Arrowroot and Water Chestnuts in Chicken Soup

Arrowroot and Water Chestnuts in Chicken Soup

Arrowroot and Water Chestnuts in Chicken Soup

Soup Name:

Arrowroot and Water Chestnuts in Chicken Soup

Traditional Chinese Name:

馬蹄粉葛雞湯 (mǎtí fěn gé jī tāng)

Nature:  Slightly cooling

Taste: Sweet and savory

For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.

A great soup for nourishing the lungs, helping with coughs and reducing phlegm.  

The key ingredient here is the water chestnut.  This is a common herb in the Chinese cuisine that is sweet, crunchy, and cooling.  It’s the root of a water plant that has a brown outer skin and crunchy internal flesh.

The water chestnut is a cooling herb and can be used to treat conditions with heat (such as fevers or infections).  It’s ideal for treating hot phlegm in the lungs and sinuses.

Be sure to buy water chestnuts that are firm in texture.  This means they are still fresh.  As they dry out, they soften and the interior becomes powdery.  The shelf live of water chestnuts is around 1 week in the fridge.

 

 

What’s involved?

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 2 hours and 30 mins

Total time: 3 hours

Serves: 4-6 bowls

Ingredients
Cooking Instructions
  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 hour
  7. Serve and enjoy!  You can also serve the arrowroot and chicken feet as part of the meal!  That’s why I put in extra chicken feet! LOL.

EQUIPMENT USED

To answer your questions on what equipment I'm using, I've built a section here where you can find and explore what I'm using to make soups.  Ingredients are a little harder, but I will do my best as I source them around.  However, you can always message me on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or Facebook, and I will reply and try to point you in some direction!  

A great help for fish or small bones in soups, including small ingredients such as barley, fox nuts, spices just to keep everything together.

A MUST HAVE in the kitchen!  Energy saving, cost effective, and perfect for busy chefs!  Check out my article here that explains it.

Another MUST HAVE in the kitchen for soups!  It's so fine that it will scoop off the top oil and foam layer when using meats in your soup!

I use these types of stove top safe tea pots to make most of my herbal teas!

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How to meal prep Chinese soups in batch (for rice cooker or stove top)

How to meal prep Chinese soups in batch (for rice cooker or stove top)

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!

What’s involved?

Prep time: 60 mins to prep 4 portions of soups (for 1 rice cooker setting)

Serves: 2-3 bowls each portion

Ingredients

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

For videos, visit us on YouTube.

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Easy 1-2-3 Chicken Congee

Easy 1-2-3 Chicken Congee

Easy 1-2-3 Chicken Congee

Soup Name:

Easy 1-2-3 Chicken Congee (using frozen chicken thighs)

Traditional Chinese Name粥 (zhōu)

Taste:  Savory and sweet

Nature: Slightly warm

For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.

My daughter… one morning told me she wasn’t feeling well, particularly in the stomach and really wanted congee.  This is why I always keep a few chicken thighs (and other various meats) frozen in my freezer.  It’s for these days where I could use them for a quick 1-2-3 chicken congee, ready in about 2 hours (or more depending on how much notice or time you have).

OH THE TOPPINGS!

The amazing thing about plain congee is how you can have a host of toppings available for any taste, condition, discerning critic (or congee food taster)!

Here are some of the interesting ones I’m using today:

 

  • Preserved sweet and sour cucumbers (these come in jars which you can purchase in the supermarket).  They are slightly sweet and slightly tart and super appetizing with rice or congee!
  • Dried seaweed.  Adds a bit of savory crunch!
  • Kimchi.  I know, it’s not very Chinese of me, but I couldn’t help myself!  It was calling to me!
  • Preserved savory olives.  This is a very Chiu Chou-styled topping and is commonly served with plain white congee.  It’s part of my Chiu Chou background that I have jars and jars of these in my pantry!
  • Fresh green onions.  A staple topping that provides a fresh twist! 

What’s involved?

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 60 mins+

Total time: 65 mins+

Serves: 8 bowls

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of white rice (my kids like using sushi rice for congee sometimes or I blend long grain and sushi rice)

  • 2.5 L of water

  • 6-7 dried scallops or conpoys

  • 2-3 frozen chicken thighs

  • Your fine selection of congee toppings (I have many in my pantry and fridge just because that’s how I roll)

Cooking Instructions

  1. Take out your frozen chicken thighs from the freezer.  No defrost needed.
  2. In your congee or soup pot, add in the rice, frozen chicken thighs, dried conpoys, and water
  3. Boil on high heat for about 20 minutes, or until the water begins to dance with bubbles
  4. Gently stir the pot to ensure that the rice isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pot
  5. At this point, you can reduce the boil to a medium boil (so the water doesn’t spill over) and boil for another 1-2 hours depending on how much time you have.  
  6. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking
  7. Serve, top with your favourite toppings, enjoy!

