Herbal Chicken Soup

炖鸡汤

This is a classic herbal soup which is nutritious and nourishing for the body. You can either buy the Chinese herbs individually and put them together or buy a packet of ready herbal mix from supermarkets. 

Ingredients (you can double the quantity of herbs for a stronger herbal taste)

1 chicken

1 litre water

2 dried ginseng roots

1 slice Indian bread

2 tablespoon lotus seeds

2-3 pieces Chuanxiong rhizome

2-3 pieces Chinese angelica root

4-5 pieces Liquorice root

1 tablespoon wolberry fruit (Goji Berry)

1 Honey date

1 Jujube

Method

1. Cut off the chicken feet, wing tips and tail. Remove excess fats around the chicken. Rub 1 tablespoon of salt all over the chicken to clean it and wash the salt away under running water. Blanch the whole chicken with water to remove impurities and scum. Rinse the chicken and set aside.

2. Put the chinese herbs except Goji Berry into a pot with 1 litre water. Add the chicken and bring the water to a boil. Then lower heat and simmer for 1 hour.

3. After 1 hour, take out the ginseng roots, slice and return them to the soup. Simmer for another 1 hour.

4. Add Goji Berry and season the soup with salt. Simmer for another 15 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and serve warm.

Bak Kut Teh

 肉骨茶

This dish, literally translated as "pork bone tea", is a soup with tender pork ribs cooked with Chinese herbs and spices. You can easily buy bak gut teh spice packets from supermarkets and wet markets in Singapore but most, if not all, contain MSG (monosodium glutamate) to enhance the flavour. We therefore prefer to prepare our own spice bag which is really very simple but just as delicious. Recipe below is adapted from guaishushu's Teochew Bak Kut Teh, where the soup is clear (instead of dark coloured) and contains less Chinese herbs/spices.

Ingredients (serves 3 pax)

700g prime pork ribs 大牌骨

4 garlic bulbs

1 - 2 licorice root

1/4 tsp black peppercorns

1/4 tsp szechuan peppercorns

1/2 tsp white peppercorns

1/8 tsp five spice powder

1 tsp salt (seasoning)

1.5 litre water

8 pieces of tofu puff (tau pok) - optional. Tofu puffs are actually deep fried in oil, use kitchen towels to press against each piece of tofu puff to soak up excess oil before using. 

Vegetables (Tang Orh / garland chrysanthemum, lettuce goes very well with bak kut teh) - optional

Method:

1. Blanch the pork ribs in hot water and set aside.

2. Heat up wok/pan and stir fry (without oil) peppercorns until fragrant. This takes about 5 mins. Transfer the peppercorns to a tea bag and crack the peppercorns to release flavour. Add five spice powder into the teabag.

3. Break the garlic bulbs into individual garlic cloves and roast them in a pan (use a wooden spatula to stir them around) until slightly brown.

4. Put pork, teabag, garlic cloves, licorice root and water into a big pot. Add in tofu puffs if using. Bring to a boil and simmer until pork is tender, about 1 to 1.5 hours. Add vegetables (if using) to the soup.

Before

After 

5. Season with salt to taste and serve hot with rice and a small dish of sliced fresh red/green chilli with dark soy sauce.

Double Boiled Cabbage Soup

炖泡菜汤

You will be surprised how easy it is to prepare this flavourful soup with only 3 ingredients - cabbage, dried scallops and chicken stock.

Ingredients (serves 4 pax)

3/4 cabbage (buy Cameron Highlands or Japanese cabbage which are sweeter. They are round in shape and slightly flattish.)

3 to 4 pieces of dried scallops (rehydrated)

Chicken stock (click here on how to make this stock)

Method

1. Quarter the cabbage and slice off the core. Wash each quarter of cabbage under running tap water. Do not separate or tear the cabbage leaves. Place the cleaned cabbage in a deep ceramic bowl (I use a 8.5" ramekin bowl).

2. Place the scallops including the water used for soaking the scallops into the ceramic bowl.

3. Fill the ceramic bowl with chicken stock until 80% full. No need for the stock to completely cover the cabbage. Cover the ceramic bowl.

4. Put the ceramic bowl in a big pot/wok filled with water. Cover the big pot/wok. Bring the water in the big pot/wok to a boil over high heat. Turn to low heat and double boil for 1 hour. Make sure to check the water level in the big pot/wok throughout the double boiling process. Add water when it runs low. 

