Winter Melon with Chicken and Mushrooms Rice Soup

Winter Melon with Chicken and Mushrooms Rice Soup

Winter Melon with Chicken and Mushrooms Rice Soup

Soup Name:

Winter Melon with Chicken and Mushrooms Rice Soup

Chinese Name:

冬瓜雞湯飯 (dōng guā jī tāng fàn)

 

For more videos, visit us on YouTube.

Sometimes, you just want something simple, something warm, something soupy, but all-in-one.  

There’s a concept called “Soup Rice” in the Chinese food repertoire that basically is any type of rice served with a soup.  It’s quite popular in the Chiu Chou-style (where my mom is from, so we ate it all the time).  It’s different from congee because congee is boiled rice, but this is literally a scoop of rice dropped into soup.

 

“Soup Rice”, aka 湯飯, comes with a variety of soups!  It is also known as “Pao Fan” (泡飯) and is commonly found in Singaporean, Taiwanese, Japanese, and Korean cuisine (on top of Chinese).  Pao Fan itself means submerged rice, so theoretically, rice submerged in sauce, liquid, or toppings.

Did you know that the soup rice was traditionally served during the rice harvest season and made into large pots to serve the village? It was also seen as food of the poor. These days, soup rice can be found in many cuisines in Asia with a variety of soup bases, included lobster, dried fish, and a variety of vegetables!

Actually, most soups can be made into soup rice.  In general, there’s some protein, some vegetables, and a soup base. 

This is a simple chicken, mushrooms, with winter melon soup in rice.  The Chinese celery is to add a little more elevated flavors and the ginger is to balance the cooling winter melon, although that’s optional.

Serve up the soup as one giant pot on the table.  Then everyone can have rice in large bowls and ladle their own soups and ingredients inside!  So warming, so yummy!

 

What’s involved?

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients
  • 4 chicken thighs, chopped
  • 1 large slice of winter melon, peeled and largely cubed
  • 5-6 fresh shiitake mushrooms
  • 2 stalks of Chinese celery
  • 5 slices of fresh ginger
  • Chicken or beef broth stock
  • 2L of water
  • 3 cups of rice, cooked in rice cooker
Cooking Instructions
  1. In a shallow pan, you can pan-fry your chopped chicken thighs (skin down) to brown the skin.  You don’t need to add oil as the skin will naturally release oils.  Brown until crusted over and set aside.
  2. Begin to boil your soup water
  3. Prepare your winter melon by skinning and cutting into large cubes
  4. You can also wash and slice your fresh shiitake mushrooms and Chinese celery
  5. Once your soup water boils, you can throw everything into together, including the stock
  6. Boil on medium for 30 minutes
  7. Serve and top with rice!

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Snow Pears and Chen Pi (Tangerine Peels) for Coughs and Congestion

Snow Pears and Chen Pi (Tangerine Peels) for Coughs and Congestion

Snow Pears and Chen Pi (Tangerine Peels) for Coughs and Congestion

Soup Name:

Recovery Healing Soup (for Wet Coughs, clearing phlegm and congestion)

Chinese Name:

雪梨化痰茶 (xuě lí huà tán chá) 

This tea is slightly cooling in nature and sweet to taste.

 

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It seems that time of year again!  The kids (seems like the whole city) is down with a cough and respiratory illnesses.  Some symptoms include congestion in the chest (which is like a noisy cough basically) and lots of phlegm!

This sweet tea is perfect to support and reduce coughing, including getting rid of dampness in the lungs, and eliminating this phlegm build up. 

The key ingredients here are the apricot kernals, the dried tangerine peels, and the rock sugar to eliminate the phlegm, and the barley to eliminate dampness.

This is not a replacement for any medication or doctor recommendation.  I use this purely as supplemental.

 

What’s involved?

