For this post, I am sharing my next food recipe, Old Cucumber Soup. I was trying to replicate my late mum's cooking for this soup which is quite commonly cooked when she was still alive.
This is one of the many soups that Chinese people likes to make. It is said that the soup is good for the skin and helps prevent aging, also high in dietary fiber, calcium, iron and rich in vitamin A, B6, and C. Without further ado, here is the recipe for Old Cucumber Soup :
Ingredients: * One medium size Chinese old cucumber (the one I used is about 8 inches long, 2.5 inches wide)
* Water
* Red dates (I used about 5 big ones, seed removed)
* 5 small dried scallops (makes the soup sweeter)* 200g pork ribs (can use old kampung chicken as well)
* 2 piece dried cuttlefish (makes the soup sweeter)
* 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut to slices about 1cm thick
* 2 slices of salted/preserved vegetable (called 'Tai Thou Choi' in Cantonese) (** Carrots not shown in picture below as I added last minute after realizing I forgotten about it hahahah!)
Methods: * Scrub the skin of the old cucumber clean and cut it half length-wise. It would be better to leave the skin in as removing it will cause the cucumber flesh to disintegrate and turning into a mushy mess after cooking.
* Scoop out the seeds using a spoon. You may skip this step if you are fine with the seeds.
* Cut the cucumber into smaller chunks (I cut about half inch thick slices)
* Blanch the pork ribs in boiling water for a few minutes, drain and set aside.
* Add all ingredients into slow cooker, add enough water to cover the ingredients with about an inch more.
* Put on high mode for half hour, before switching to low settings for about 6-7 hours.
(Note: If you use gas stove to boil this soup, you can simmer over low heat for about 1 hour)
Outcome:
I'm sorry the picture above does not show justice. I took it under yellow light and was rushing to get kiddos ready for bed so just managed a quick snap. The soup is darker due to the amount of red dates I put in, I guess the more the darker. Tastewise, it reminded me of the one my late mum used to make so it is nice to be able to relive these memories. It is very easy to make this dish, little ingredients, easy to follow steps. This recipe is definitely for keeps!
To view my other recipes, feel free to hop over to my Recipe Library page for more info!
