Lotus 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

An all time favorite for both adults and children alike. Easy to cook and soothing for the stomach. The pork ribs in the soup will be soft and tender to be eaten and the lotus roots provide dietary fiber in place of green leafy vegetables which many children struggle to eat. 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 lotus 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
1 dried honey date (optional)
3 tbsp groundnuts (the pale coloured ones. Darker red ones are more suitable for frying)
2 tbsp wolfberries (optional)
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.
For crunchier lotus roots with more fibre, pick the light pink / brown ones.
For softer lotus roots, pink the dark pink ones.
If you use a pressure cooker, the lotus roots will not be crunchy but soft as the high pressure will break down the fibrous structure of the lotus roots. The pork ribs and soft bones will also be very tender due to the high pressure.
Do not open the lid/cover 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.

Keywords: lotus root, soup, pork ribs, peanut, slow cook, boil

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

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