Arrow Root Pork Ribs Soup

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 2 hrs

Total Time 2 hrs 30 mins

Cooking Method: Boil, Modern, Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, soup

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese

Difficulty: Beginner

Cooking Temp: 100 C

Servings: 4

Description

Arrowroot is a root vegetable often sold as a powder. It's used as a thickening agent and gluten-free flour. Many of its health benefits are associated with its starch content, which may promote weight loss, treat diarrhea, and stimulate your immune system. Due to its starchy contents, the soup is sweet yet savory, making it a favourite in Cantonese homes with children and elderly.

This soup can also be cooked in a slow cooker over 6-8 hours for busy families.

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

Cooking via pot / pressure cooker / XL slow cooker (serves 4)

400 g arrow root (washed, and cut into 5mm thick slices)
400 g pork spare ribs or soft bones (blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes)
3 l water
1 tbsp dried scallops
4 pieces cut dried octopus (can replace with dried dquid)
6 dried red dates
2 tsp salt (add less for healtier version)
1 big pork bone with marrow (soaked in cold water for 30 minutes to remove blood then blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes (optional))

Instructions

Using a regular with 5L pot

1
1. Clean and wash all the ingredients thoroughly.
2. Place all the dry ingredients in a 5L pot. Fill in 3L of water and 1 teaspoon of salt.
3. Bring to a boil on high heat. If the residues from the bones settle on the top of the pot, use a fine strainer to remove the residue.
4. Continue to boil on medium heat for at least 1 hour. Stir occasionally to prevent the ingredients from settling at the bottom and burning. If the water level drops, add more water to the pot. Do not let it boil to dryness.
5. Reduce to low heat and let the soup simmer for another 1 hour. If the water level has dropped low, add a desired amount of water (not more than 1L) and boil for at least a further 10 minutes under high heat.
6. You may now turn off the heat and leave the soup in the pot covered until it is ready to be served.
7. Re-boil soup prior to serving. Add more salt if desired.
8. Serve with chopped Chinese coriander (optional)

Using a 5L Thermal pot

2
1. Clean and wash all the ingredients thoroughly.
2. Place all the dry ingredients in a 5L pot. Fill in 3L of water and 1 teaspoon of salt.
3. Bring to a boil on high heat. If the residues from the bones settle on the top of the pot, use a fine strainer to remove the residue.
4. Simmer the soup on medium-high head for 30 minutes then transfer to the thermal pot while the soup is still boiling.
5. Leave the soup in the thermal pot for at 1 hour, then take it out and re-boil. Transfer back to thermal pot.
6. Repeat step 5 until the soup is ready to be served.
7. Reheat the soup prior to serving. Add more salt if desired.
8. Serve with chopped Chinese coriander (optional)

Using a high-pressure 5-6L pot

3
1. Clean and wash all the ingredients thoroughly.
2. Place all the dry ingredients in a 5L pot. Fill in 3L of water and 1 teaspoon of salt.
3. Bring to a boil on high heat. If the residues from the bones settle on the top of the pot, use a fine strainer to remove the residue.
4. Lock the lid for the pressure to build up. When high-pressure is reached, set your timer to 40 minutes and boil the soup while maintaining the high-pressure.
5. Start the timer and boil the soup on high pressure for 40-45 minutes.
6. Stop the heat and release the pressure according to your pressure cooker's instructions.
7. Add more salt to taste if desired. If the water level has dropped very low, top up more water and boil under high heat normally for a further 10 minutes.
8. Serve with chopped Chinese coriander (optional)

Using a XL slow cooker

4
1. Clean and wash all the ingredients thoroughly.
2. Place all the dry ingredients in the slow cooker. Fill in 3L of water and 1 teaspoon of salt.
3. Set the mode to auto mode. Set your timer to 6 hours and boil the soup. If the residues from the bones settle on the top of the pot, use a fine strainer to remove the residue.
4. If your slow cooker does not have a timer function, use a mechanical power switch to automatically turn off power to the slow cooker after 6 hours to prevent the soup from cooking to dryness.
5. If the water level falls below half during slow cooking, add more water to minimally cover all ingredients or to a maximum of 3/4 the height of the inner pot.
6. If desired, you can slow cook the soup for a further 2 hours. It depends on the power of your slow cooker but generally, 6-8 hours is recommended for most slow cookers.
7. Turn off the slow cooker (or use the timer function or a mechanical timer switch). You can leave the soup in the pot covered until soup is ready to be served. and re-boil over the stove. Do not open the lid of the pot while the soup is resting to prevent bacteria from entering the pot. The pot is sterilized from the boiling and will remain sterile until the cover is opened.
8. Add more salt to taste if desired.
9. Serve with chopped Chinese coriander (optional)

Note

I have created an additional version of this recipe for cooking on the Thermomix for 2.
Soaking pork bones in cold water for 30 minutes then blanching in boiling water for 2 minutes removes blood and "smell" from the bones prior to cooking.
Pick younger arrow roots with as little "eyes" and roots protuding as possible if you're cooking for kids and elderly folks. The older roots may be more flavorful but are more fibrous which may be harder to digest for children and the elderly.
If you're worried about the blades breaking up the arrow roots and spare ribs, use the blade cover.
Re-boiling the soup for another 15 minutes prior to serving removes any bacteria that may have entered the soup during resting period.

Keywords: arrow root, soup, pork ribs, slow cook, boil

Read it online: https://www.wokdiaries.com/recipe/arrow-root-pork-ribs-soup/

WokDiaries