Since I just cooked this for lunch, I might as well continue documenting recipes 😁 Soups are so easy to cook. Yummy, nutritious and a great one-dish meal! And there is nothing more classic than Old Cucumber Soup 老黄瓜汤.
As always, I like to keep things simple. This soup is so classic, yet customizable with red dates, goji berries, corn, etc. It’s really up to you. For today, I’ll just focus on the fundamentals. Which is also my approach to life in general.
Ingredients (Serves 4-5 pax)
500g Prime Ribs (2 packets of fresh prime ribs from NTUC Fairprice)
500g Fresh Old Cucumber
40g Dried Squid
3 big dried scallops or 5-6 small dried scallops
(Optional) 1 can of button mushrooms
The Night Before
1. Soak the dried squid in water for ~20-30mins.
a. Drain the soaking water
b. Rinse with running water for 2 to 3 times.
c. Remove the plastic-like squid gladius/pen
d. Cut into strips
2. Soak the dried scallops in water for ~5mins.
a. Drain the soaking water
b. Rinse with running water for 2 to 3 times.
3. Wash the skin/surface of the old cucumber
a. Slice it into half, length-wise
b. Remove the seeds
c. Cut into slices
4. Boil the prime ribs to remove/reduce any unpleasant smell/taste
a. Bring a saucepan of water to boil
b. Drop in the prime ribs
c. Remove when the water returns to boil
5. Add the ingredients from Steps 1 – 4 into 1.5 litre of water
a. Bring to a boil on high heat
b. Continue boiling on medium heat for 30mins
6. Place item 5 into Thermal Cooker
Actual Meal Day
7. In the morning
a. Remove any floating oil & particles from the soup
b. Reheat to a boil
c. Return to Thermal Cooker
8. (Optional) Just before serving
a. Add in the brine from the canned button mushrooms
b. Bring to a boil
c. Add in the canned button mushrooms
d. Off fire & serve
Starting in the Early Morning
1. Soak the dried squid in water for ~20-30mins.
a. Drain the soaking water
b. Rinse with running water for 2 to 3 times.
c. Remove the plastic-like squid gladius/pen
d. Cut into strips
2. Soak the dried scallops in water for ~5mins.
a. Drain the soaking water
b. Rinse with running water for 2 to 3 times.
3. Wash the skin/surface of the old cucumber
a. Slice it into half, length-wise
b. Remove the seeds
c. Cut into slices
4. Boil the prime ribs to remove/reduce any unpleasant smell/taste
a. Bring a saucepan of water to boil
b. Drop in the prime ribs
c. Remove when the water returns to boil
5. Add the ingredients from Steps 1 – 4 into 1.5 litre of water
a. Bring to a boil on high heat
b. Continue boiling on low to medium heat for 2 – 3 hours
6. Occasionally
a. Monitor water level, and adjust fire
b. Remove any floating oil & particles from the soup
7. Just before serving
a. Add in the brine from the canned button mushrooms
b. Bring to a boil
c. Add in the canned button mushrooms
d. Off fire & serve
If you like soups, I highly recommend getting a thermal cooker, so all the prep work can be done the night before!
