Spicy Belly Soup 胡椒豬肚湯

Who else is suffering from bloating?

I’m here to give you a dietary solution. Chinese is very good at dealing with health issue through daily diet. Spicy soup to deal with bloating is a perfect example. This is really clever, because even if it won’t work, we still got something delicious to eat. However spicy soup in clearing bloating always works. I see great results every time I drink it.

If you’ve read my post about ‘why I set up this blog’, you’ll know that I used to suffer from bloating quite badly. Though it’s been improving since I practice intermittent fasting, it is still bothering me occasionally. Recently I feel really bad and I remember this traditional Chinese dietary wisdom. It is cheap and delicious though with a little preparation work.

Spicy Pork Belly Soup Ingredients
 - 1 pork belly (HK$20)
 - 1 pack of pickled vegetable (HK$7)
 - Some white pepper

Preparation
The Spicy Soup ingredients are really simple, but it involves quite a bit of work in cleaning up the pork’s belly, which is actually the stomach of a pig. Therefore the best is to place an advance order and ask the pork seller to do the cleaning work for you. Today I just think of it and want to do it immediately, so I have to clean it myself. Here are the steps.

How to clean a pork belly
1. Remove all fats.
2. Drain the belly and flush out as much dirt as possible.
3. Cut open the belly and scratch away the dirt with a knife.
4. Rub with some organic dish drops; you can use salt and flour as an alternative.
5. Drain well until it is not smelly at all.
Cooking procedures
1. Par boil the pork belly in boiling water for a few minutes.
2. Cut the belly into small pieces.
3. Rinse the pickled vegetables in water to avoid the soup being too salty or too sour.
4. Grind some white pepper. The hotter the better in clearing the gas in our digestive system. Depending on the heat you can put on, use as much as you want. As for myself, I like to have my throat feeling on fire while drinking.
5. Boil 6 bowls of water.
6. Add the belly, pickled vegetable and pepper. Turn heat down after boiling.
7. Cook for one hour with low heat. **I use Amway, so low heat is fine. You may use slightly higher heat if you use other utensils. Keep simmering.
8. Turn to high heat for the last 5 minute before serving.

Spicy Belly Soup 胡椒豬肚湯

If you think that there is too much work, you can simply enjoy this soup from any Chiu Chow restaurant. But since they are serving the general public, their taste is relatively mild. If you want to have the ‘throat on fire’ feeling, it’s better to cook it yourself. I usually cook a big pot and consume for 2-3 days and see my bloating problem gradually improve.

For more healthy Chinese cooking ideas, visit my chef friend Nicholas Zhou’s website.

Hong Kong Food Blog - Spicy Belly Soup 胡椒豬肚湯