EQUIPMENT USED

To answer your questions on what equipment I'm using, I've built a section here where you can find and explore what I'm using to make soups.  Ingredients are a little harder, but I will do my best as I source them around.  However, you can always message me on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or Facebook, and I will reply and try to point you in some direction!  

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A MUST HAVE in the kitchen!  Energy saving, cost effective, and perfect for busy chefs!  Check out my article here that explains it.

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Coughing?  Stuffy Nose?  Congestion?  Try this Chinese Herbal Tea with Licorice, Cinnamon, and Luo Han Guo

Coughing? Stuffy Nose? Congestion? Try this Chinese Herbal Tea with Licorice, Cinnamon, and Luo Han Guo

Coughing? Stuffy Nose? Congestion? Try this Chinese Herbal Tea with Licorice, Cinnamon, and Luo Han Guo

Tea Name:

Chinese Herbal Tea with Licorice, Cinnamon, and Luo Han Guo

Traditional Chinese Name:

止咳茶 (zhǐké chá) – direct translation here is “anti-cough” tea.  There are many teas that have earned the right to this label, so it’s just easier to use it as such instead of labeling all the ingredients.

Nature:  Cooling

Taste: Sweet

For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.

This tea is perfect for tonifying blood and Qi and clearing the toxicity that comes with stuffy congestion in the lungs and nose (commonly associated with a thick, green or yellow phlegm).  It moistens the stuffy stuff (like phlegm) and helps to stop coughs.

A great way to check if this tea is good for you is to check the condition of your tongue.  If it’s got a thick, yellow or white coating on top, it’s a good indication there’s excess yin in the body.  That totally makes sense because I went swimming when I was already feeling a little under the weather.  And with the cold pool, that’s excess yin in my body and the dampness!

You can check this article that explains the balance of yin and yang in the body, AN INTRODUCTION TO YIN AND YANG IN OUR EVERYDAY SOUPS AND FOOD.

 

What’s involved?

Prep time: 2 mins

Cook time: 13 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 2 cups

Ingredients
Cooking Instructions
  1. In a stovetop safe pot, add all the ingredients (except the rock sugar)
  2. Add in your water
  3. Boil on high until it fully boils and then reduce to a low-medium heat for another 10 mins
  4. Add in the rock sugar and let it fully dissolve
  5. Serve and enjoy!
Any benefits?
  • This Chinese herbal tea is great if you’ve got a lot of congestion, particularly in the nose and lungs (the thick type)
  • This tea also helps relieve coughs
  • It is a slightly warming tea, helping to drive the excess yin from the body
  • Excess yin tends to show up if you’ve been overexposed to cold or damp conditions (such as swimming, outdoor winter sports, or cold exposure)

For videos, visit us on YouTube.

EQUIPMENT USED

To answer your questions on what equipment I'm using, I've built a section here where you can find and explore what I'm using to make soups.  Ingredients are a little harder, but I will do my best as I source them around.  However, you can always message me on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or Facebook, and I will reply and try to point you in some direction!  

A great help for fish or small bones in soups, including small ingredients such as barley, fox nuts, spices just to keep everything together.

A MUST HAVE in the kitchen!  Energy saving, cost effective, and perfect for busy chefs!  Check out my article here that explains it.

Another MUST HAVE in the kitchen for soups!  It's so fine that it will scoop off the top oil and foam layer when using meats in your soup!

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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...

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Tea Name: Warming Chinese Herbal Tea for Menstruation and Menopause Traditional Chinese Name: 女士茶 (nǚ shì chá) Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.This warming Chinese herbal tea is designed to heal, promote stagnant Qi in the...

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Tea Name: Warming red dates, longans, and wolfberries Chinese herbal tea Traditional Chinese Name: 红枣茶 (hóng zǎo chá) Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.This is one of the most common warming Chinese herbal teas available. ...

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GIVE YOUR LOVE OF SOUP.

FOLLOW US AND SHARE.

Fragrant Vegetables in Salmon Soup

Fragrant Vegetables in Salmon Soup

Fragrant Vegetables in Salmon Soup

Soup Name:

Fragrant vegetables in salmon soup (Cantonese-styled)

Traditional Chinese Name:

雜菜蕃茄三文魚湯 (zá cài fānjiā sānwènyú tāng)

Nature:  Slightly cooling

Taste: Sweet and savory

For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.

Tomatoes in a fragrant fish broth is a very common soup in the Cantonese soup repertoire.  It is commonly found in household soups and restaurants in Hong Kong.  The vegetables are optional, but do add to the abundance of the soup.  And there are many variations of this soup available as each chef customizes to their creative juices!

You can essentially use any fish for this type of soup.  Generally though, the Chinese will use more commonly found and affordable fish and usually the heads and tails and bones, reserving the flesh for steaming or dishes.

 

TIP!

 

I would recommend using a soup bag for any fish soups, however for this one, salmon bones are quite large and I was lazy and wanted to fry everything in one shot, so opted for not using one.  A soup bag helps keep soup bone safe and allows you to remove the fish easily and keep all the disintegration together.  I’ve bought these ones from Amazon, which are amazing!

