Bowl of Pork Rib & Corn Soup
(click to enlarge)

Pork Rib & Corn Soup


Singapore, England, and California
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 8 cups
***
2.0 hrs
Yes		 A simple soup, but substantial enough to be a light supper - probably not 100% Singaporian though, see Comments.

1-1/2
ar
4
5
14
5
-------
2
1
1/2
1/4
-------
ar
#


oz
oz
c
---
T
T
t
t
---

Spare Ribs (1)
Water
Black Mushroom (2)  
Carrot
Can Corn (3)
Water
-- Seasoning
Soy Sauce
Fish Sauce (4)
Salt
Pepper
-- Serve With
Rice (5)
Prep:   -   (45 min - 20 min work)
  1. Separate SPARE RIBS and chop into lengths no more than 2 inches (a razor sharp Chinese cleaver driven by a soft faced mallet is perfect for this). Put them in a pot, cover with plenty of water and bring to a rolling boil for about 2 minutes. Drain and rinse the ribs and wash the pot.
  2. Soak the MUSHROOMS in warm water for about 1/2 hour. Stem, cut caps in half, then cut at right angles about 1/4 inch wide.
  3. Peel CARROTS. Slice on a diagonal about 1/4 inch thick.
  4. Open CORN and drain.
Run:   -   (1-1/4 hrs)
  1. Put Spare Ribs and Mushrooms in a large saucepan with 5 c Water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour.
  2. Stir in Carrots and simmer another 20 minutes or until they are tender.
  3. When Carrots are ready, Stir in Corn and all Seasoning items. Bring to a boil and turn off heat.
  4. Serve hot in individual bowls, a few ribs and some Carrots in each. When serving, scoop deep, because the Corn Kernels go straight to the bottom.
NOTES:

  1. Pork Spare Ribs:

      Weight is with all excess fat trimmed off. I prefer the parts with a lot of cartilage rather than bone for this recipe. The long cooking will make the cartilage easily edible, and do eat it, it's good for joints and such.

  2. Black Mushroom:

      Also called "Forest Mushroom", these are actually dried shiitakes. For details see our Shiitake Mushrooms page. Some would have you add the soaking liquid to the stock but I consider that a bit overpowering - your choice.

  3. Corn:

      The pattern recipe used 2 whole cobs of fresh corn, then cooked them (and the Carrots) to death. Well, she's based in England. One can of corn equals 2 US cobs, and it works fine. Yes, they have sweet corn in Southeast Asia - it's popular even in Indonesia.

  4. Fish Sauce:

      This clear liquid is as essential to Southeast Asian cuisine as it was to Imperial Rome. If you are unfamiliar with it, see our Fish Sauce - Introduction page.

  5. Rice:

      Steamed Jasmine Rice would be most appropriate. In Asia, they would have a bowl of rice for each person. and some of the soup would be labeled over the rice. For Euro-Americans, it's much more convenient to serve the soup in a bowl for each person, and place a bowl of Steamed Rice on the table to be spooned into the soup as desired.

  6. Comments:

      The pattern recipe is by an expert in Singapore cooking, but she was born and raised in England, and makes this soup from English farm produce. As common with other English cookbooks, she doesn't bother to give recipe names in their native languages, so it's hard to say if this one is truly Singaporian, even though her book is subtitled "Recipes from the Heart of Singapore". In any case, I've added a couple items common to other Southeast Asian pork rib soups, the Mushrooms and Fish Sauce. I've also increased the Carrots, because I like carrots. From all this I flag this recipe "Singapore, England, and California" without apologies.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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