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Some friends told me that they can't imagine how Chinese
people can make beef or pork soups since it usually has bad
smell. Well, it's generally because the Chinese will get rid
of the blood when they slaughter livestocks, while many others
don't. It's the blood that makes the soups smell bad.

One trick to make great soups is to boil the beef/pork for a
while (a little bit before it boils) and then get rid of the
topping on the water. You can repeat this for 2 to 3 times
until no more white bubbles appear. Then you can follow the
directions and move on.

I make Sparerib soups at least once per week. It's very good
for our healthy (I remember that I mentioned it's among the
six most healthy drinks/soups).

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Two soup recipes:


Recipe #1:

Hot & Sour Shrimp Soup


Ingredients:

1 pound of shrimps (medium size)
A dozen of mushrooms
1 stalk of lemon grass
4 cups of water
2 cups of chicken stock
3 lime leaves
6 green peppercorns
3 slices fresh ginger
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of fish sauce (or 4 tablespoons of soy sauce)
3 tablespoons of lime juice
6 hot peppers, pounded lightly (less, depending on taste)
1/2 cup of roughly chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves


Directions:

Remove the shrimp shell and leave the tails (for appearance).
Then cut open the back of each shrimp to remove the veins.

Clean the mushrooms with water and dry them well before
cutting each into quarters. Trim root and tough layers from
lemon grass. Thinly slice first six inches. Bring 2 cups of
stock to boil.

Heat 4 cups of water to boil, then add the stock, lemon grass,
lime leaves, and shrimps. When the shrimps turn pink,
add mushrooms, ginger, peppercorns and salt. Remove the pot
from heat after boiling. Add fish sauce, lime juice, and
hot peppers to taste.

Serve the soup while still hot in individual soup cups and
top each cup with a sprinkle of coriander.
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Recipe #2:

Sparerib Soup

Ingredients:

9 oz (250g) of pork spareribs
1 tsp scallions, chopped, white parts only
5 tsp vegetable oil
1/8 tsp rice wine
3/4 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp MSG
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, chopped


Directions:

1. Wash the spareribs and chop into 1 inch by 2 inch
(3cm X 5 cm) pieces.

2. Heat the oil in a work over high heat until the oil
surface ripples. Add the spareribs and stir-fry for 10 minutes,
or until the ribs turn a lighter color and give off most of
their juices. Place in a heavy casserole with the salt and ginger.

Add 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) of water, cover and bring to a boil.
Boil for 2 hours over high heat, replenishing the water if necessary.
Add the MSG and scallions. Turn down the heat and simmer
for 30 minutes. Remove and serve.



Nicholas Zhou - Author
"Real and Healthy Chinese Cooking" http://www.chinesefooddiy.com/
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