What’s involved?

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 2 hours

Total time: 2 hours and 30 mins

Serves: 10 bowls

Ingredients
Cooking Instructions
  1. Let’s start by frying the fish first in some ginger to seal the flavours and get it fragrant (and not fishy).  You can use a shallow pan or your soup pot (that’s what I’m doing in my cast iron pot because I was feeling lazy!).
  2. I’ll wash the fish in warm water first and then pat dry with paper towels.
  3. In your pot or pan on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil (enough to cover the pan) and then gently lay your fish flat so as much surface area of the fish can cook
  4. At this time, I will also make space for the pork shank to fry (instead of blanch in boiling water).  This is also because I was feeling lazy and wanted that fried fragrant flavour!
  5. Fry for 5 minutes or until it begins to golden brown.  It doesn’t need to be fully cooked, but at least the skin is browned. 
  6. Turn the fish on the other side and fry for another 5 minutes.  
  7. You can also rotate the pork shank around as it browns.
  8. At this time, you can prepare your vegetables, cut into smaller pieces.
  9. If you want, you can now put your fish pieces into a soup bag to begin the soup boiling to prevent the bones to disintegrate and for easier removal from the pot.
  10. I will also use the pan or pot to brown some of the potatoes, but this step is optional
  11. Add in the water to the soup, be sure to leave a bit of space to allow for the all ingredients
  12. Then add in all your ingredients to the soup
  13. Cover and bring to a full boil (about 20 minutes on full boil)
  14. And reduce to a low boil for another 2 hours
  15. Serve and enjoy!

This soup is also packed full of collagen!  The fish heads are the key ingredients that really to release all this sticky goodness into the soup.  One of the amazing things of using fish heads is both to not waste any part of the fish and also the amount of amazing collagen that’s available in the soup!

EQUIPMENT USED

To answer your questions on what equipment I'm using, I've built a section here where you can find and explore what I'm using to make soups.  Ingredients are a little harder, but I will do my best as I source them around.  However, you can always message me on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or Facebook, and I will reply and try to point you in some direction!  

A great help for fish or small bones in soups, including small ingredients such as barley, fox nuts, spices just to keep everything together.

A MUST HAVE in the kitchen!  Energy saving, cost effective, and perfect for busy chefs!  Check out my article here that explains it.

Another MUST HAVE in the kitchen for soups!  It's so fine that it will scoop off the top oil and foam layer when using meats in your soup!

I use these types of stove top safe tea pots to make most of my herbal teas!

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

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

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 from Italy and are jet lagging and there’s nothing more warming, homecoming, and beautiful than a familiar Chinese soup waiting for them!

I made an easy green radish, carrots, and corn pork herbal broth.  The trick to this soup is to really let it boil out.  I made it early morning and then pretty much let it sit in the thermal pot all day until dinner.  

TIP:  This soup actually tastes even better left overnight!  Don’t forget to boil it before you sleep and don’t open the lid or cover (this will ensure that everything is killed off and isn’t reintroduced, this is how they manufacture canned food and soups in large scale!).  Re-boil the next day and you can still drink it.

 

Traditionally in the Cantonese soup repertoire, this green radish and carrot soup is cooling and often recommended if you’re feeling heaty, want to cool the body, or it’s hot and humid in the summer and autumn months.

It is also commonly found as a dinner soup, where restaurants will serve it at the beginning of the meal known as “lai tong” (or aka, free soup).  You’ll find the bits of carrots and green radish chopped up and along with pork (or chicken).

What’s involved?

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 2-3 hours

Total time: 2 hours and 20 mins

Serves: 10 bowls

Ingredients
Cooking Instructions
  1. Boil both your soup water (3L) and another pot to blanch the pork bones in (enough to cover all the bones)
  2. Once your blanching water boils, gently drop in the pork bones and boil on high for 5-7 minutes, until the brown foam begins to form on top of the water.  You can turn off the stove at this time.
  3. Prepare your vegetables by peeling and chopping into large bite-sizes
  4. Once your soup water boils, transfer the pork bones to your soup pot.  You can either rinse them gently in the water, or do a water rinse under warm water to remove all the debris and foam stuck to the pork bones
  5. Drop in all the ingredients (herbs + vegetables) together
  6. Cover and boil on high for 30 minutes
  7. Transfer to a thermal pot for at least 2-3 hours
  8. Re-boil for 10 minutes prior to serving
If you’d like to quick boil this faster, I’d suggest cutting up the pieces smaller, almost cubed.

Be sure to also buy fresh, firm green radish.  You’ll know they’re fresh because they are super hard to touch and you can’t really squeeze them.  When they get soft, squishy (but not leaky), they’re already drying out and aging.

This combination of green radish and carrots are amazingly delicious!  Some people will also add white radishes, which makes the soup even more cooling, and corn is also a nice addition!  Enjoy!

 

Q&A

A huge thank you to my Instagram community for the questions as they also hugely benefit other readers who may be thinking the same thing!  

 

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