Roasted Butternut Squash Soup ｜ 烤葫蘆南瓜湯

Compare to the non-roasted version, roasted butternut squash instead brings a tremendous different in the flavour.  The caramelized squash enhances the natural sweetness and roasty taste in the soup.

This classic soup is so easy to make and many people are properly eat it throughout fall and winter.  

To fasten the roasting process, I diced the butternut squash and roast it with other ingredients until they are caramelized.  In this way, all ingredients will be ready at the same time and simplify the cooking process.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

烤葫蘆南瓜湯

Ingredients:

1 Butternut Squash

1 Onion

1 cup Carrot

2 sprigs, Sage

1 canned Chicken Soup

2 cups Water

1/4 cup Heavy Cream, plus more to serve

Olive Oil

Salt

How to make it:

1. Rinse the butternut squash; dry it.

2. Half the squash lengthwise.  Scoop out and discard the seeds.

3. Cut off and discard the skin.

4. Dice the squash; set it in a mixing bowl.

5. Skin the onion; cut the onion into 2 cm slices.  Add it to the mixing bowl.

6. Dice the carrot.

7. Slice the sage.

8. In the mixing bowl, combine the carrot, squash, onion, sage.  Drizzle olive oil and mix it until the ingredients are evenly coated.

9. Add the mixture on a roasting pan.  Roast it in the pre-heated at 420F for about 20 minutes or until it is caramelized.  Remove it from the oven.

10. Add the mixture in a pot.  Pour in chicken stock and 2 cups of water.

11. Blend the soup until smooth and make sure no chunks of vegetables left.

12. Heat up the soup over high heat; stirring constantly.

13. Add heavy cream.

14.  Continuously cook until the soup heat through.  Serve immediately.

15.  Add some more cream when serve if desire.

4-Step Tomato Beef Barley Soup

Ingredients:

600 gram gram Beef Tenderloin

1 Onion, peeled

4 stalks Celery

3 Carrots, peeled

1 Canned Tomatoes

4 cups Chicken Broth

4 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

1 cup Barley, rinsed

1 tablespoon Rosemary, dried

1 tablespoon Thyme, dried

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

Salt to taste

Direction:

1. Cut all the vegetables and beef into chunks.

2. In a deep pot, heat up vegetable oil. Add the vegetables and fry them over medium heat until fragrant; about 10 minutes.

3. Add chicken broth, beef, tomatoes, thyme, and rosemary. Boil over medium heat until the beef is tender; about 25 minutes.

4. Stir in barley. Continue to cook until the barley is cooked through and the soup is thicken.

Potato Leek Soup | 薯仔京蔥湯

INGREDIENTS:

2 Leeks, rinsed, cut into 1 cm rounds

3 Potatoes, peeled, cut into small cubes

5 cups Water

1/3 cup Greek Yogurt, plain, 2%

1/2 cup Milk, 2%

2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

Salt to taste

材料：

2 支  京蔥，切成 1cm 塊

3 個  薯仔，去皮，切成小塊

5 杯  水

1/3 杯  希臘乳酪，原味，2%

1/2 杯  牛奶，2%

2 湯匙  米酒

鹽  調味

DIRECTION:

1. In a soup pot, add potatoes, leeks, and water.  Bring it to a boil over high heat until the potatoes are totally soften and starting to fall apart; about 20 minutes.  Add more water if needed.

2. Use a smasher to break apart the softened potatoes and leeks.  Reduce the heat to medium.  Add milk, yogurt, cooking wine and salt.  Continue to boil until the soup reaches to the desired consistency.

做法：

1. 在一只湯鍋內，加入薯仔，京蔥和水。用大火煮至薯仔完全軟身；若20分鐘。如需要可加水。

2. 用壓薯器把軟身的薯仔和京蔥壓散。把火調至中火。加入牛奶、乳酪、米酒和鹽。繼續煮至濃味和湯變濃；關火。

Stewed Milky Chicken with Date and Lotus Seed (Instant Pot Version)｜紅棗蓮子鮮奶燉雞 (壓力煲版)

It is the very nutritious soup that is very good for skin or post-natal nourishment. I made it every winter to boost up our energy. 

Stewed Milky Chicken with Date and Lotus Seed

紅棗蓮子鮮奶燉雞

INGREDIENTS:

2 pcs Chicken Legs, skinless

3 cups Milk, homogenized

1 cup Water

4 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

4 Red Dates

12 Lotus Seeds, cores removed

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

Red Dates are on the left and lotus seeds are on the right.

1. Soak the dried lotus seeds in water until soften.  Remove the green core in the middle of each with a toothpaste, if there is any.

2. Remove and discard the pit in each red date.

3. In a heat-proof container.  Add chicken, dates, and lotus seeds.

4. Pour in milk.

5. Add water and rice wine.  Cover the container with a lid.

6. In an instant pot, add 3 cups of water and place a low rack on the bottom.  Carefully put the covered container on the rack.

