Tag Archives: soup

Today’s Simple Dinner – Lotus Root Soup With Peanuts, Red Dates & Chicken Drumstick

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Posted by Vedis on January 15, 2010 – 7:45 pm
Filed under Chinese Dishes, Chinese Soup Recipes, Malaysian Dishes, Today's Simple Dinner

Too busy to cook last night due to a sudden increase of assignments. Wow, if it was like this every week, my bank account would be fat. :-)

I was able to cook tonight’s dinner because I completed 98% of the assignments. According to a blogging pal, there’s going to be another round of assignments today or tomorrow. Woo Hoo!

What did I cook for dinner? Of course, soup again. Tonight’s soup is Lotus Root Soup with Raw Peanuts, Chicken Drumstick and Red Dates.

Lotus Root Soup With Raw Peanuts & Red Dates
Photo Credit for Lotus Root Soup

This soup is traditionally cooked using pork ribs but there was no pork today, so I used chicken drumstick. So weird! Since I started cooking at home, I haven’t been able to buy any pork.

Ingredients:

1 lotus root, washed and skinned. Cut the roots cross-wise so that they look like wheels
1 chicken drumstick, washed and marinated with soy sauce/oyster sauce
200g raw peanuts
15 red dates
500ml water
Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Place the water, lotus roots, raw peanuts and red dates into the slow cooker.

2. Put on low and cook for 2 to 3 hours or until well cooked.

What a simple, homey, and economical soup! Of course, it’s a very light, pleasing, and refreshing soup that I just couldn’t stop sipping.

As for the chicken meat, it seemed to be softer and more tasty after hubby told me to marinate it with soy sauce or/and oyster sauce first.

As usual, there’s a vegetable dish. Tonight’s vegetable was Choy Sam aka Chinese Flowering Cabbage with Oyster Sauce.

What I did was I added Choy Sum into the pot of Lotus Root Soup and simmered until it was bright green and tender. It’s about 1 minute.

Then, I removed the Choy Sum from the soup, placed it on a plate and drizzled it with oyster sauce.

Yay, it’s Saturday again tomorrow! No need to cook. ;-)

Try Skinny Veggie Soup To Reduce Your Calorie Intake

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Posted by Vedis on January 13, 2010 – 1:27 pm
Filed under Soup Recipes

I am doing right to cook healthy Chinese soup, especially vegetable soup, almost 4 to 5 times a week. :-)

According to studies, just by starting a meal with a fiber-rich bowl of broth-based veggie soup, you can reduce your total calorie intake by 20 percent.

One of the advantages of consuming veggie soup is that it takes the edge of your hunger and fills you up quickly, thus you end up eating less of your rice and other dishes.

I came across Joy’s Skinny Veggie Soup at www.JoyBauer.com. See if you are interested to cook up a pot of low-cal, fiber-rich veggies soup.

Joy Bauer 90-10 Cook Book
Cooking With Joy: The 90/10 Cookbook

Joy’s Skinny Veggie Soup Recipe

Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup diced onion
3 stalks celery, diced
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
8 cups (2 quarts) reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 carrots, sliced
1 zucchini, diced
3 cups chopped cabbage (about 1/2 cabbage head)
2 cups cauliflower florets (fresh or frozen)
1 cup green beans, chopped (fresh or frozen)
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes (preferably no salt added)
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons red wine or balsamic vinegar

Preparation:

Choose one of the following seasoning blends:

Creole: 2 teaspoons dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Italian: 2 teaspoons dried parsley, 2 teaspoons dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon sage, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Garden Herbs: 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

In a large stock pot coated with non-stick cooking spray, sauté the garlic, onion, celery, and mushrooms over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until tender.

Add the broth, remaining vegetables, canned tomatoes, and bay leaves. If you have chosen one of the dry seasoning blends (Creole or Italian) add it now. Bring the soup to a boil, cover, and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Add the vinegar and cook an additional 2 minutes. If you have chosen the fresh Garden Herbs seasoning blend, add it now. Remove bay leaves before serving or freezing.

Yield: 6 servings (2 cups each)