Soup-Corn and Carrot Soup

      Cooking the corn and carrot soup in Guangzhou, my hometown, using the slow cooker of the Chinese kind, I came up with that once I have the oxtail soup in one of my classmates’ home and her family cooked the soup also with a slow cooker.

At that time, I puzzled. The fact I first realized is that westerners also have the slow cooker which varies a lot with ours. I think the translation from Chinese to English should be improved, at least about this cook ware.

BUT I can’t tell clearly what their differences were and how they worked differently. After sharing this recipe, I will write a comparison and product review on this topic. Here I’ll show you one common Cantonese simmering soup, also known as long-time cooked soup. The corn and carrot soup can be of different tastes using different cook wares! How essential the wares are?

Left is western, right is Chinese.

  

Ingredients:

• 1 pearl corn, chopped into 1" length
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into pieces
• 300g pork ribs or tail bones, chopped into pieces
  spring onion, chopped (for garnishing)
• 1.5L of hot boiling water

Seasonings:

• 1 tsp salt
• Several pieces of ginger

Method:

1. No need to bone out the ribs or tail bones. Just leave them boiled together.

2. Put everything in the slow cooker, except salt. Leave the soup boiling.
3. You can add other seasoning but please don’t make this a creamy soup in a slow cooker.

Time:

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 30 mins to 1½ hours

Yield: serves 2 to 3

    This soup’s look is far simpler than the rich flavor. The purple clay cooking pot of the Chinese slow cooker can enrich the flavor. If you can have one, you will certainly admire the beautiful red pot. The reason for this is the clay can balance the heat and preserve the steam so that to contract the entire flavor together. Amazing huh?

    I know the Chinese slow cooker may be not so easy to find, but I will try to search the Internet and provide a referral link to you and let you also enjoy home-making of Chinese soup.

Enjoy your homemade flavor!

Remember:

1.      Cooking time would be slightly varied between different cooking wares.

2.      Chinese dish can have a flexible ingredient proportion. Keeping trying and you will cook your new flavor. You may use other seasoning as well.

If you tried, don’t hesitate to share. Picture? Words? Essays? WELCOME!

Have difficulties? Let me help you. 

Soup -- Magic Soup for Beauty and Youth!

    

    This is one of my favourite Chinese dessert that's so easy to prepare within minutes. Whenever I crave for something sweet, light, guilt-free and hassle-free, this is it. It is simply a concoction of sweet potatoes and dried longans. I add some sliced ginger to give the zing, which helps 'spice' up the dessert.

Features and functions:

Longan is common fruit in Asia grown in temperatures no less than 4.5 deg C. Driged longan is used in making Chinese desserts. They are dried and dark brown and expands when boiled in water. It is sweet and is known to have an effect on relaxation. Dried longan helps to cure insomnia, tonifies qi, moistens yin and expels heat.

Sweet potato is a wonderfully versatile root vegetable fruit that can be prepared and consumed in many ways. It can be eaten steamed, baked as a cake, eaten french fried, a dessert in either Chinese or Western styles. It is a good source Vitamin C, potassium, beta carotene and folic acid among others.

Ingredients:

500g Sweet Potatoes

20 Dried Longan

1 inch Ginger, sliced

3 Pandan leaves

Seasonings:

Water

Rock Sugar, to taste

Time:

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 30 mins

Yield: serves about 4

Here is cooking Instruction for this Sweet Potato Recipe:

Ÿ   Wash, peel and chop the sweet potatoes. Add immediately into a pot with about 4 cups of water in it.

Ÿ   Add sliced Ginger and washed Pandan leaves (tied in a knot) to the pot. Bring to boil and lower heat to simmer for about 25 minutes (or until the sweet potatoes are soft).

Ÿ   During the last 15 minutes cooking time, add the dried longan meats into a small saucepan with some water (just enough to cover the longan). Boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until the fruits are soft. Pour all into the main pot during the last 5 minutes and cook together.

Ÿ   Add rock sugar to taste.

Ÿ   Serve warm.

Sweet Potato Cooking Tip:

You can use whatever colour sweet potatoes you like. However, if you are also using the purple colour type, add them into the soup only during the last 15 minutes as they soften faster.

Enjoy your homemade flavor!

Remember: Cooking time would be slightly varied between different cooking wares.