5. Add a dash of salt to the soup and serve hot.

Mushroom Soup

蘑菇浓汤

Ingredients:

300g button mushrooms (brown and white)

1/2 large onion (diced)

1 clove garlic (diced)

300ml vegetable stock (onion, celery, carrot, mushroom stems, dried porcini mushrooms, bay leaves) 

200ml milk

100ml heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

Dashes of freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Method:

1. Prepare vegetable stock.

2. Cut mushrooms into small pieces. 

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the wok and saute onions and garlic over medium heat until fragrant and edges are browned. 

4. Add mushrooms and a pinch of salt and stir fry until soft, around 5 minutes.

5. Add vegetable stock, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover the wok and simmer for 10minutes. Let it cool down a bit.

6. Use hand/stick blender to blend the mushrooms to a smooth paste.

7. Add milk and continue to blend for 1-2minutes.

8. Transfer the blended mushrooms soup to a small pot. Add butter and stir over low heat until the butter has melted. Turn off the heat, stir in heavy cream and season with salt and black pepper.

9. Ladle the mushroom soup into bowls, garnish with chopped parsley and serve. Crispy bacon bits and croutons can be added as toppings too.

Pumpkin Soup

南瓜浓汤

This is a healthy and nutritious soup which I made for my children after they had their wisdom teeth removed. Pumpkin is naturally sweet, and is a good source of iron, vitamins A, B and C.

Ingredients:

300g pumpkin (within skin)

40g large onion

250ml water

150ml milk

100ml heavy cream (optional)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional - for creamier soup)

Dashes of freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Cut pumpkin into thin strips (cooks faster)

Chop onion into small pieces.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the wok  and saute onions over medium heat until fragrant and edges are browned. 

Add pumpkin and stir fry until pumpkin is soft.

Add water and bring to a boil.

Lower heat, cover the wok and simmer for 15minutes or until pumpkin is mushy. Let it cool down a bit.

Use hand/stick blender to blend the pumpkin to a smooth paste.

Add milk (don't add all at once, adjust according to your preferred soup consistency) and salt, and stir over low heat to mix in. Add butter (if using) and stir until butter has melted, and whipped cream

Turn off the heat, stir in heavy cream.

Ladle the pumpkin soup into bowls, garnish with chopped parsley and serve. Crispy bacon bits and croutons can be added as toppings too.

New England Clam Chowder

 蛤蜊巧達浓汤

Ultimate comfort food with sweet clams, tender potatoes and creamy soup. Slurps!

Ingredients

1kg live clams or 1 canned clams

5 medium size potatoes (get the yellow potatoes for creamier soup)

1 carrot

2-3 celery leaves

1/2 big onion

1 garlic clove

3 strips smoked bacon

Knob of butter (20g)

150g heavy cream

1 loaf of baguette

Method

I bought fresh clams from wet market. Follow steps 1 and 2 to degrit and cook the clams for the soup. Skip these steps if you are using canned clams.

1. Put the clams on a steaming rack(or any rack with holes) in a single layer i.e. do not stack the clams over each other. Place the steaming rack in a basin or pot. Fill the basin /  pot with salted water (1 tablespoon to 1 litre water) up to the mouth of the clams. Do not submerge the clams under the salted water. Cover the basin/pot with a cloth or aluminium foil for 1 to 3 hours and leave a small opening for the clams to breathe. Discard the salted water thereafter and replace with clean water. Leave the clams covered again for 1 hour. Wash the clams.

2. Put the clams in a pot filled with 600ml water, and boil the clams for 5 to 10minutes until the clams opened up. Discard clams that remained closed as they are likely dead clams. Remove the clams from the shells, as well as the clam’s intestines/internal organs. Set aside the cleaned clams AND the clam juice from boiling the clams.

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3. Cut the potatoes, carrot and celery leaves into small pieces (size depend on your preference - whether you want chunky vegetables or cube size). Cut the onion into wedges. Peel and cut the garlic into thin slices. Cut the bacon into 1cm strips.

4. Heat up a large pot, add one teaspoon of oil and fry the bacons until the edges are crispy and golden. Remove the bacons and leave the fat in the pot. Saute the onion and garlic. Then add the vegetables and a knob of butter stir fry for a few minutes. Add the clam juice just enough to cover the vegetables. Simmer until the potatoes begin to dissolve.

5. Add the clams and heavy cream to the soup. Simmer for a few more minutes and season with salt and pepper.

6. Serve with bacon topping and garlic bread. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Chef Robert Del Grande