Chinese pork bone soup

with onion, carrot, tomato and potato

(serves 6-8)

So i am pretty new to this Chinese soup business, but mum has provided a few explanation notes for me to try to remember;

1. Pre-boil the bones before making the soup to get rid of the blood and 'floaty bits' and gives a clear broth.

2. Add a few 'sweet' vegetables to naturally sweeten the soup - e.g. carrots, parsnip, tomatoes, onions or corn.

3. Add a few root vegetables to give the soup some substance - e.g. potatoes, pumpkin or swede.

Apparently this soup-making business is very flexible so you can just add what you have and don't have to worry too much if a couple of items are missing. The main thing is that you give it enough time so that the flavour of the bones and meat get into the soup, which gives its' nutrition and flavour!

Prep time: 30 min

Cooking time: 4-8hrs (depending if you have a slow-cooker or thermal cooker)

Ingredients

1kg pork bones for soup (or osso bucco)

2 carrots

2 potatoes

1 onion

4 small tomatoes

3cm piece ginger, skin removed

2-3 L water

Other vegetables that can be added: root vegetables (swede, pumpkin, parsnip)

Method

1. Boil the pork bones in 1.5 L water for 10-15 minutes to release the blood and to get rid of some of the fat. Drain the pork bones, give them a quick rinse and wash the pot. 

2. Place the pork bones back into the clean pot.

3. Peel the carrots and roughly chop into 5cm lengths. Peel the potatoes and onion.

4. Add the carrots, potatoes, onion, tomatoes and ginger into the pot. 

5. Add in 2-3L of water until the pot is filled close to the brim. Bring to the boil and keep at boiling point for 5 minutes.

6. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 hours, or you can put in a thermal cooker or slow-cooker overnight (approx 8hrs). Bring it back to the boil in the morning and place back into the thermal cooker to slow-cook for another 6hrs.

7. When ready to serve, bring back to the boil and add salt to taste.

Nice clear pork bone broth, and you can eat the leftover meat and vegetables with a bit of soy sauce.