Coriander & Ham Soup 芫荽火腿汤

This is the results of a chat with a friend over how we can replace the usual pork ribs with ham. :P

I love the coriander stem for the crunch and fragrance but sometimes I have so much of the leaves left that I didn't know what to do with it. So that's definitely going it to the soup.:P  My friend suggested adding onions to make it sweet.

It's a trial and error soup that turned out alright for me and the best part of it is, it only takes 20 minutes to prepare and cook! You'll enjoy this if you like coriander.

Ingredients:
(1 serving)

• 1/3 tablespoon Butter
• 1 small Onion, diced
• 2 clove Garlic, chopped
• 4-5 slices or 100g Ham, chopped
• 1 big handful of Coriander Leaves, chopped
• 250ml Chicken Broth

How to do it:

1. Melt butter in pot.
2. Add in onion, garlic and ham.
3. Saute till garlic is fragrant and onion is softened.
4. Add in the coriander leaves and chicken broth.
5. Bring to a boil.
6. Pour mixture into a blender to blend to your desired consistency (mine still have bits of ham and onion).
7. Return to heat up and season with salt if necessary.

Radish and Ribs Stew 萝卜焖排骨

I really love radish though there isn't anyone at home sharing the same sentiments. The only thing they will take with radish in it is probably soup.

I just need a bowl of rice, maybe two to goes with this stew. I love how the radish in the stew here absorbed all the flavours. It's soft and flavourful and the bone from the ribs just slip off from the meat. And don't forget the sauce! Drizzle it over piping hot rice! Yum!

Ingredients:

• 300g Pork Ribs
• 1 Carrot, skinned and cut into chunks (about 150g)
• 1 Radish, skinned and cut into chunks (about 220g)
• 1 small Onion, cut into chunks
• 3 clove Garlic, smashed and chopped
• 300ml Water
• Salt to taste

Seasonings:

• 2 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Wine
• 2 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar or regular Sugar

How to do it:

1. Blanch ribs and set aside.
2. Heat a tablespoon of oil.
3. Stir fry garlic till fragrant.
4. Add in the vegetables and rib.
5. Stir fry for a minute before adding the seasoning.
6. Add in water and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce to a simmer and continue to cooking for 2 hours or till the ribs and radish are tender.
8. Add more hot water if the sauce are drying but ribs & radish are not tender enough.
9. Add salt to taste if necessary
10. Serve with a bowl of rice.

Note:

• Cooking time maybe varies depending on the size of the vegetable chunks and the pork ribs.
• To make the radish less bitter, precook the chopped radish by boiling it in water for 1 to 2 minutes.