The Soup Queen

This isn't a slow simmered soup that takes 2 hours on the stove. No.  This is a quick 20 minutes soup that you can make on days when you want something nourishing and you just got home from work and you're too damn tired to call for take-out.  This is my go-to soup that's nutritious and flavourful. Packed with only 3 good ingredients - tofu, bittergourd and minced pork.  You can even just cook some rice (in the rice cooker) while you make this soup. Once the rice is done, so's your tofu soup.  Here's how you do it.  1 packet of soft tofu, cut into cubes 1/2 cup minced pork/chicken - marinate with some salt, pepper, cornstarch and sesame oil  1/2 bittergourd, sliced thinly* some chopped garlic spring onions to garnish salt & pepper to taste 800 ml water  Heat up some 2 tablespoons oil in a pot. Add garlic. Stir until it browns. Add water. Cover and bring it to a boil. Once it is boiling, drop t...

I bought fresh peppermint at the market today. I usually don't fancy peppermint but I thought with my flu and scratchy throat, peppermint soup sounds real good. The peppermint was RM1 one bunch. When I came home, I just plucked the leaves and soaked them. Ditch the stems. Next I marinated some fresh minced pork - about 1/3 cup of minced pork. You can use chicken if you want. Marinate with some salt, pepper and cornflour. The cornflour makes a world of difference. The minced meat will be smoother!Put this aside in the fridge for 10 minutes. Bring a pot of water to boil. Since I was only making this soup for lunch and dinner, I measured out 4 medium bowls of water. Once water is boiling away merrily, drop in the minced meat - form them into tiny balls of meat. I like mine like the size of marbles. I also put into 3 cloves of garlic, with skin attached. This flavours the soup a bit. Next, add your rinsed and drained peppermint leaves. Let the soup simmer for 5 minutes on medium fire b...