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 25 mins

Serves: 2 cups

Ingredients

 

Cooking Instructions
  1. Soak the tangerine peel for at least an hour until it softens.  Slice thinly or you can keep the whole piece.   I slice it so that I can play around with taste and whether it’s too bitter or not, but this is purely experimental.  I would suggest using a small piece at first.
  2. Cube the fresh snow pear, keeping the skin on (make sure it’s washed).  I’ll only use half for this recipe (3 cups)
  3. Throw everything into a pot (or a boil safe tea pot like this one I found on amazon!)
  4. Boil on medium heat for 15 minutes
  5. Strain, serve and enjoy!
Any benefits?
  • This tea is slightly cooling and designed to target the lungs
  • It helps reduce cough, clear congestion in the lungs and chest area, eliminate phlegm and dampness
  • The power ingredient here is the dried tangerine peel and is definitely an acquired taste.  It’s quite pungent, so use it sparingly at first and just try to find that balance you like.  Some people LOVE this taste and scent.
  • This is a quick boil tea and you can have a tea ready in about 15 minutes
  • A lot of these ingredients are readily available at your local Asian supermarkets
  • Some people will make a big batch of this and store in the fridge (although personally, I’d rewarm or leave it at room temperature for consumption, but hot is best!)

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Fragrant Pork and Cabbage Quick Boil Chinese Soup

Fragrant Pork and Cabbage Quick Boil Chinese Soup

Fragrant Pork and Cabbage Quick Boil Chinese Soup

Soup Name: Fragrant Pork and Cabbage Quick Boil Chinese Soup

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No time?  Cost saving?  Want something quick?  I’ve been making these quick boil Chinese soups for awhile now!  You can still make healthy and delicious soups without that long boil or even any Chinese herbs.

For this soup, I’ve gone with a hearty meat and vegetable soup that you can easily drop in rice, macaroni, or noodles in to make it a meal.

There are a few tips and tricks for quick boils soups.

Such as:

 

  • Ingredients sliced thinly or small for quick cooking
  • Readily available ingredients in your freezer or fridge
  • Minimal Chinese herbs used
  • Soups are ready in 30 minutes of boil

What’s involved?

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 8 bowls

Ingredients

  • 400 g of ground pork
  • 3-4 slices of fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon of diced fresh garlic
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 2 baby napa cabbages
  • 3 bunches of fresh cilantro
  • 2 bunches of fresh green onions
  • 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of garlic salt
  • 1 tablespoon of sweet soy sauce
  • 2L of water

Cooking Instructions

  1. Prepare your ginger and garlic
  2. In your soup pot (I use a cast iron soup pot), add in 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat
  3. Add in the sliced ginger and diced garlic and stir fry until brown for 5 minutes
  4. Add in your ground pork and break it down as it cooks so that it turns into small bits.  
  5. Season with the white, black pepper, garlic salt, and soy sauce
  6. Stir until cooked for 5 minutes
  7. Add in 1 bunch of fresh green onion and fresh cilantro and stir fry for another 2-3 minutes
  8. Add in 2 L of water, cover and boil for 30 minutes on medium heat
  9. Before serving, toss in additional fresh green onions and cilantro and let it sit on top, and serve
  10. You can see you rice, noodles, macaroni to make it a meal!

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Chinese Winter Melon and Parma Ham Stew

Chinese Winter Melon and Parma Ham Stew

Chinese Winter Melon and Parma Ham Stew

Soup Name

Chinese Winter melon and Ham Stew

Traditional Chinese Name:  

 

For more videos, visit us on YouTube.

I was inspired to make this soup one day when I walked by the wet mart and saw the vendor carving up this giant fresh winter melon and I thought, “Gosh, that’s be amazing to use!”.  I didn’t want to make a soup that day, but really wanted something savory, tasty, and soft.  So another way to make winter melon is to stew it!  And normally, you can pair winter melon with Chinese ham, but I went for a western spin and decided to make a fusion version with Parma Ham instead (which is equally salty).

What’s involved?

