Sunday, March 11, 2012

Bok Choy Soup

Gold and Silver Bok Choy Soup with Mushrooms

Home made bok choy soup is delicious and yet very easy to do.  You only need some time for preparation.  But why call it gold and silver?  Look at the ingredients here and you'll know.  The dry version of the bok choy is gold, the fresh version is silver.  This is the the Chinese way of naming our dishes beautifully.  Together with the mushroom, the soup is extremely delicious, low calories, high fiber and zero cholesterol.  You don't even need to add any meat to it, so it is good for vegetarians and weight watchers.  Of course you can add pork or spare ribs to your own taste.

I like things simple.  So he is my simple recipe of bok choy soup.
Bok Choy Soup Ingredients
  1. Some dry bok choy  (free from my sister-in-law)
  2. 1 Catty of fresh bok choy, buy those with extremely thick meat (HK$9)
  3. Several mushrooms, use big ones with extremely thick meat (from my kitchen stock, c.HK$20)
  4. One piece of ginger
Bok Choy Soup Cooking Directions
  1. Soak the dry bok choy for a few hours (don't throw away the soak water)
  2. Soak the mushrooms for a few hours in hot water.  If cold water, soak overnight. (don't throw away the soak water)
  3. Boil 6 bowls of gold bok choy water and one bowl of mushroom water and one bowl of plain water.  These will add extra fragrance to the soup.  Make sure to use the top layers of water, as towards the bottom, there may by some impurities.
  4. Bring water to boil, add all ingredients, and bring water to boil again.
  5. Turn heat down and let the soup simmer for an hour.
  6. Turn to high heat again for 1 minute, add salt and dish up.

My Bok Choy Soup is completely crystal clear and not oily. If you wish, you may add a few drops of EVO to your own taste. 

Why Bok Choy Soup
If you know why I set up this food blog and have read my fasting blog, you would know that I'm a health conscious individual.  But I don't have to surrender delicious food becasue of my eating habit (eat less in principal).  Bok Choy Soup for example, it's simple, easy, delicious, healthy and inexpensive.  I enjoy cooking at home as it is fun and healthy.  If you care to cook some healthy yet delicious food for your family, take a look at my friend Nicholas Zhou's cook book for more healthy cooking ideas.

Some Quick Nutrition Facts About Bok Choy
  • Very low in calories. Only 13 calories per 100 gram
  • Rich in vitamins A, C and K, minerals and anti-oxidants
  • Rich in dietary fiber
  • Zero cholesterol
Hong Kong Food Blog - Home Made Bok Choy Soup

3 comments:

Jacqueline said...

Hi Anna,
I am a food blogger who has recently moved to Hong Kong from London. It is really nice to come across your blog. It provides a lot of inspiration for local recipes. Thanks for sharing!

Riverbeds of my Mind said...

Hi there!
I found your blog recently while doing research for a Research Project on Chinese cooking and I love it. All your information is really useful and the recipes look delicious! I can't wait to make them. I was wondering if you would answer a few questions to help me out with my research?

1.How does Westernized Chinese food differ in taste to traditional Chinese food?
2.What ingredients are difficult to source and are there substitutes that you would recommend?
3.What are the most important cooking techniques to know when cooking Chinese food?
4.What are the main flavours created in Chinese cooking?
5.If you were limited to six ingredients with which to create Chinese food what would they be?
6.Are there any traditions that you still uphold when consuming Chinese food?

That would be a huge help!!!
Many thanks,
from Annie
PS. sorry for posting this as a comment but I didn't think there was a way to send it as a private message.

Linda said...

Wonderful. Thank you for sharing.