Pork ribs with Gold and Silver Vegetables (金银菜排骨汤)

This is a soup that I recently consume. Due to the hazy weather and am having dry cough; I find this soup nourishes the lungs and clear my throat which also reduce the heat in the body. This soup is suitable for the old and the young. This soup does contain sweet and bitter almonds, which in TCM is beneficial for clearing the lungs and stop coughing. Do refer to this article about Sweet & Bitter Almonds.

Pork ribs with Gold and Silver Vegetables -金银菜排骨汤(serves 4)

120g        Dried Chinese cabbage

600g        Fresh Chinese Cabbage

600g        Spare ribs (blanched)

10g          Sweet & Bitter Almonds

3.5l          Water

3g            Dried Tangerine Peel

2              Honey Dates

Salt to taste

1. First rinse the dried Chinese cabbage properly then soak it in clear water for about 1 hour.
2. Wash the Chinese cabbage and rinse the tangerine peel and honey dates.
3. Place all ingredients except the Chinese cabbage in a pot and bring to boil over high heat, add salt to taste, then turn in down and simmer for about 2 hours.
4. Place the fresh Chinese cabbage in and simmer for another 1/2 hour.

Old Cucmber Chicken Soup (老黄瓜鸡汤)

First of all, this soup is not categorized as herbal. But I blog it as a "Cooling" soup that nourishes all from the young to the old. Not particularly too cold for the old, which is really good for the whole family. As these days the weather is so hot and dry, this soup is just serves the purpose of warding off the heaty elements.

Old Cucumber Chicken Soup - 老黄瓜鸡汤 (serves 4)

900g /1  whole free range chicken with skin

1            Old cucumber 老黄瓜

1            Carrot (cut into chucks)

1 ear      Sweet corn

2-3 pcs  Dry scallops

15g        Solomon's seal 玉竹-Yuk Chuk
1.5 litres Water

1. Blanch the chicken first to remove the oil.
2. Wash the old cucumber skin properly. Cut the old cucumber into bite size removing the seeds but not the skin.
3. Cut the carrots / sweet corn into bite pieces as well.
4. Now boil the water and add in all the above ingredients.
5. When the soup boils, turn to a lower heat and simmer for an hour at least. I cook for a total of 1.5 hours. The soup now is ready. Enjoy!