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Thursday, December 18, 2014

EZ Chinese Black Beans Pork Ribs Soup

My mother in-law cooks this kind of soup quite often but usually with pig’s tail which I find it quite oily and avoid drinking it. 
Recently, I read from Kat Juju that black beans aka black turtle beans is an excellent source of protein and fibre. It is also packed with powerful anti-oxidants providing the body with lots of essential vitamins and minerals. 
From TCM [traditional Chinese medicine] point of view, this soup helps to tonify the kidneys, strengthens yin energy and nourish the blood. A must for people who are tired, run down and whose body needs recovery. 
According to Kat, kidneys are the body’s natural filter of the blood and remove waste which is diverted to the urinary bladder. Like all kinds of filters, the kidneys need to be nourished and detoxed to maintain its proper function. 
Traditionally drunk by pregnant and women undergoing confinement, this blood nourishing soup is beneficial for both men and women.
Verdict – Like what Kat Juju says, this is a delicious and so easy to make soup. I tried and she is right even though I slightly modified the recipe for more simplicity. I replaced red dates and kei chee with another specie of red dates called Goji Dates [available at medical shops]. This is a seedless red dates which are sweet and stays in shape even after boiling for a long time. If you can’t find them then use the ordinary red dates and kei chee. The black beans are crunchy soft and the pork ribs are tender. Nice soup which I wouldn’t mind cooking it often. 
Ingredients 
[serves 2-3] 
200 gm pork ribs – cut small pieces 
50 gm black beans [pre-soaked in cold water for several hours, drained] 
9 Goji red dates or 20 red dates and a handful of Goji [kei chee] 
¼ piece of cuttlefish – rinsed well 
A few cloves of garlic 
800 ml water 
Salt to taste 
  1. Blanch pork ribs in boiling water for several minutes to remove the scums. Remove and rinse well with running tap water. 
  2. Place all the ingredients [except salt] in a soup pot. Bring to a rolling boil, scoop up any scums that surfaced. 
  3. Lower heat to simmer soup for about 45 minutes or until black beans and pork ribs are soft and tender. 
  4. Add salt to taste before serving hot. 

7 comments:

PH said...

Kimmy, what I like about soups is that you can just put everything in and then leave it to boil. So easy and yet it is so nourishing!

Karen Luvswesavory said...

Oh Kimmy, I made something similar too ... but omitted the dried cuttlefish ... hee hee.

Kimmy said...

Hi Phong Hong, you are right. I'm thinking of cooking soup in a slow cooker in future which I believe it is even tastier and needs the least attention. But the smallest slow cooker is not cheap.

Kimmy said...

Hi Karen, great minds think alike, hehehe!. With the cuttlefish or dried scallops, it does make a difference. In the past, I don't like adding it but after trying, it's not harm adding a little which do give the soup a nice flavour.

li said...

Thanks for sharing your recipes. I have tried many of your recipes and they always turn out well. I love your blog because you have so many ideas & recipes. I read on the internet that Chinese black beans are black soy beans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douchi

The Difference Between Asian and Latin Black Beans
http://ochef.com/34.htm

Kimmy said...

Thanks Li for your positive feedback and your attempts turned out well. This is a very nice soup. We like it very much. Happy cooking.

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