White Radish with Mushrooms and Vermicelli in Chicken Soup

White Radish with Mushrooms and Vermicelli in Chicken Soup

White Radish with Mushrooms and Vermicelli in Chicken Soup

Soup Name:

White radish with mushrooms and vermicelli in Chicken Soup

Chinese Name:

白蘿蔔冬菇粉絲雞湯 (bái luóbo dōng gū fěn sī jī tāng)

 

For more videos, visit us on YouTube.

Sometimes, I want something relatively easy and quick to whip up all in one-pot!  Make a bit of rice or noodles on the side and serve up this dish as a meal for your family.

This soup has got a healthy selection of protein and packs a volume of vegetables.  You can design the vegetable of your choice, and my family loves to eat siu choy (or napa cabbage), but normal cabbage, lettuce, also go well.

You can also be selective in your mushrooms.  I kind of just went with a whole bunch of fresh mushrooms from the supermarket such as fresh oyster, brown, and shiitake mushrooms.  Dried mushrooms also work well, but do need more time to rehydrate.   

What’s involved?

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 6 bowls

Ingredients
  • 3 chicken thighs
  • 1 whole white radish, peeled, cubed
  • mushroom selection (your choice, I went with fresh oyster mushrooms, fresh brown mushrooms, and fresh shiitake mushrooms)
  • 3 dried shiitake mushrooms (for flavour)
  • 1 pack of dried vermicelli
  • 2 small napa cabbage (or vegetable of choice) – something with a lighter taste (so the whiter / paler the vegetable is better)
  • 1 tablespoon of dried conpoys
  • 1 tablespoon of dried longans
  • 1 tablespoon of white miso paste
  • 3-4 L of water

 

Cooking Instructions
  1. Soak the vermicelli in cool water for at least 10 minutes
  2. Chop chicken into large pieces and in a shallow pan fry skin down (no oil as needed as a lot of the fat will be rendered out).  Fry on medium heat for 5-7 minutes, flipping as it browns.  The chicken doesn’t need to be thoroughly cooked as it will be going into the soup anyways, you just want the edges to be a nice golden brown with a crust.
  3. Boil your soup water.
  4. Peel and chop white radish into cubes.  Size is up to you depending on how much time you have.  The less time, the smaller the pieces should be.
  5. When the soup water boils, throw in the pan-fried chicken thighs and white radish and boil on high for 10 minutes
  6. You can drop in the dried mushrooms, conpoys, and dragon eyes (in this case, I don’t rehydrate the mushrooms as they need a good hour sometimes, so dropping them in directly is OK)
  7. Cut up your napa cabbage in small pieces and drop into your soup, along with your selection of mushrooms
  8. Continue to boil for 10 minutes on medium heat
  9. Drop in 1 tablespoon of white miso and stir it around to make sure it’s dissolved.
  10. Finally drop in the hydrated vermicelli and boil for another 10 minutes on medium heat, covered.
  11. Top with chopped green onions or cilantro for taste.
  12. Serve and enjoy!  You can add rice or noodles as part of the meal.

Some time saving tips!

  • You can pre-soak the vermicelli first thing in the morning.  This stuff stays pretty supple throughout the day and will only soften when boiled.  If you’re going to soak them, I’d suggest to also soak the dried shiitake mushrooms, too!
  • The quicker you want your soup to cook, especially the white radish, cut the pieces smaller.  I like larger pieces because you can fish them out, but smaller will help if you’ve got a time crunch!
  • You can replace the miso paste with a soy sauce soup base (with chicken broth) as well.  I don’t use any broth powder in this case as miso is perfect on it’s own!
  • Tofu is also a great quick cook ingredient to add if you want more variety.  All types of tofu!
  • Don’t be afraid to cook the chicken on HIGH heat.  Just make sure you monitor it and turn and rotate the chicken as it browns.  Remember, you don’t need to fully cook it, you just want enough of a beautiful crust and brown so it’s crispy and already bursting with flavours!

For videos, visit us on YouTube.

EXPLORE MORE

Making Vegan Chinese Soup for Freezing

Soup Name: Vegan Green Radish Carrots and Corn Chinese Soup for Freezing 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.This is a series of "MAKING FROZEN CHINESE SOUPS" for...

Homemade do-it-yourself Hot Pot for Dinner!

Soup Name: Homemade do-it-yourself hot pot for dinner!  Tonight, is a tomato soup base. Traditional Chinese Name: 番茄火鍋 (fān qié huǒ guō), aka in Cantonese, DA BEEN LO! Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and savory  For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.Here are the...