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 4-5 people

Ingredients

  • 1 slice of fresh winter melon (about 2-3 inches thick is good)
  • 1 bowl of smaller dried Chinese mushrooms
  • 1 bowl of fresh, cored gingko bilobas
  • 1 pack of Parma Ham
  • 9-10 cloves of fresh garlic
  • A sprinkling of preserved Chinese vegetables

Cooking Instructions

  1. Start by soaking the Chinese mushrooms in room temperature water for about an hour to soften them
  2. I like to use giant butcher’s knives for chopping most things because the weight and leverage just lessens the work!  Chop your winter melon into large-sized pieces, removing the seeds and keeping the skin.  This will help keep in place as it softens in your stew and not disintegrate into a million pieces and become blah…
  3. The go about removing the ends of the mushrooms.  A sharp knife or kitchen scissors will do the job!
  4. In your soup pot, with a bit of oil and on medium heat, pan fry the garlic cloves until they are brown (and smell yummy!), then you toss in the mushroom and pan fry for about 3 minutes.
  5. Drop in the gingko bilobas and also fry for 3 minutes
  6. Then you extract the Parma Ham and just place it on top of the other ingredients and stir slightly
  7. Add in 2 cups of boiling water and a sprinkling of Chinese preserved vegetables and mix it altogether
  8. Cover and boil for 45 minutes, stirring every once in a while so it doesn’t stick, or that you still have enough liquid in the pot

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Fish Maw Chicken Egg Drop Soup

Fish Maw Chicken Egg Drop Soup

Fish Maw Chicken Egg Drop Soup

Soup Name

Fish Maw Chicken Egg Drop Soup

Traditional Chinese Name:  

 

 

For more videos, visit us on YouTube.

In the Chinese repertoire of soups, there’s a type of soup called a “gung” (羹) in Cantonese.   These soups are traditionally thickened with corn starch or other thickeners and served as an appetizer during meals.  I don’t make these soups very often, but once in awhile, it’s a nice addition to my menu.  I also find that these types of “gung” soups usually come out during the winter days, which is perfect for our cold weather now in Hong Kong!

This one is made with fish maw (or fish stomach) and fresh chicken breast, both excellent sources of low-fat protein!  It takes around 30-40 minutes to make and serves a pretty filling soup that is ideal for the whole family!  Try it and let me know what you think!  

What’s involved?

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 30 hours

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 6 bowls

Ingredients

  • 1 bag of dried fish maw
  • 4-6 pieces of skinless chicken breast, cubed
  • 2-3 slices of fresh ginger
  • frozen peas
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup of Chinese ham, diced
  • 1 can of small chicken broth
  • 2 L of water
  • 4 tablespoons of cornstarch
  • soy sauce
  • Chinese wine
  • sesame oil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • Parsley
  • Green onions

Cooking Instructions

  1. Boil your soup water, throw in yours ginger and the dried fish maw.  Boil on high for 10 minutes, or until the fish maw is completely soft.  You’ll need to use chopsticks or something to push them into the water or else they will just float about and not really soften.
  2. Remove the fish maw from the water, let cool and dice into bite sized pieces
  3. Dice your chicken and Chinese ham into bite sized pieces
  4. Marinate your chicken breast with:  1 teaspoon of Chinese wine, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, a drizzle of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, sprinkle of salt and pepper – mix well together
  5. In your soup, add fish maw, diced chicken breast and let it boil for 5 minutes on medium heat.  Then throw in frozen peas and ham.
  6. In a small bowl, add cold water to 4 tablespoons of cornstarch and mix until dissolved.  Then slowly, drizzle this into your soup on medium heat while you continuously stir

For more videos, visit us on YouTube.

 

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Vietnamese Sour Fish Soup

Vietnamese Sour Fish Soup

Vietnamese Sour Fish Soup

I love soups. I particularly do love sour soups as an appetizer because they really bring out my appetite! I know sour soups aren’t for all taste buds, but here’s a simple one you can make at home with fresh ingredients. You can always adjust the sourness (and even the spicyness) as desired. I came across this type of soup one day at a Vietnamese restaurant and loved it! So I googled it and then kind of tweaked it to my own tastes. To be honest, I don’t always follow soup recipes that I find. I love the fact that I can create, twist, tweak, add, remove, and flavour it with my personality – so this is my interpretation of it!

Soup Name:

Vietnamese Sour Fish Soup (Canh Chua Ca)

Taste:  Sweet and sour

Nature:  Slightly cooling, can add more ginger to warm it up

 

For soup and recipe videos, visit us on YouTube.

To start, you’ll need fresh fish heads. To be honest, you can use any type of bigger fish, such as salmon, tuna, big head fish, or bass. I just go to my local wet mart and pick up some “big head” fish, which is at like $15 HKD a head, which is cheap! If you’d like more protein, you can buy the fish tail as well. Don’t forget to use a fish bag in the soup. This will help keep the fish bones together as it disintegrates in the soup.  I’ve found a few good ones on amazon that are durable and affordable.  And if you have the patience, you can wash and reuse.

You’ll also need some fresh ingredients such as fresh parsley, okra, bean sprouts, garlic, ginger, shallots, green onions, lemongrass, tomatoes, celery, and fish sauce. In some recipes you’ll also find Vietnamese taro stems (which aren’t easy to find, so you can replace this with celery).

To make your fish heads super fragrant for the soup, use your soup pot (empty) and add in a dollop of oil (any type) and pan fry on medium head the diced garlic, ginger slices, sliced green onions, tamarind, sliced lemongrass, and diced shallots and fry until fragrant. Add in your clean fish parts and fry until the skin is a golden brown. When sufficiently yummy, you can throw everything into a thin mesh soup bag and set aside (optional).

Because I do sometimes get lazy and know that the kids aren’t likely going to fight me to drink this soup, I didn’t use a fish bag and just added water at this time until the pot is 3/4 full.

After you bring the soup to a boil, turn to medium heat and add in the tomatoes, celery (or taro stems), okra, and pineapples and continue to boil. Boil on medium for another 15 minutes or until the fish is completely cooked and the vegetables have softened. You can almost consider this a quick boil soup.

Taste the soup and add fish sauce as desired to increase the saltiness. This is when you can add the bean sprouts because they pretty much flash cook. Then serve immediately with parsley (and little spicy peppers, too) and enjoy! Be sure to scoop out all the goodies inside. Serve with rice or noodles! I love the colours of this soup – but more importantly, the flavours!! I do add more tamarind because I love sour stuff! Did I say that already? Haha… the best, are Costco giant sour keys….
What’s involved?
Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 30 mins on medium heat

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 6 bowls

Ingredients
  • 2 large fish heads, halved (or use fish tails)
  • 2-3 stalks of celery (or Vietnamese taro stem), chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 cup of pineapple chunks (canned is OK)
  • 1 cup of bean sprouts
  • 1 cup of okra, chopped
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 5 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 3 slices of fresh ginger
  • 2-3 stalks of fresh green onions, diced
  • 2-3 stalks of fresh lemon grass, chopped
  • fresh parsley
  • 2 tbsp of tamarind
  • fish sauce, to taste
  • 3L of water
Cooking Instructions
  1. In your soup pot, add a tablespoon of oil and fry the shallots, garlic, ginger, fresh green onions, and fresh lemon grass.
  2. When fragrant, throw in clean fish parts and pan fry until the skin is golden and crispy.
  3. Fill the pot to 3/4 full (or about 3L worth of water)
  4. Bring to a boil and turn to medium head, scooping out any oil or foam on top.
  5. Throw in tomatoes, pineapples, celery (or taro stems), and okra and let simmer for 15 minutes until the fish is completely cooked or the vegetables are soft.
  6. Taste soup and add fish sauce as needed.
  7. Add bean sprouts to boil for 1-2 minutes and serve. Garnish with fresh parsley.

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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