Soup Name: Century Egg with Chinese Parsley Soup

Traditional Chinese Name: 芫茜皮蛋魚湯 (yán qiàn pídàn yú tāng)

Introduction:

This quick boil soup is a great soup base (although just as great by itself) in the Chinese repertoire of soups.  While some people don’t like Chinese parsley at all (like me), the strong taste of the herb is heavily muted when boiled in this fashion.  As a result, the soup is slightly sweet and has a refreshingly mild taste to it.  You can use a variety of meats and other vegetables as desired.

What ingredients are required?

1 fresh big fish stomach, largely sliced
3 fresh slices of ginger
1 tsp of salt
2 fresh bunches of Chinese parsley
4 century eggs, washed and halved
2 L of water

How do I prepare it?

1. Wash and rinse big fish stomach in running water, slice into large pieces (so that they don’t disintegrate as easily in the soup)
2. Pat dry with a paper towel and salt lightly
3. In a frying pan, heat oil until hot and fry ginger and big fish stomach slices until golden brown
4. Set aside the fish when finished (it doesn’t have to be completed cooked, but at least with lightly golden surfaces)
5. Boil your soup water
6. Rinse Chinese parsley in running water
7. Wash and peel century eggs in running water, be sure to remove all the shell and coating
8. Slice the century eggs in half
9. When the soup water boils, add ginger, fish, century eggs, and Chinese parsley together
10. Boil on high for 30 minutes
11. Salt as necessary (but taste it first!)

Any benefits?

Any precautions?

• Menstruating or women in their first trimester should consume with caution as it is a cooling soup
• Be sure that the fish stomach has not disintegrated, if it has, use a strainer to catch the pieces if serving to children (or use a soup bag)