Did you know rice water is amazing for your skin?

Did you know rice water is amazing for your skin? Integrate it into your skincare routine today! Rice is known to be antiaging, anti-inflammatory, whitening, photoprotective, and moisturizing!One guiding principle in Traditional Chinese Medicine is the yin yang...

Amazing soup making and kitchenware on Temu! Come unpack with me!

AMAZING SOUP MAKING AND KITCHENWARE FINDS on TEMU!I've recently discovered Temu and the shopping experience is AMAZING!  Their kitchenware, soup making, and cooking equipment is vast, affordable, and some innovation products!  Come explore haul #1 with me.  I've...

Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea

Tea Name: Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea Traditional Chinese Name: 红枣甘草羅漢果薑茶 (hóng zǎo gān cǎo luó hàn guǒ jiāng chá) Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and slightly bitter For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.The tea is warming!  It's got...

Homemade do-it-yourself Hot Pot for Dinner!

Soup Name: Homemade do-it-yourself hot pot for dinner!  Tonight, is a tomato soup base. Traditional Chinese Name: 番茄火鍋 (fān qié huǒ guō), aka in Cantonese, DA BEEN LO! Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and savory  For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.Here are the...

Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea

Tea Name: Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea Traditional Chinese Name: 红枣甘草羅漢果薑茶 (hóng zǎo gān cǎo luó hàn guǒ jiāng chá) Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and slightly bitter For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.The tea is warming!  It's got...

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...

Warming Chinese Herbal Tea for Menstruation and Menopause

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...

Red Dates, Longan, and Wolfberries Warming Chinese Herbal Tea

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. ...

Basic Chicken Soup (Base)

Basic Chicken Soup (Base)

Basic Chicken Soup (Base)

Soup Name

Basic Chinese Chicken Soup Stock (Soup Base)

Traditional Chinese Name:  

清雞湯 (qīng jī tāng)

 

Here is another version of the basic chicken soup.  I’ll make this so that it can serve as a base for noodles, macaroni, with rice, or for double-boiling soups.  You can mix and match the types of vegetables to bring out the types of flavours you like, but I will usually always use some chicken bones, legs, or carcass along with dried scallops (these are almost a must for the stock soup!).   

The benefits:

  • Perfect for any soup base. You can simply add your favourite vegetables or even Chinese herbs.
  • This soup is perfect for cooler days as it’s slightly warming
  • Perfect for confinement, postpartum, and post period
  • Ideal for the whole family, including children
  • These ingredients are readily available in most Chinese supermarkets around the world, all you need is just a chicken!
  • Be sure to to consult your (Chinese) doctor first if you’re unsure of consumption or suitability
  • You can store this soup base in a plastic container (or jar with a wide mouth so it’s easier to use back later) for up to 6 months in the freezer
  • I’ve used this as a soup base for both noodles soups and even hotpot!  It’s very versatile in what you can do with it!

What’s involved?

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 3 hours

Total time: 3 hours 30 mins

Serves: 8 bowls 

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

  1. Begin to boil a separate pot for blanching the meat
  2. Soak the dried conpoys and dried shiitake mushrooms in warm water for 10 minutes, the mushrooms may need longer, until they are soft, but since it’s for the soup base, it’s ok if they are still a bit hard.
  3. You can also begin to boil your soup water
  4. When your blanching water boils, add in the chicken bones and boil on high heat for 5 minutes. Make sure the water is boiling and you should see residue, fat, grim, and even foam come to the surface.
  5. In the meantime, you can prepare all your vegetable ingredients for the base.  I will cut the onion in half, keeping on the stem so it stays intact and cut the carrots and corn into large pieces so I can easily remove them from the pot.
  6. Once your soup water boils, remove the meat from the blanching pot and shake off any excess and slowly lower into your soup water
  7. Add in dried conpoys, dried mushrooms, and all the vegetables into the pot
  8. Boil on medium heat for 30 minutes
  9. Reduce heat to the lowest and cover and let it simmer like that for another 2-3 hours (or use a thermal pot). The soup should now be a rich, golden color after boiling for so long. Be sure to scoop out any oil, fat bits, or skin from the top with an oil scooper.
  10. And you can also remove all the ingredients with a strainer so that you’re left with a beautiful soup base which you can use for other soups or dishes!

For video on “7 Basic Chinese Soup Pantry Ingredients”, visit us on YouTube.

Here are some examples of other soups using a chicken soup base:

The chicken soup base is a great soup to start with for so many dishes and soups!  Here are a few to get you started!

