Saturday, June 5, 2010

Watercress with Luo Han Guo Soup

School holidays is here and I've got 3 kids at home 24/7.  To make things worse, DH is away in Malaysia for a week's business trip.  Sister C was really nice to offer a sleepover for my children so I only need to handle DD3 alone.  But DS2 developed a fever for no reason during his stay and I had to rush to pick him up, only at this point in time, I appreciate DH's absence as I can use the car.  We spent 2 days at Pasir Ris Park and the kids had a great time at the playground. Anyway, that about sums it up what I've been busy with the past 1 week.

I cooked a yucky looking but has a bittersweet and tangy aftertaste soup - Watercress with Luo Han Guo (罗汉果) from Irene's blog.
“ The dried fruit may be bought in a market. The surface of the fruit is round and smooth, it has a yellow-brownish or green-brownish colour, and is covered by fine hairs. The fruit has a hard but thin shell. Inside, one finds a partially dried, soft substance which contains the juice and a large quantity of seeds. All components are very sweet. Their nature is cool and not toxic. The fruit can act as a remedy for heat stroke, wet the lungs, remove phlegm, stop cough and aid defecation. ”— Dai Yin-Fang, Liu Cheng-Jun, Fruits As Medicine: A Safe and Cheap Form of Traditional Chinese Food Therapy


Watercress Luo Han Guo Soup
Ingredients
400 - 500g watercress
1 Siraitia grosvenorii (羅漢果, 罗汉果, Luo Han Guo), smash the outer shell and use the inner parts
2 candied dates蜜枣
250g pork ribs/lean meat
2 - 2.5 litres water

Method
  1. Wash watercress and separate out stalk and leaves.
  2. Blanch pork ribs/lean meat.
  3. Bring water to boil and add all ingredients except watercress leaves in a pot.
  4. Using medium fire, bring water to boil again, reduce to small flame and simmer for 2 hours.
  5. Remove stalks from pot and add in leaves, continue to cook for another 1 hour.

7 comments:

  1. Delicious soup! I've long time didn't have this! Wish to have a bowl of this now!

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  2. Grace, it's my first time cooking this and I know I'll be cooking this often :)

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  3. I love to cook this whenever I have sore throat. It's very cooling and nourishes the throat :D

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  4. Lohanguo in soup is toooooo sweeeeet for me. Personally, I find it hard to swallow.
    Hey the lohanguo's shell can be used also la. Just put them in, or is it that you discarded it due to medicinal reasons?

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  5. Soup is good for the body and soul.

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  6. noobcook, oh yes, this is indeed good for the throat :)

    Wendy, I usually cook Luo Han Guo without the shell, somehow always feel that the shell is not very clean despite washing it :P

    Edith, my kids love soup and I've been boiling soup very often lately. You are right, soup is good for both body and soul.

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  7. Didn't know can add luo han Guo to savoury soup. Def going to they this out. Kk

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