Well, to continue where I have left off, I will be sharing a very nutritious soup recipe made from burdock root.  You may have seen burdock root at the grocer’s but never know it can actually be cooked into such a delicious soup.

But appearances are deceptive and beneath it, the goodness of burdock can be plentiful.  See this article if you are keen to find out more information about Burdock.

Ingredients (Serves about 4-5 adults)

• 1 Burdock root (about 30 cm long), peeled, washed and cut into small pieces
• 200 g boneless pork loin, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons wolfberries
• 8 dried honey red dates
• 6-8 cloves of garlic with skin intact
• 3 litres of water

Instructions:

Step 1:  First bring the water in the stockpot to a boil.

Step 2:  Place the pork loin pieces in a separate bowl.  When the water has boiled, scoop some water over to scald the pork loin.  This is an important step as scalding will remove the remaining traces of blood on the pork.  You will notice a layer of “scum” floating on the surface and will be glad that you have skimmed it off before putting these pork in the actual soup!  Yikes. 

Step 3:  Drain the pork pieces before transferring it back into the stockpot.  Put in the rest of the ingredients.  Aren’t the colors beautiful?

Step 4:  Bring the water to a boil again at high heat.  When it has boiled, lower to small heat and allow the soup to simmer for 2.5 hours.

Step 5:  After 2.5 hours, the soup should have turned a really nice flavorful reddish orange color and the water level should have dropped to about 2/3 of its original level.

Step 6: Add salt (about 1 teaspoon) and a dash of pepper to taste.  Mix well.  Turn off the heat.

Step 7:  Serve soup hot and ladle them straight into the lunch jar if you intend to bring them out to keep them as warm as possible.

How does this look?

For those who have not eaten burdock before, I would say it taste somewhat like potato, but less starchy.  In fact, the first time my mom cooked it, she tricked me into thinking that it was potato and I didn’t suspect a thing.  Haha.  So much so for my ignorance then!

This soup recipe can also be an all-in-one meal if you are not fussy.  Just bring some cooked rice to go along with it for a simple, yet satisfying lunch.

Unlike Chinese double-boiled soup which takes a long time to simmer, miso soup can be prepared in just 10-15 minutes and it’s so light that you can drink it anytime of the day.

Ingredients (Serves 3-4  adults):

• 3 tablespoons miso paste
• 3 cups water
• 150 g  soft tofu
• 100 g fresh enoki mushrooms
• Handful of dried kelp/ konbu (optional)

Instructions:

Step 1:  Fill stockpot with water.  Soak dried kelp in water for at least 1-2 hours to soften it.

Step 2:  Cut tofu into cubes.  Wash enoki mushrooms, remove the portion at the roots (about one inch) and separate them.  Cut enoki mushrooms into half length-wise.

Step 3:  Boil stockpot of water and kelp.  When the stock is boiling, transfer the tofu cubes and enoki mushrooms into the pot.

Step 4:  Cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add in miso paste.  Stir to dissolve it well.

Step 5:  Cook for another 2-3 minutes at lower heat.

There are different types of miso paste available in the market.  If you are vegetarian, just make sure you get one which is purely miso without any extra seafood flavouring.

Remember to transfer the soup while it is hot into a thermos food jar if you are bringing it for your lunch box.

Enjoy!

It is one of my favourite comfort foods.  What is yours?

Well, the ingredients for this recipe should be quite easy to find.  You can get wonton skin wrappers at most Asian supermarkets.  I usually get the square ones.  Buy freshly made ones if possible.  If you can only find frozen types, remember to thaw the number that you need, to room temperature before making the wontons.

When thawing, it’s best to place them on a bowl or plate and cover them with a damp towel.  This prevents the wonton skin wrappers from drying up when exposed to air.  You will then find it very difficult to wrap the wontons as the wrappers crack easily.

Ingredients (Serves 4 to 5 adults):

• 200 g minced pork
• 1 tablespoon carrot, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons scallion (spring onion), finely chopped
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon cornflour + 4 tablespoons water to make the cornflour sealant
• 200 g wonton skin wrappers (this varies with the amount of meat you put in your wonton)
• 10 g chicken stock cube
• 4 cups of water (for chicken broth)
• Water for cooking wontons

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1:  To make the wonton filling, combine the minced pork with salt, sugar, light soy sauce, ground pepper and sesame oil in a mixing bowl.  Add in 1 tablespoon chopped scallions and carrots and mix well.  Allow half an hour to marinate.

Step 2:  Put a small amount of this minced pork filling in the middle of a wonton skin wrapper.  With your fingertips, dab a bit of the cornflour sealant along the edges and bring all the edges together upwards.  It should stick and end up looking like a little draw-string pouch.

If you are lazy, you can just fold the opposite ends into a triangle, as long as the filling is wrapped inside.

Step 3:  Repeat Step 2 until all the minced pork filling is used up.  Remember to place the wontons in a single layer on a plate covered in plastic wrap  (to avoid drying).  If you think you cannot finish all the wontons for this meal, store the remaining in a container and put them in the fridge for another day.

Step 4:  Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Put the wontons individually into the water.  When the wontons float to the surface of the water, they are cooked.  Take the wontons out and set them aside.  The reason why we don’t cook the wontons in the chicken broth is because wonton wrappers are covered with flour and if they are cooked directly in the broth, it will affect the flavour of the soup.

Step 5:  To cook the broth, add the cups of water to another pot and bring the water to a boil.  Put in the chicken stock cube and make sure it dissolves well after some stirring.  Add in the remaining scallions.

Step 6: Return the cooked wontons gently into the boiling broth, but don’t cook them too long.  Add a dash of pepper before serving.

Isn’t it lovely?

You can also add in some bok choy while cooking the broth.  I didn’t add them in this batch of wonton soup as we had the vegetables separately with oyster sauce.

This wonton soup is best stored in a thermos food jar where the soup can be kept warm till your lunch time.

For a twist, you can do away with the soup and deep-fry the wontons after Step 3.  It’s a tasty snack for your kid’s lunch box as well!