This is a great and very simple chicken soup that I use as a base.  My kids love drinking this as plain chicken soup.  

    Using this chicken soup base for shabu shabu is the perfect solution to start your hot pot adventures! 

      This soup is using the base chicken soup recipe that is perfect for double-boiling.  For example, the only additional ingredient added here is the ginseng on top of the soup base.

        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!

        EXPLORE MORE

        Making Vegan Chinese Soup for Freezing

        Soup Name: Vegan Green Radish Carrots and Corn Chinese Soup for Freezing 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.This is a series of "MAKING FROZEN CHINESE SOUPS" for...

        Homemade do-it-yourself Hot Pot for Dinner!

        Soup Name: Homemade do-it-yourself hot pot for dinner!  Tonight, is a tomato soup base. Traditional Chinese Name: 番茄火鍋 (fān qié huǒ guō), aka in Cantonese, DA BEEN LO! Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and savory  For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.Here are the...

        Did you know rice water is amazing for your skin?

        Did you know rice water is amazing for your skin? Integrate it into your skincare routine today! Rice is known to be antiaging, anti-inflammatory, whitening, photoprotective, and moisturizing!One guiding principle in Traditional Chinese Medicine is the yin yang...

        Amazing soup making and kitchenware on Temu! Come unpack with me!

        AMAZING SOUP MAKING AND KITCHENWARE FINDS on TEMU!I've recently discovered Temu and the shopping experience is AMAZING!  Their kitchenware, soup making, and cooking equipment is vast, affordable, and some innovation products!  Come explore haul #1 with me.  I've...

        Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea

        Tea Name: Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea Traditional Chinese Name: 红枣甘草羅漢果薑茶 (hóng zǎo gān cǎo luó hàn guǒ jiāng chá) Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and slightly bitter For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.The tea is warming!  It's got...

        Homemade do-it-yourself Hot Pot for Dinner!

        Soup Name: Homemade do-it-yourself hot pot for dinner!  Tonight, is a tomato soup base. Traditional Chinese Name: 番茄火鍋 (fān qié huǒ guō), aka in Cantonese, DA BEEN LO! Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and savory  For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.Here are the...

        Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea

        Tea Name: Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea Traditional Chinese Name: 红枣甘草羅漢果薑茶 (hóng zǎo gān cǎo luó hàn guǒ jiāng chá) Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and slightly bitter For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.The tea is warming!  It's got...

        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...

        Warming Chinese Herbal Tea for Menstruation and Menopause

        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...

        Red Dates, Longan, and Wolfberries Warming Chinese Herbal Tea

        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. ...

        GIVE YOUR LOVE OF SOUP.

        FOLLOW US AND SHARE.

        Chicken Wintermelon Soup for Summer!

        Chicken Wintermelon Soup for Summer!

        Chicken Wintermelon Soup for Summer!

        Soup Name

        Chicken Wintermelon Soup for Summer!

        Traditional Chinese Name:  

        冬瓜雞湯 (dōng guā jī tāng)

         

        For more videos, visit us on YouTube.

        Here is a variation on the wintermelon soup using chicken as the protein instead of pork.  It’s slightly cooling, helping to repair your yin energy and release heat from the body. 

        I used a new root that I normally don’t put into this soup, which is the Japanese gobo root.  It’s has earthy, dark, and rich tones, so only use 3-4 pieces of it.  Add in your Chinese herbal base of dried red dates, dried longans, dried scallops, and dried goji berries to lighten it up and you’ve got yourself a beautiful summer soup for the whole family!

         

         

        What’s involved?

        Prep time: 30 mins

        Cook time: 30 mins on stove + 4 hours in thermal pot

        Total time: 5 hours 

        Serves: 8-10 bowls

        Ingredients

        Cooking Instructions

        1. Boil 1 separate pot of water to blanch your protein
        2. You can also begin to boil your pot of soup water in the thermal pot with the 3L of cold water
        3. Prepare your chicken any way you’d like.  I tend to quarter it and reserve the breast for another meal, using only the legs and bones.
        4. In your blanching pot, drop in the chicken bones and meat into the boiling water and blanch for 5-6 minutes, or until the water re-boils.
        5. Slice the wintermelon into large pieces, keeping the skin on.
        6. Using gloves, peel the Chinese (or Japanese) Yam and cut into large 2-inch thick pieces
        7. Cut the gobo root into 2 inch long pieces, keeping the skin on
        8. When your soup water boils, transfer the meat, add in the dried herbal ingredients, and all the roots and wintermelon
        9. Boil on high for 30 minutes
        10. Transfer for a thermal pot for another 4 hours to let it finish cooking
        11. Serve and enjoy!

