Bowl of Spare Ribs & Lotus Soup
(click to enlarge)

Spare Ribs & Lotus Soup


China - Hunan   -   Hu ou dun pai gu
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 4 soup
**
2-1/4 hrs
Most		 A nice simple soup with impressively exotic lotus roots. The lotus tastes similar to potato but remains very firm, almost crisp.

-----
14
8
1
1
6
-----
2
1/2
tt
---
oz
oz
in
T
c
---

t

-- Soup
Spare Ribs (1)
Lotus Root (2)
Ginger
Rice Wine
Stock, light
------------
Scallions
Salt
Pepper, white (3)
Make:   -   (2-1/4 hrs - 20 min work)
  1. Separate SPARE RIBS and cut into 1 inch to 1-1/2 inch lengths. A sharp Chinese cleaver knife driven by a soft faced mallet is perfect for this job. Put the ribs in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Drain and rinse the ribs, discarding the water.
  2. Peel LOTUS ROOT, slice about 3/4 inch thick and cut into bite size chunks. If using pre-sliced lotus root just cut in half or quarters depending on size.
  3. Slice GINGER thin.
  4. Put all Soup items in a pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer for around 2 hours, adding water as needed.
  5. Cut green part of SCALLIONS into slivers.
  6. Season with Salt and Pepper, garnish with Scallions and serve hot. If using ribs, see there's a bone bowl on the table.
NOTES:

  1. Spare Ribs:

      Weight is after removing any excess fat. This recipe is also made with pork belly - tasty but fattier. If using pork belly use about 10 ounces, cook about an hour and a half, and you may want to defat the stock before serving.

  2. Lotus Root:

      Weight is with inedible joints and ends cut away but before peeling. Fresh lotus root can be found in many markets serving East and Southeast Asian communities. It can also often be found peeled, sliced, par boiled and vacuum packed in the refrigerated section. For details see our Lotus page.

  3. Pepper:

      In China they generally use white pepper which has the hotness but not the flavor of black pepper. Personally, I use the black anyway, but then, I'm one of those despised barbarians.
  4. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
com_piglotus1 080323 rcc244   -   www.clovegarden.com
©Andrew Grygus - agryg@aaxnet.com - Linking to and non-commercial use of this page is permitted.