7. Put the lid on the instant pot.  Put the venting knob to seal.  Press the "Manual" button once, and then press the "Pressure" button to adjust the pressure to high.  Press the "+" or "-" button to set the time to 10 minutes.  When the cooking process is done, allow the pressure release naturally.  Remove the container from the instant pot right away.

8. Season the soup with salt.  Serve immediately.

Papaya Tofu Salmon Head Soup 木瓜三文魚頭豆腐湯

INGREDIENTS:

1 Salmon Head, cut into large pieces

1 Papaya, peeled and seeded

1 block Tofu, cut into large blocks

2 cups Chicken Stock

4 cups water

4 Ginger Slices

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

DIRECTION:

1. Heat up the oil over high heat. Add ginger; fry until it is fragrant.

2. Add salmon head. Fry for about 5 minutes without stirring it.

3. Add chicken stock and 4 cups of water.

4. Add papaya and tofu.

5. Put the lid on. Boil it over medium-high heat for about 25 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

Tomato, Egg and Tofu Soup 蕃茄蛋絲豆腐湯

Sometime you want some soup but feel too lazy to make it. And this recipe is for such occasion. All you need is to scramble the egg and then let the soup to simmer for 15 minutes. Then, you have a bowl of nutritious soup. Hope you enjoy this recipe. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 large Tomatoes, cut into chunks

1 block medium tofu or silken tofu

2 Eggs, beaten

3 cups Water

1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. Heat up vegetable oil over high heat.  Add beaten egg.  Quickly stir fry until it is well cooked.

2. Add water and tomatoes.  Boil the soup until the tomatoes soften; about 15 minutes.  Add tofu.  When the soup comes to a boil again, turn off the heat.  Season with salt to taste.

Pear, Apple, White Fungus and Pork Bone Soup 蘋果雪梨雪耳豬骨湯

INGREDIENTS:

2 Apples

2 Pears

2 White Fungus

8 Pork Bones

8 cups Water

4 Honey Dates

1 handful Dried Apricot Seeds

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. Core the apples and pears. Submerge the white fungus in water to rehydrate it; tear it into big pieces and discard the hard core.

2. In a large soup pot, add all the ingredients except the salt. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Then reduce the heat to medium-high. Continue to boil for another one hour. Season it with salt to taste.

Lotus Roots, Red Date and Old Chicken Soup 蓮藕紅棗老雞湯

Every Sunday I will make a big pot of soup that enough to last for the whole week.  This lotus root chicken soup is the soup of the week.  The lotus roots are tasty although after couple hours of cooking.  As we don't like food waste, we usually eat everything in the soup.  To replenish the flavour for the lotus root and chicken, serve them with soy sauce.  That is how my mom always does it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Old Chicken, skin off

1 Lotus Root, peeled and chunked

5 Chinese Red Dates, pitted

10 cups Water

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. In a large soup pot, add all ingredients.  Pour in water that enough to cover all ingredients.  Bring it to a boil over high heat.  Then reduce the heat to medium and continuously boil for another 2 hours.  Add more water half way if needed.  Season with salt to taste.

Pork Bone Soup with Chayote, Carrot and Corn 合掌瓜蘿蔔粟米豬骨湯

It's the season of the year, many people seem to either get a cold or a bad cough. A pot of vegetables and pork soup certainly helps relief the dryness of our throats and even skins.

The almond seeds and apricot seeds have great benefit to our body.  They can be easily found in Chinese stores.  These two seeds share a nearly identical apparence, though their flavours are different.  Keep in mind that apricot seeds contains trace of cyanid, we should be caution on the amount of the use.

INGREDIENTS:

8 Pork Bones, rinsed

3 Chayotes, cut into big pieces

2 Carrot, chunked

3 Corn, cut into segment

3 tablespoons Almond Seeds

2 tablespoons Apricot Seeds

2 Chinese Honey Dates

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. In a soup pot, place the pork bone on the bottom.  Then add the rest of the ingredients on top.  Fill the pot with water until the water is enough to cover the ingredients.  Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Skim off the foam on top. 

2. Reduce the heat to medium heat and boil for another 1 hour.  Season the soup with salt to taste.

Tomato, Potato and Beef Bone Soup | 蕃茄薯仔牛骨湯

Tomato, Potato and Beef Bone Soup

蕃茄薯仔牛骨湯

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 pcs Beef Bones, rinsed

6 Tomatoes

4 Potatoes

2 inch Ginger, sliced

7 cups  Water

1 teaspoon Sugar (optional)

Salt to taste

材料：

3-4 件  牛骨，沖淨

6 個  蕃茄

4 個  薯仔

2 吋  薑，切片

7 杯  水

1 茶匙  糖

鹽  調味

DIRECTION 做法:

