Basic Chinese Chicken Soup Stock (Soup Base)

Soup Name: Pumpkin, Corn and Chestnuts in Pork Broth

Introduction:

This neutral and naturally sweet soup is easy to make, is healthy to drink and can double as a meal.  Depending on how you like it – you can melt the whole pumpkin to create a thicker soup, or keep it like I have with semi-melted pumpkin pieces.  Many restaurants in Asia use the Japanese pumpkin to make their cream soups and it’s deee-licious! 

1 pound of fresh pork shank
1/2 – 1 fresh Japanese pumpkin
10 – 15 fresh chestnuts (optional, especially for very young children)
2 fresh corn
2-3 L of water
1 teaspoon of salt (to marinate the pork)

How do I prepare it?

Pre-marinate the pork overnight with the salt (although this step is not necessary)
Blanch pork bones in a separate pot of boiling water
Boil your soup water
Peel, wash and chop your pumpkin (remove skin if required) and corn
In a separate pot, boil the chestnuts for 5 minutes
Strain and immediately peel the shell and outer skin (it should fall off due to the heat)
Once water is boiling, add all the ingredients together
Boil on high for 30 minutes.   Reduce to simmering for 2 hours (or use internal pot).
Serve and enjoy!

 Any benefits?

• Neutral soup that is ideal for children and toddlers
• An excellent source of Vitamins A, C and beta-carotene
• Very hearty if eating the soup contents

Any precautions?

• Caution must be taken with the amount of chestnuts if you’re concerned about nut allergies.  You can choose not to use the chestnuts if serving to really young children.  However, I’ve served chestnut soups to my children as young as 1 year old. 
• Take precaution when cutting up the pumpkin – they are tough veggies to chop!