        For more videos, visit us on YouTube.

         

         

         

        Chef tips:

        • Keep the skin on the wintermelon to prevent it from disintegrating into the soup
        • Use gloves when handling the Chinese or Japanese Yam root as it is slippery and can make your hands itchy
        • When using a whole chicken, you can save either the breasts or legs for another meal and use only the bones
        • Use a thermal pot to conserve energy and make the technology work for you!  

         

        Basic Chinese Chicken Soup Stock (Soup Base)

        Basic Chinese Chicken Soup Stock (Soup Base)

        Basic Chinese Chicken Soup Stock (Soup Base)

        Soup Name

        Basic Chinese Chicken Soup Stock (Soup Base)

        Traditional Chinese Name:  

        清雞湯 (qīng jī tāng)

         

        This is the base Chinese Chicken Soup stock that I make for any of my Chinese soups. It’s simple, straight-forward, and delicious on its own. It does take some preparation in that you need to blanch all the meats, soak the conpoys for at least 10 minutes, quarter the chicken, and then add everything together. And then patience, for a few hours to let it all simmer together. This is perfect for freezing for usage with soups later on, so I do suggest to make more! Perfect for the whole family and any condition.

        The benefits:

        • Perfect for any soup base. You can simply add your favourite vegetables or even Chinese herbs.
        • This soup is perfect for cooler days as it’s slightly warming
        • Perfect for confinement, postpartum, and post period
        • Ideal for the whole family, including children
        • These ingredients are readily available in most Chinese supermarkets around the world, all you need is just a chicken!
        • Be sure to to consult your (Chinese) doctor first if you’re unsure of consumption or suitability
        • You can store this soup base in a plastic container (or jar with a wide mouth so it’s easier to use back later) for up to 6 months in the freezer

         

        What’s involved?

        Prep time: 30 mins

        Cook time: 3 hours

        Total time: 3 hours 30 mins

        Serves: 8 bowls 

        Ingredients

        Cooking Instructions

        1. Optional step the night before is to salt the pork shanks and chicken overnight and wrap and store in the fridge to let it sit.  This will allow the flavors to marinate and soften the meat.
        2. Begin to boil a separate pot for blanching the meat
        3. Soak the dried conpoys in warm water for 10 minutes
        4. Prepare your chicken and cutting it into quarters (or any size you prefer)
        5. When your blanching water boils, add in the pork and chicken and boil on high heat for 5 minutes. Make sure the water is boiling and you should see residue, fat, grim, and even foam come to the surface.
        6. Begin to boil your soup water
        7. Once your soup water boils, remove the meat from the blanching pot and shake off any excess and slowly lower into your soup water
        8. Add in dried conpoys
        9. Boil on medium heat for 30 minutes
        10. Reduce heat to the lowest and cover and let it simmer like that for another 2-3 hours (or use a thermal pot). The soup should now be a rich, golden color after boiling for so long. Be sure to scoop out any oil, fat bits, or skin from the top with an oil scooper

        For video on “7 Basic Chinese Soup Pantry Ingredients”, visit us on YouTube.

        Here are some examples of other soups using a chicken soup base:

        The chicken soup base is a great soup to start with for so many dishes and soups!  Here are a few to get you started!

        This simple chicken soup is a great base for noodles, rice soup, or macaroni.  Don’t forget to strain the ingredients and you can even add them as part of the meal!

          Using this chicken soup base for shabu shabu is the perfect solution to start your hot pot adventures! 

            This soup is using the base chicken soup recipe that is perfect for double-boiling.  For example, the only additional ingredient added here is the ginseng on top of the soup base.

              EXPLORE MORE

              Making Vegan Chinese Soup for Freezing

              Soup Name: Vegan Green Radish Carrots and Corn Chinese Soup for Freezing 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.This is a series of "MAKING FROZEN CHINESE SOUPS" for...

              Homemade do-it-yourself Hot Pot for Dinner!

              Soup Name: Homemade do-it-yourself hot pot for dinner!  Tonight, is a tomato soup base. Traditional Chinese Name: 番茄火鍋 (fān qié huǒ guō), aka in Cantonese, DA BEEN LO! Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and savory  For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.Here are the...

              Did you know rice water is amazing for your skin?

