“Old cucumber soup. Sweeter, and more nutritious this time.”
Adapted from the popular Chinese old cucumber and pork ribs soup. It was better in this version, sweeter soup with smoother mouthfeel. The presentation of the soup looks more alluring, too.
Simple and quick to assemble. Let’s give our loved ones some healthy and nourishing soup dishes.
This soup is most likable by children or one who prefers light and sweeter flavor in soup.
Serves 4-5
Ingredients
1 old cucumber, peeled, removed seeds and cut
1/2 pork trotter (pig trotter), cut
3 honey dates
1 dried cuttlefish, rinsed
Handful of wolfberries
1 large pot of water, half filled (for soup boiling)
Method
1) Blanch pork trotter in a pot of boiling water. Drain and keep aside.
2) Fill another pot half full (around 1500ml of water), bring it to a boil over high fire. Add dried cuttlefish and old cucumber. Return blanched pork trotters. Bring it to another boil.
3) Lower heat. Add honey dates and continue to simmer for another 3-4 hours, or until pork trotters are softened. Add wolfberries 10 minutes before heat off. Serve hot.
A serving of my soup with few pieces of pork trotters counts about 180kcal.
Tips: This recipe can be prepared in slow cooker, too. Simply add all ingredients into croak pot and shift to auto mode, leaving it whole day till ready to serve.