Corn with Ham in Turkey Broth

by | Sep 21, 2010 | Soups for Children | 4 comments

Soup Name: Corn with Ham in Turkey Broth

Traditional Chinese Name: 玉米火腿火雞湯 (yù mǐ huǒ tuǐ huǒ jī tāng)

Introduction:

A simple, delicious and easy to make soup with readily available ingredients from your supermarket.  It’s healthy with minimal fat and the kids devoured it!

Ingredients:

2-3 turkey legs
3 fresh corn
10 slices of fresh ham
4 honey dates

2-3 L of water

How do I prepare it

  1. In a pot, add water and honey dates and bring to a boil
  2. Rinse and de-bone turkey legs
  3. Rinse corn and using a sharp knife, slice the corn off the cob by holding the corn upright (optional – but my kids love to eat the pieces of corn floating in the soup)
  4. Rinse ham in warm water and slice into edible pieces
  5. When your soup water boils, add all the ingredients together
  6. Boil on high for 30 minutes and reduce simmer for about an hour (this is to let the turkey meat soften and release flavors)
  7. Serve and enjoy!

Any benefits?

  • Easy to make and delicious
  • Quick soup that requires little preparation
  • Excellent source of protein
  • Turkey thighs are a low fat meat that is high in Vitamin B’s

Any precautions?

  • None!  Enjoy!

Ham (Fresh)

by | Sep 13, 2010 | Uncategorized | 1 comment

Ingredient Name: Ham (Fresh)

Traditional Chinese Name: 火腿(Huǒ tuǐ)

What is this?
  • The processed or cured thigh (or rump) of the pig
  • Ham is common to many cultures and is prepared differently in each culture
  • Also known as gammon in other parts of the world

How do I prepare it?

  • Can be used directly as purchased
  • Rinse in warm water (although not always necessary)
  • Most soups will slice or dice the ham before usage

Where can I buy this?

  • All supermarkets will carry

What is the cost?

  • Ham costs varies depending on the type of ham, but your average store bought ham costs around $2-3 CAD  for 5-6 slices
  • In Hong Kong, imported Ham costs around $30-40 HKD

Any benefits?

  • Pork contains many nutrients (including 6 essential vitamins)
  • It is a good source of iron, zinc, Vitamin B6 and protein
  • It is said to be a healthier red meat substitute over beef
  • Can be used immediately and directly in soup (or even as a garnish)

Any precautions?

  • Can be high in sodium as it is processed

References:

  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ham
Bok Choy with Chinese Ham in Pork Broth

Bok Choy with Chinese Ham in Pork Broth

by | Jun 24, 2010 | Soups for Children, Summer Soups | 2 comments

Bok Choy with Chinese Ham in Pork Broth

Tea Name:

Dried and Fresh Bok Choy in Pork Broth

Traditional Chinese Name:

菜乾白菜湯 (cài gān bái cài tāng)

This soup is cooling in nature and sweet to taste.  It targets to support the lungs and stomach.

Visit us on YouTube for more tea and soup videos.

One of the best smelling Chinese soups I have ever made.  It is deliciously sweet and extremely beneficial to the lungs with it’s perfect combination of Chinese herbs that target to moisturize, heal, cleanse the lungs.  The dried bok choy and preserved Chinese ham are a great and common Cantonese combination for soups.

This soup is more heavy on the Chinese herbs side.  A majority of the herbs listed below target the lungs primarily, clearing heat from it, and dispersing phlegm and fluids from the body (mulberry root, codonopsis root, and the luo han guo).  This soup is great if you’ve got a wet cough, feeling heavy in the chest with a lot of congestion (in the nose, too!), and feeling heaty in the body (very scratchy and swollen tongue).  This is a sign of excess yang (or yin deficiency).   

You can find some of these Chinese herbs in the soup section of Asian supermarkets for sure.  They are definitely available in your Chinese herbal shops and also your Chinese doctors (who also carry the shops as part of their practice).

 

 

What’s involved?

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 1 hour 30 mins

Total time: 1 hour 45 mins

Serves: 6 bowls of soup

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

  1. Blanch fresh pork shank in a pot of boiling water
  2. Boil your soup water
  3. Prepare carrots and corn by cutting into edible pieces
  4. Rinse well in warm water the dried bok choy and all of the additives (other ingredients)
  5. When water boils, add all the ingredients together
  6. Boil on high for 30 minutes and reduce to simmering for another 1.5 hours

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Dried and Fresh Bok Choy in Pork Broth

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Preserved Chinese Ham

by | Jun 18, 2010 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

Ingredient Name: Preserved Chinese ham, Preserved ham, Preserved Chinese pork, Yunnan Ham

Traditional Chinese Name: 雲腿 (yún tuǐ) or 火腿 (huǒ tuǐ)

What is this?
  • A salty, preserved meat that is of pork (pig) composition
  • Commonly known as Yunnan Ham because of a specialty of Yunnan Province (in China) to produce this type of product
  • It is usually the dried & preserved thigh or leg of the pork (which is produced with only the marination of salt on a fresh thigh)
  • The ham is flaky, crispy, slightly sweet and quite salty
  • It is commonly used in soups, stews, dim sum and other Chinese or Asian dishes

How do I prepare it?

  • Rinse in warm water before usage
  • Can cut up into smaller more edible pieces for soups (or use as a whole)

Where can I buy this?

  • Most supermarkets sell this pre-packaged

What is the cost?

  • Relatively affordable

Any benefits?

  • The ham brings a nice, salty flavor to any soup base
  • It is a slim cut of meat (so minimal fat)

Any precautions?

  • Use in moderation (due to the high amount of sodium)
  • Purchase your ham from a reputable source

Any additional information?

  • Store in a cool, dry place
  • Good for up to 6 months if stored in the refrigerator and less if not (they are usually marked with an expiry date)