              Did you know rice water is amazing for your skin? Integrate it into your skincare routine today! Rice is known to be antiaging, anti-inflammatory, whitening, photoprotective, and moisturizing!One guiding principle in Traditional Chinese Medicine is the yin yang...

              Amazing soup making and kitchenware on Temu! Come unpack with me!

              AMAZING SOUP MAKING AND KITCHENWARE FINDS on TEMU!I've recently discovered Temu and the shopping experience is AMAZING!  Their kitchenware, soup making, and cooking equipment is vast, affordable, and some innovation products!  Come explore haul #1 with me.  I've...

              Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea

              Tea Name: Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea Traditional Chinese Name: 红枣甘草羅漢果薑茶 (hóng zǎo gān cǎo luó hàn guǒ jiāng chá) Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and slightly bitter For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.The tea is warming!  It's got...

              Homemade do-it-yourself Hot Pot for Dinner!

              Soup Name: Homemade do-it-yourself hot pot for dinner!  Tonight, is a tomato soup base. Traditional Chinese Name: 番茄火鍋 (fān qié huǒ guō), aka in Cantonese, DA BEEN LO! Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and savory  For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.Here are the...

              Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea

              Tea Name: Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea Traditional Chinese Name: 红枣甘草羅漢果薑茶 (hóng zǎo gān cǎo luó hàn guǒ jiāng chá) Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and slightly bitter For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.The tea is warming!  It's got...

              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...

              Warming Chinese Herbal Tea for Menstruation and Menopause

              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...

              Red Dates, Longan, and Wolfberries Warming Chinese Herbal Tea

              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. ...

              GIVE YOUR LOVE OF SOUP.

              FOLLOW US AND SHARE.

              Double-boiled Apple and Pear Chinese Herbal Soup

              Double-boiled Apple and Pear Chinese Herbal Soup

              Double-boiled Apple and Pear Chinese Herbal Soup

              Soup Name

              Double-boiled Apple and Pear Chinese Herbal Soup

              Traditional Chinese Name:  

              蘋果雪梨燉雞湯 (píng guǒ xuě lí dùn jī tāng)

               

              For more videos, visit us on YouTube.

              My second project using the new double-boiler! I found a very simple, but delicious apple and pear Chinese soup with pork and chicken and Chinese herbs. This is a pretty traditional Chinese soup and can be made both with or without double-boiling. The purpose of double-boiling is really to maintain density of the flavours and lock in (better than regular boiling) all that goodness. I’d almost argue that using a thermal pot is similar to double-boiling. Double-boiled soups are normally made in the winter because they can be more potent and provide extra punch and warmth. This soup is awesomely yummy! It is designed to help soothe and moisten the throat and lungs. Most Chinese double-boiled soups use both chicken and pork. Even if you use a silkie chicken, the Chinese will throw in a small piece of pork shank. This makes the soup very sweet and rich in flavours.

              What’s involved?

              Prep time: 30 mins

              Cook time: 3 hours and 30 minutes in double boiler

              Total time: 4 hours 

              Serves: 4-6 bowls

              Ingredients

              To start, soak you herbs in warm water to soften. You can also scrub the Chinese Yam in running water before soaking to rinse off the sulphur that is sometimes used to process it. I just eyeball the amount of each herbs depending on the size of the pot, so it’s literally a handful of this and handful of that.

              Prepare your meats by removing as much fat as possible. This means, going with lean pork shank and removing all the skin and fat from the chicken. I tried to get as small as a chicken as possible because my pot isn’t that big – in a previous post, I used chicken drumsticks – which work perfectly because of their size, portions and you get both bone and meat. In a separate pot, blanch the meats in boiling hot water for 5 minutes to remove scum, oil, dirt, blood and any extras that like to make their way out of the bones and meat and into your soup. Once blanched, remove the meat from the soup and set aside to cool and to add to your soup later.

              Keep the skin on the apples and snow pears. Firstly, this will help keep them intact and not disintegrate too much into the soup and secondly, it will help you scoop it out when you need to. Plus, the skin has its own unique flavour too – just be sure to rinse really well!
              Start boiling your double-boiler (inner pot) outside on the stove with half the volume of water that the container will hold. It’s easier to add more water later if you need to top up. When the water more or less boils, throw all the ingredients into the pot. In my case, I can say OOPS! I was still missing one snow pear and 1 apple and ended up removing the ends of the drumsticks to make it all squeeze in. See, it’s all sticking out!

              Cover (if you can) and set to let it boil on medium heat for about 30 minutes. Do note that snow pears actually RELEASE more water as it boils, so the risk that it spills over is almost certain!

