for Children, Spring Soups | 3 comments

Soup Name: Arrowroot and Water Chestnuts in Chicken Soup

Traditional Chinese Name: 馬蹄粉葛雞湯 (mǎtí fěn gé jī tāng)

Introduction:
A great soup for nourishing the lungs, helping with coughs and reducing phlegm.  It is also ideal in the wet, stuffy spring season to remove excess moisture from the body.

1 fresh whole chicken
10 fresh chicken feet
1 peel of dried tangerine peel
1 pound of smilax root
1 arrowroot
10-15 fresh water chestnuts

How do I prepare it?

  1. Cut smilax root & arrowroot into edible cubes
  2. Boil a pot of water to blanch smilax root, chicken & chicken feet (don’t cut nails as it will release oils into the soup)
  3. Boil soup water
  4. Wash and peel water chestnuts
  5. When water boils, add all the ingredients together
  6. Boil on high for 30 minutes and reduce to continually boiling for another 2 hours
  7. Serve and enjoy!

Any benefits?

  • Excellent soup for removing moisture from the body (especially during the Spring)
  • Ideal for relieving cough symptoms and removing phlegm
  • Helps remove some heatiness

Any precautions?

  • Considered a mildly cooling soup, so women who are less than 3 months pregnant should take caution
  • Smilax root must be blanched in boiling water thoroughly clean them

Pork Bones and Arrowroot Soup

by | Jan 11, 2009 | Soups for Children | 7 comments

Soup Name: Pork Bones and Arrowroot Soup

Traditional Chinese Name: 粉葛湯 ( fěn gé tāng)

Introduction:
This is the simple arrowroot soup.  This soup is high in protein and fiber.  It is a very neutral soup and requires little effort to make it.  Some people really love to eat the arrowroot once its been boiled in a soup (like my mother) because it is incredibly starchy and substitutes as a meal.


What Ingredients are required?

1 pound of fresh pork bones
2 large arrowroots
3 large dried dates
5-6 pieces of dried scallop
1 teaspooon of salt (to marinate the pork bones)

How do I prepare it?

  1. Mix salt and pork bones together and let sit in a bag for at least an hour (best overnight)
  2. Wash the pork bones thoroughly in cool running water
  3. Start boiling your water soup and add the dried dates and conpoys
  4. In a separate pot, blanch the pork bones and strain it to remove any dirt and debris from the blanching
  5. Add the pork bones and chopped arrowroot to the boiling water of your soup
  6. Boil together for at least 60-90 minutes on high heat.  The longer you boil it, the tastier the soup.  It is best eaten when the pork is falling off the bones.

Any benefits?

  • This soup is high in fiber and is ideal for children as it is very natural and neutral

Any precautions?

  • Since the arrowroot is high in fiber, it is not easily digested in children and you should give them just the soup

Arrowroot

by | Jan 11, 2009 | Uncategorized | 8 comments

Ingredient Name: Arrowroot or Obedience Plant
Traditional Chinese Name: 粉葛 (fěn gé)
What is this?
  • Arrowroot is the edible starch from the rhizomes (rootstock) of West Indian arrowroot
  • It is often ground down to a powdered starch form which is completely white and powdery in form
  • The powder itself is used as a thickener, in cakes, pies, soups, and sauces
  • The rhizome itself can grow up to 6-7 pounds in weight at maturity
  • Arrowroot has no flavour or smell, but when boiled it has a slighty nutty sweet taste
  • If used in soups as cubes, the root is very fibery and coarse

How do I prepare it?

  • Wash and peel the arrowroot
  • Cut into cubes for soup usage

Where can I buy this?

  • You can buy arrowroot from most Asian supermarkets
  • It is also available in the wet marts in Hong Kong and can be bought by preference of weight and size

What is the cost?

  • Arrowroot costs roughly $1.00 CAD / pound, so a large arrowroot can easily cost $5 – $6

Any substitutes?

  • A good substitute for the arrowroot in soups is the lotus root

Any benefits?

  • Due to its blandness, it’s suitable for many diets (especially soups for children)
  • The arrowroot does contain a healthy amount of calcium
  • It is recommended for people who feel nauseous to consume arrowroot and helps soothes upset stomachs

Any precautions?

  • The arrowroot is not a highly nutritious food with 84% of the root composed of starch
  • Arrowroots can be quite dirty and need to be thoroughly washed prior to consumption
  • If purchasing arrowroot powder, be sure to purchase it from a reputatble source as some sources many not sell PURE arrowroot

Additional Information?

  • Fresh arrowroot stores relatively well in the fridge and can keep for up to 1 month

Resources: