The Soup Queen

For this recipe (again a quick soup!), you will need the simplest of ingredients. Bean thread is what we call over here "tung hoon" or "tung fan". Basically they are clear vermicelli made from mung beans. With a springy texture, it can be used in soups as well as stir-fry with vegetables or in some cases, used as a major ingredient and eaten like one would eat vermicelli or "bee hoon". Anyway, this is a homely dish and most of the ingredients are found easily in the market. Here is what you need: 1 packet of mung bean threads, soaked in hot water and drained 3 tbsp dried shrimp, soaked, washed and drained 8 cups water 1 tbsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda fresh spinach (as much as you like), washed and drained 2 tbsp peanut oil 2 tsp minced ginger 2 tsp minced garlic 5 cups chicken stock 1 tsp Shao Hsing wine or sherry In a pot, place the 8 cups of water, salt and baking soda. Bring to a boil and blanch spinach. Lift and drain spinach when it turns a bright gree...

This is a soup good for warming up on cold days. We don't get very many cold days in Malaysia. I was in Hong Kong in March and at 14C, it felt quite cold to me. If I were in HK, I'd make this warming soup! You'll need: 1 slice ginger 1 clove garlic, minced 3 cups fresh tomatoes, blanched, de-skinned and cubed 2 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed 4 cups water 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp oil 6 oz ground beef Marinate ground beef with: 1 tsp oyster sauce 1 tsp light soya sauce 3/4 tsp sugar 1/2 salt 1/2 tsp whiskey 3/4 tsp cornstarch Allow the ground beef to marinate up to 1 hour. Heat wok and add oil, salt, ginger and garlic. Add tomatoes and potatoes and fry for 1 minute. Remove and place this into a pot. Add water and bring to a boil. Cover pot, simmering over low heat for 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Raise heat and add the beef with its marinade, breaking up beef with fork. Boil the soup again and turn off heat. Serve hot.

This is one of those famously simple and easy to make dessert soups to round off a meal. Every Chinese would have grown up imbibing this nutritious red bean dessert. Red beans are like mung beans - full of goodness. What we call red beans is really Adzuki beans. They are also the most "yang" of all beans. They're tiny and hard red beans which when cooked, turns soft and delicious! Adzuki beans (Paseolus angularis) are rich in soluble fibre which, like oats, help eliminate cholesterol from your body. They contain magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc copper, manganese and vitamin B3. And the good news is, they also reduce blood pressure. Accordingly, these powerful beans possess inhibitors which disturb the development of cancer cells. It is no wonder that Adzuki beans are the "Mercedes" of beans. Here's how you cook Adzuki beans. 1/2 pound Adzuki beans 7 cups cold water rock sugar to taste (optional: 1/2 cup dried longan flesh) Wash beans and drain. Put them into...

I got this recipe from an old recipe book. It's a Cantonese soup called "Sang Choi Yue Pin Tong". According to the writer, she uses fresh carp but it's equally OK to use sole, flounder or sea bass. 1/2 pound fresh fish, sliced thinly Marinate fish with 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/4 tsp cornstarch, 1 tsp ginger juice mixed with 1 tsp white wine, some pepper and 1 tsp light soya sauce. Let it sit in the marinade for 10 minutes. In a pot, bring to boil 3 cups water. If you have fish stock, even better. It will be tastier, says the writer. Add to this pot 1 slice of ginger and 1 clove garlic. Add lettuce, stir and add in fish slices (together with marinade). Bring to boil. Turn off heat and stir in some scallion oil. Serve hot. How to make scallion oil: In 2 cups peanut oil, add 1 cup of the whisker/root ends of scallions and 2 cups of scallions (spring onions). Heat wok. Pour this into wok and heat until scallions brown. Strain oil and discard scalli...