              After 30 minutes of medium boil, turn off the heat and let the pot cool. Once it cools sufficiently for you to put into its outer double-boiler, add the inner pot into the larger outer pot. You can add water later – but when you add water to the outer pot – add hot water! This will reduce the temperature flux of your inner pot. Fill it with enough water so that you can cover the inner double-boiler and this outer pot water won’t spill into the double-boiler. Cover and set on a low boil (you can still see small bubbles) for about 3 hours.

               

              You’ll know your soup is progressing well when you see the pears and apples and colour of the soup turn into a rich golden liquid. Most double-boiled soups some in this golden colour and you’ll know that the flavours are intense and rich.

              Once your soup is ready, scoop out whatever you’d like and serve HOT! NO SALT NEEDED! That’s how sweet it is! Some people will like to eat the meats, dipped on soy sauce – by all means, do it! The meat is delicious as well. In my situation, I had leftover fruit, so I simply drank 2 bowls the size of rice bowls, threw in the rest of the fruit and added some more water and continued to double-boil it for another hour until dinner. Enjoy! I certainly did!

              Cooking Instructions

              1. Soak all the Chinese herbs in warm water. You can rinse the dried Chinese yams under running water and rub them to remove any sulphur from the drying process.
              2. Prepare the meat by cutting in to large bite-size, removing all skin and fat.
              3. In a separate pot of boiling water, blanch all the meat in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Set aside when finished.
              4. Cut, core, remove seeds and cut the apples and pears into large bite-sizes, keeping on the skin.
              5. Boil you soup water at half capacity in the double-boiler.
              6. When the water boils, add all the ingredients into it and top up with hot water (or boiling water from a kettle).
              7. Boil on medium heat for 30 minutes.
              8. Turn off heat and set to cool enough that you can move the pot into the outer double-boiler pot.
              9. Put inner pot into outer pot and fill with enough water to cover up to at least 3/4 of the inner pot.
              10. Boil on low heat (minimal bubbles) for 3 hours.
              11. Serve and enjoy – soup stuff included!

              For more videos, visit us on YouTube.

               

               

               

              EXPLORE MORE

              Making Vegan Chinese Soup for Freezing

              Soup Name: Vegan Green Radish Carrots and Corn Chinese Soup for Freezing 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.This is a series of "MAKING FROZEN CHINESE SOUPS" for...

              Homemade do-it-yourself Hot Pot for Dinner!

              Soup Name: Homemade do-it-yourself hot pot for dinner!  Tonight, is a tomato soup base. Traditional Chinese Name: 番茄火鍋 (fān qié huǒ guō), aka in Cantonese, DA BEEN LO! Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and savory  For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.Here are the...

              Did you know rice water is amazing for your skin?

              Did you know rice water is amazing for your skin? Integrate it into your skincare routine today! Rice is known to be antiaging, anti-inflammatory, whitening, photoprotective, and moisturizing!One guiding principle in Traditional Chinese Medicine is the yin yang...

              Amazing soup making and kitchenware on Temu! Come unpack with me!

              AMAZING SOUP MAKING AND KITCHENWARE FINDS on TEMU!I've recently discovered Temu and the shopping experience is AMAZING!  Their kitchenware, soup making, and cooking equipment is vast, affordable, and some innovation products!  Come explore haul #1 with me.  I've...

              Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea

              Tea Name: Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea Traditional Chinese Name: 红枣甘草羅漢果薑茶 (hóng zǎo gān cǎo luó hàn guǒ jiāng chá) Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and slightly bitter For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.The tea is warming!  It's got...

              Homemade do-it-yourself Hot Pot for Dinner!

              Soup Name: Homemade do-it-yourself hot pot for dinner!  Tonight, is a tomato soup base. Traditional Chinese Name: 番茄火鍋 (fān qié huǒ guō), aka in Cantonese, DA BEEN LO! Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and savory  For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.Here are the...

              Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea

              Tea Name: Post run wind expelling and lung healing Chinese tea Traditional Chinese Name: 红枣甘草羅漢果薑茶 (hóng zǎo gān cǎo luó hàn guǒ jiāng chá) Nature:  Warming Taste: Sweet and slightly bitter For more videos, you can follow us on YouTube.The tea is warming!  It's got...

              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...

              Warming Chinese Herbal Tea for Menstruation and Menopause

              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...

              Red Dates, Longan, and Wolfberries Warming Chinese Herbal Tea

              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. ...