WHAT EQUIPMENT IS NEEDED TO MAKE AMAZING CHINESE SOUPS?

Theoretically, a giant pot is all you need.  I mean, my ancestors certainly did it that way!  But of course, with technology and innovation comes a suite of tools that help us save effort, time, and resources in making delicious and amazing Chinese soups!
One guiding principle in Traditional Chinese Medicine is the yin yang theory.  In the natural world, there exists a balance between 2 opposing and co-existing forces and yet, they also exist in each other.  Our bodies, minds, and souls are designed the same way in that to be healthy, we need to be in harmony between these 2 bipolar states.  Yin is receptive and passive, calm and slow, embodying cold and damp qualities (when we are sleeping).  Yang is its exact opposite in aggressive and active, embodying heat, dryness, and movement (when we are awake).

One of our mission at The Chinese Soup Lady is to bring these principles into the foods and drinks we consume in order to support harmony.

You can explore more about some Traditional Chinese Medicine theories in these posts.

Links to all products below.  Please do support me if you wish to purchase through my amazon associates link.  Thanks so much for your continued support to produce content!

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What equipment do you need to make amazing Chinese soups?

 

SOUP POT!

Any pot will do.  I mean, any good quality, large pot, easy-to-clean, easy-to-use, sustainable, long life pot will do!  This is your life as a soup, in that pot!  I have a few, but the one I will also default to is my thermal pot.  I also use a cast iron one if I’m doing an all-in-one fry first and soup later.

You can find a Shuttle Chef Thermal Soup Pot here.  However, if you’re in Canada and can access Zojirushi products, that’s the one I’m using both in Hong Kong and in Toronto.

I will admit, I also use my rice cooker to make soup!!  It’s possible!  This makes 3-4 portions as I have a 5 cup sized Zojirushi rice cooker.  You can check out this video on how I was experimenting with making soup using a rice cooker because I was curious on how well it would turn out.  As it turns out, time and life savers for those busy bodied people!!

You can buy my exact rice cooker here on amazon.  It is AMAZING!

 

OIL SCOOPER!

A must have if you’re planning on using any ingredients that have oil, meat debris, or little pieces that will float up and out.  These fine meshed scoopers pick up almost anything except the soup.  I’ll use them right after some of the meats boil or right before service.  My mom (grandma) actually uses it like a sieve and pours out soup through it to catch anything her grandchildren may find in the soup.  That’s definitely another way to get creative with this tool!

I ended up buying a sturdier oil scooper here from Amazon.  I’ve also tried the $2 ones from Temu or the local Chinese supermarket, but these flip and flop around and end up snapping at the head over time.

 

SOUP BAG (FISH BAG, HERBAL BAG, MESH BAG)

This is also an amazing tool to have if you’ve got a lot of small herbs (such as barley, beans, apricot kernals, dried flowers) or any fish (especially smaller fish with bones).  This will keep these ingredients together so you don’t have to wade through them or sieve them out of the soup.  I am also a fan of the decomposable and environment-friendly ones, especially one that are reusable!  Just throw out all the used ingredients, flip inside out, and rinse it out with washing fluid like you would a towel.

Here’s are the soup bags that I use from Amazon that are reusable and environment-friendly!

 

SOUP LADLE

Any ladle will do!  But how else will you serve your soup?  The one I find I love using is my green rubbery one, which is heat resistant and dishwasher safe.  It’s pretty huge, scoops a lot of soup, washes easily, and is just overall a really easy ladle to use.

Here’s the soup ladle available on amazon.  I actually bought it in HK and took it back with me to Toronto.  It’s THAT good!

 

TONGS

You’d be surprised how heavy meats can get when you’re trying to blanch them in soup or trying to move them from one pot to another!  I must admit, my chopstick skills are good… but maybe I need more muscle strengthening in my hands because carrying a whole chicken carcass with regular chopsticks just wasn’t doing it.  Tongs are my next best friend when it comes to making soups!!

Here’s a locking tong that I’m using from Amazon as well.  Works well, has great grip for those slippery oily meats, and is dishwasher safe, too!

 

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There’s making soups.
And then there’s making soup BY DESIGN.

 

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHICH SOUP TO MAKE? HERE’S MY DECISION MAKING PROCESS WHEN DECIDING WHAT SOUP TO MAKE!

 

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