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Pork Bone with Watercress Soup
Submitted by LadyTong on January 3, 2009 – 3:35 am2 Comments | 31,215 views
Soup Name: Pork bone with Watercress Soup
Traditional Chinese Name: 西洋菜湯 (xī yáng cài tāng)
Introduction:
This is a popular soup made in restaurants and in Chinese homes. In fact, you can find watercress soups in a variety of cultures because the watercress is such a versitile and popular vegetable. The soup in combination with the following ingredients below are ideal as a cough remedy and in relieving heatiness. I like to use the pork bone marrows for boiling soup, hence you’ll see lots of “fatty”deposits in the soup, it’s actually the marrow of the bones coming out after extended boiling. YUM!
What Ingredients are required?
5-6 pieces of fresh pork bones
1 tablespoon of apricot kernals
3 large dried dates
5-6 duck gizzards (optional)
2-3 bunches of fresh watercress
1.5 – 2 L of cold water
How do I prepare it?
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Start boiling your soup water
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In another pot of boiling water, blanch both the duck gizzards and pork bones
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Add the apricot kernals, dates, and blanched meats to your soup
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Boil for at least 2 hours
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Add fresh watercress and boil for at least another 30 minutes or until the watercress becomes soft
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You can continue to boil the soup for more flavour (a slow cooker is ideal for this)
Any benefits?
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This soup is traditionally used as a cough remedy
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It helps relieve heatiness
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The watercress is high in A , B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B17, C, D, E and K
Any precautions?
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Women who are pregnant (less than 3 months into term) or menstrating should drink in moderation as it watercress is a “cool” food and can potentially cause contractions
2 Comments »
Leave a comment!
Hi,
may I know if i were to use a slow cooker, how long does it take and do i follow the steps above or add the ingredients at a different time?
My 3 yr old child is having a dry cough(no running nose), can this soup relieve it?
Thank u!
Cherrie,
You can definitely use a slow cooker for a majority of Chinese soups. You can still follow the same steps as above, but ensure that the water is HOT (boiling is most ideal) when you add the watercress as apparently, adding watercress to cold water can make it bitter. I’ve had this happen before (but am not completely sure whether it’s due to the poor stock of watercress or my helper threw it into the cold water). To help relieve the cough, add more apricot kernals. Hope this helps!
Lisa