Tas has inspired me.

After years of getting some awesome recipies from here I thought i'd give one back.

Not sure how this one will go with you guys but it's definitely a Winter favorite here at home.

We have a very strong Asian population in my home town therefore the ingredients are quite easy to achieve, not sure for the rest of you though.

(Apologies in advance for metric quantities).

Right; My version of Chinese Long Soup.

You will need;
# about 5cm x 5cm (about 2" x 2", more is better) cube of fresh ginger, finely ground on a micro-plane.
# 500gms (I think that's about 1 lb) of fine ground Pork mince.
# 1.5 ltrs of good quality Chicken Stock (you can use vegetable stock if you must).
# 1/2 a Chinese cabbage, sliced.
# full bunch of spring onions, chopped diagonally.
# 1/2 to 3/4 cup (to your taste) dark Soy Sauce.
# 2 bunches of baby Boc Choy.
# 1 packet rice noodles.

In a Woc lightly fry off the grated ginger in some peanut oil until it becomes aromatic.
Then add the pork and brown it thoroughly.

When all the pork is browned add the, sliced cabbage, liquid Chicken stock, half of the chopped spring onions and the Soy sauce.
Bring up to a light simmer for about 15 minutes.
About four minutes before serving (the Boc Choy should be slightly "crispy") add the Boc Choy.
About two minutes before serving ladle some of the liquid over the rice noodles in a separate bowl.

To serve;
place a helping of the noodles in the bottom of a soup bowl and then ladle the soup mixture over the top.
Sprinkle a good handful of fresh spring onions over the top of each serving and serve with a good quality sourdough bread dusted with Italian herbs and browned in the oven.

The two most influential ingredients are the Soy sauce and the Chicken Stock which you can vary the amounts accorded to your taste.
Personally, I use way more Soy sauce than noted here and I also add two dry Chicken stock cubes in addition to what I listed above for a very strong flavour that may or may not appeal to you personally.
Trial and error like any recipe.

Done correctly, this soup with Boc Choy, Chinese cabbage and Ginger is like a pick-me-up soup !! and EXTREMELY healthy too !!!

I hope some of you give it a fair shake.

Cheers.

Thanks Paul! Something new for sure!

Sounds absolutely delicious!

Thanks, Paul.

Thanks Paul. I cook with a Wok on occasion,not as much as I used to but for doing oriental I find it necessary.I used to buy my ingredients from a shop named 'Shegecos' in north austin in the early 70s. He was an old China marine cook/quartermaster that knew every one over the years,so when he set up shop in Austin you got the the real stuff.He even shut down on monday as that is the tradition Chinese laundry day.Times change as always. Now there is little China town + little Mexico back to back on North Lamar in what used to be a great part of town.Sorry for the ramble;thanks for an interesting trial;sounds good.

I absolutely love Asian food, especially Thai and Vietnamese.

I'm sure that having sampled his first Laksa Tas will agree that the depth of flavours and substainance in "Soups" such as a Laksa, or long soup such as this one above, CAN actually take place of a main meal and you do actually feel like you have eaten something rather than just drank a soup !!

Even if you don't try it now I urge you to consider trying it in Winter when you might be feeling a little low, have done some hard toil or might be coming down with something.

It's kinda like pouring a tank full of fuel in your truck.

Hi, Paul -

I saw that you posted this yesterday, and just now had a chance to read it. I like the look of this, and will certainly be giving it a try, as soon as I can!

If you don't mind, I'd like to post this over at the Foods of the World Forum, as well. I think that the members there would really enjoy this.

A question about ingredients: I think I should be able to get everything for this; my only question would be about the two different cabbages. In a pinch, with none other available, would "regular" round/green cabbage work?

Let me know, and thanks -

Ron

"If you don't mind, I'd like to post this over at the Foods of the World Forum, as well."

Tas feel free to re-post this but please understand that I do not take credit for this recipe being my creation, as it is not.

Ideally Chinese cabbage is the ingredient to try and use here as it is quite sweet and soft in texture but if you can't get the Chinese variety then a younger fresh standard cabbage should suffice. Just try not to use the bigger, harder parts of the leaves and slice really thin.

quote:

Originally posted by NormanConquest:
Thanks Paul. I cook with a Wok on occasion,not as much as I used to but for doing oriental I find it necessary.I used to buy my ingredients from a shop named 'Shegecos' in north austin in the early 70s. He was an old China marine cook/quartermaster that knew every one over the years,so when he set up shop in Austin you got the the real stuff.He even shut down on monday as that is the tradition Chinese laundry day.Times change as always. Now there is little China town + little Mexico back to back on North Lamar in what used to be a great part of town.Sorry for the ramble;thanks for an interesting trial;sounds good.

Norman, I made quite a few visits to your State of Texas with my Wife when we were attending the Dallas Safari convention and absolutely loved it.
I envy your way of life, the people are friendly and the State is THE one I would choose if I lived in the U.S.
Very much like certain parts of Aus only you guys drive on the wrong side of the road.

We do genuinely miss our annual visits to the U.S.

Many thanks for the information, Paul - I'll probably wait for a day when we go to Great Falls, so that I can get the proper cabbage. Looking forward to going with this - it has all kinds of things that I really love in it!

PS - Texas is indeed a wondrous place, but please do give Montana a try sometime - I wouldn't trade it for anything, where the US is concerned.

Turnabouts fair play Paul,we always said the same thing about you subjects of the crown.