(Chinese recipes, prepare authentic Chinese food now!)

This past holiday season, I ate a lot, in fact, way too much. After all those festive meals, heavy big-fish-big-meat (大鱼大肉) and crazy seafood consumptions, I crave for something very simple, homey, and economical–and this lotus root soup came to my rescue…

Recently, when I was dining out at a Cantonese-style restaurant and had their daily soup (老火汤), I saw these dried honey dates (蜜枣) in the residue of the soup. After much asking around, I learned that this is the secret ingredient that Cantonese cooks use when they make their soup. (Cantonese people, especially those in Hong Kong, are famed for stewing up very tasty soups.)

The secret ingredient sure didn’t disappoint. I have never made such savory soup before. The taste of the pork ribs complimented the sweetness of these dried honey dates and the end result was a very light, pleasing, and refreshing soup that I just couldn’t stop sipping.

It’s time to take a break from fancy meals; it feels (and tastes) really good to be back to the basics.

Yield: 4 people

Lotus Root Soup

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The taste of the pork ribs complimented the sweetness of these dried honey dates and the end result was a very light, pleasing, and refreshing soup that I just couldn’t stop sipping.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb. (0.4 kg) lean pork ribs
• 1 lotus root
• 2 dried honey dates
• 8-10 dried red dates
• 6 cups water
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Cut the pork ribs into short lengths and set aside. Peel off the skin of lotus root and cut into slices. Soak the dried honey dates and dried red dates in warm water for 5 minutes. Bring the pot of water to boil and add in all the ingredients. Cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour or until well cooked. Add salt to taste.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

4 people
Amount Per Serving Calories 248Total Fat 18gSaturated Fat 5gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 63mgSodium 94mgCarbohydrates 6gFiber 1gProtein 13g