1. In a pot, add 7 cups of water, ginger, and beef bones.

1. 在一只湯鍋內，下7杯水、薑片、和牛骨。

2. Bring it to a boil.  Then, continue to boil for another 35 minutes over medium-high heat.

2. 水燒滾，然後用中大火繼續煮35分鐘。

3. Skim off the oil and foam on the surface every now and then.

3. 撇去浮起的油和泡。

4. Cut the tomatoes and potatoes into big chucks.

4. 薯仔蕃茄切大件。

5. Add potatoes and tomatoes into the bone broth.

5. 下薯仔蕃茄到牛骨湯。

6. Bring it back to a boil, and then continue to boil for another 20 minutes or until the potatoes soften.

6. 把湯再燒滾。繼續煮20分鐘或直至薯仔軟身。

7. Season it with salt to taste.

7. 下鹽調味。

Silken Chicken Soup with Conch and Red Dates ｜ 烏雞螺頭紅棗湯

Although I moved to Canada for more than ten years, I still have the habit of making soup at least every two week. Vegetable based soup in summer time, and meat based soup in winter time. Soup sometimes can even be a full meal for us, we eat the soup and everything inside it.

If you are hesitate to eat silken chicken because of the dark looking skin, please don't be. Compare to pork and chicken, black silken chicken contains the highest protein, which helps boost up immune system. It is for sure a valuable source for nutrient in winter.

Silken Chicken Soup with Conch and Red Dates

烏雞螺頭紅棗湯

INGREDIENTS:

1 Silken Chicken, medium size

5 Chinese Red Dates, pit removed

4 pcs Conches

8 pcs Chinese Yam, dried

8-10 pcs Longan, dried

4-5 pcs Ginger Slices

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. Bring about 7 cups of water to a boil over high heat.

2. Add all ingredients except the salt. Bring it back to boil again. Then reduce the heat to medium. Continue to boil for another 1.5 hours, adding water if necessary.

3. Finally, add salt to taste.

Coconut and Lime Seafood Soup

Coconut and lime is a good pair, both in sweet or savoury. This soup is a very quick meal since the seafood takes very little time to cook through. If you like spicy, just add more chilli. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Coconut Milk (Not coconut cream)

1 cup Chicken Stock

4 cups Water

1 dozen Mussels (I used frozen)

2 dozen Prawns

2 pieces Cod Fish (I used frozen), cut into big chunks

10 Button Mushrooms, sliced

1 small Onion, sliced

1 Lime

1 Red Chili, cut into small arounds (optional)

1 handful Cilantro, rinsed

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. In a soup pot, combine coconut milk, chicken stock and water.  Bring it to a boil over high heat.

2. Add mushrooms and onion.  Let it to boil for 10 minutes for the flavour to develop into the soup base.

3. According to the order follow, add mussels, cod fish, and prawns.  Let the soup comes to the boil again.  Then, add cilantro and squeeze the lime juice in.  Add chili if you are using.  Season the soup with salt to taste.  Remove the soup from the heat immediately and serve.

Papaya, Peanut and Chicken Feet Soup | 木瓜花生雞腳湯

INGREDIENTS:

1 Papaya

1/2 cup Raw Peanuts,  with skin on

20 Chicken Feet

Water

Salt to taste

材料：

1 個  木瓜

1/2 杯  生花生，連衣

20隻  雞腳

水

鹽  調味

DIRECTION:

1. Rinse the chicken feet and cut off the shape crawls.

2. Peel the papaya.  Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.  Cut the papaya into big pieces.

3. Rinse the peanuts.

4. In a big pot, add chicken feet and peanuts.  Add water that double the volume of the ingredients.  Bring it to a boil, and then reduce the the heat to medium-high.  With the lid on, continuously cook it for about 35 minutes.

5. Add papaya.  Cook the soup for another 20 minutes.  Season the soup to taste.

做法：

1. 洗淨雞腳；把腳尖去除。

2. 木瓜刨皮。用小匙刮去籽，用刀把果肉切成大塊。

3. 花生洗淨。

4. 把雞腳和花生置於一大鍋；加水。水應是湯料的雙倍份量。把水和湯料煮滾，然後把火調低至中大火。蓋上煲蓋，繼續煮飯35分鐘。

5. 加入木瓜。再把湯煮好分鐘。最後放鹽調味。

[Eng Sub] 忌廉磨菇意大利肉腸湯 Creamy Mushroom Italian Sausage Soup

INGREDIENTS:

20 White Mushrooms

20 Brown Mushrooms

20 Shiitake Mushrooms, fresh

1 dozen Italian Sausages (I used honey garlic flavour)

1 cup Dry White Wine

1 cup Chicken Broth

2 cups Milk

3 cups Water

Salt and Pepper to taste

DIRECTION:

Weekday Sausage and Vegetable Soup 週日肉腸菜湯

INGREDIENTS:

1 bundle Swiss chard

3 Carrots

1/3 Celery

1 canned Chickpea

1 Onion

3-4 Sausage of your favourite

1.5 litre Chicken Broth

1.5 litre Water

1/2 teaspoon Dried Thyme

Salt and Pepper to taste

DIRECTION: