Collagen Boosting Spring Chinese Soup with Pig Trotters in Lotus Root and Corn
Soup Name:
Collagen boosting spring Chinese soup with pig trotters in lotus root and corn
Traditional Chinese Name:
豬腳蓮藕粟米湯 (zhū jiǎo lián’ǒu yùmǐ tāng). The direct translation of this is “pig’s feet lotus root and corn soup”. It’s quite literal. There are many versions of this soup with pig’s feet as well.
Nature: Slightly cooling (with the herb choices)
Taste: Sweet and savory
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What ingredients are collagen-rich?
Collagen is a type of protein that provides strength to connective tissues like skin, tendons, ligaments, and bones. As we age, collagen production declines, leading to wrinkles or elasticity of the skin, joint stiffness, and weaker hair and nails. The key thing to note is that collagen is only found in animal-derived tissues.
One of the beautiful things about collagen rich soups it that you can see and experience it. I usually make more than I can drink that evening and will save some in a bowl or jar for the day after and this is what you get (pictured right). You can see how gelatinous the soup liquid is, forming a jiggly, wiggly gelatin-like broth that will melt when you reheat or microwave it. Just as delicious and equally rich in collagen the day after!
Apparently, pig’s skin (including pig’s trotter) has a very high amount of collagen. It has 20-25 g of collagen for every 100 g of ingredient. This is actually higher than chicken feet and fish skin.
I’ve also had this experience with fish heads. You can check out this salmon head Chinese soup recipe here.
There is also this chicken feet jiggly wiggly Chinese soup that is intensely rich in collagen!
How to make a collagen boosting spring Chinese soup with pig trotters in lotus root and corn
What’s involved?
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 120 minutes (2 hours) at least to allow the pig’s trotter to soften (the longer the better)
Total time: 135 minutes
Serves: 6 bowls
Ingredients
- 2 fresh corn, quartered
- 2-4 pieces of fresh lotus roots
- 2 full fresh pig’s trotter (or pig’s feet)
- 500 g of fresh pork shank (optional)
- 3 slices of fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon of fried barley
- 1 tablespoon of roasted peanuts
- 2 pieces of medium dried Chinese yam
- 8 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 4 L of water
Cooking Instructions
- Start boiling your soup water with 4L of water in your thermal pot (this is just being more efficient in time)
- At the same time, boil another pot of water from cold water that will be your blanching pot
- Rinse your pork trotter under cool water to get rid or debris, bones, skin, and extra fat
- With 3 slices of fresh ginger and your washed pork trotter, drop that into the cold blanching water pot and set that on high heat to bring to a boil (you’ll see the blood start to seep out into the water, which is good! We are eliminating any water soluble parts from the feet)
- At this point, you can prepare your vegetables. Wash and slice the corn into quarters (your choice of size)
- Thoroughly wash your lotus roots under cool water. There is a lot of dirt as these things grow underwater in soil. I will then peel them and cut away any dark brown softer parts. I like slicing them in circles, but you can cut them anyway you’d like.
- When your blanching water is more or less boiling, you can remove it from the heat and rinse directly under cool running water, cleaning the bones and removing any debris that’s surfaced from the soup. Be sure the water then runs clear and clean and then you can add this to your soup water.
- Once your soup water boils, add all the ingredients together, including the fresh ingredients, the meat (pork shank and pork trotter), and dried herbal ingredients.
- Cover and boil on high heat for 30 minutes.
- I will reduce to a medium for another 30 minutes and then put it into the thermal pot for another 2-3 hours, or continue boiling on the stove for another 2 hours on medium.
- If it’s in the thermal pot, you can remove it before service, reheat on high heat, serve and enjoy!
- Serve the pork shank with soy sauce as well as the pork trotter. So yummy!
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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