Soup Recipes: Bok Choy (Pak Choy)Soup with Tofu

We do eat rice every day as part of Asian food but no meal is complete without a soup in our every day's dinner.

I got into this habit of boiling soup because my mom had been doing the same routine every day for the past 40 odd years of my life.

Mom said that a home cooked meal regardless of lunch or dinner, must accompanied by a pot of hot soup which we often fondly called it "tang" in chinese language or "theng" in hokkien dialect.

Now that I am a mother myself, I still have the habit to boil soup at every meal, a contagious cooking habit that I inherit from from mom.

I do find that boiling vegetable soup is much easier and quicker than meaty soups.

Furthermore, the nutritious vegetables and tofu are great cooling effects for hot days too.

I recently bought a set of cookware to replace my ols stainless steel pots and ans.

Now, a simple pot to cook soup may cost around $30-$80 depending on the made and brand of a product.

I find that ceramic cookware are better than stainless steel because I could easily wash off the oils, grease from the cookware without using scrubs.

In additional, ceramic cookware quickly heat up compare to stainless steel.

For example the pot which I used to cook Pak choy soup. It took 5 minutes for the water to start boiling like a volcano erupting.

The best part is you can turn "Open" or "Close" the pot glass lid to allow or enclose the heat in the pot.

• According to my mom's physiology concept, she said the benefits of a good soup helps to improve our appetite, provide adequate fluid to our body system which she used this golden chance to cut off our ties with our favorite sodas, ice lemon tea and other cold beverages that we had with our dinner.
• Frankly speaking, it is a bad habit to drink cold beverages when consuming warm meal. Both cold and hot temperature will collide in our digestive system that may caused stomach ache and burping.
• In addition, mom said the another valuable benefit of drinking soup is one could receive lots of nutrients from the various ingredients mixed in the soup.
• You could absorb protein from tofu, a wide range of vitamins and minerals from vegetables and onion or garlic to fight against germs and bacteria.

I prefer to use Knorr brand chicken stock because it taste almost similar to original chicken soup that I had boiled for hours and less salt.

Great for soups, instant noodles and stir fries too.

Each cube could allow you to cook a large pot of soup.

However, I usually use half of the stock, enough for 3-4 persons.

Don't try to money pinch a few cents compare with other brands like TESCO.

Tesco brand is way too salty and non chicken flavor.

Well, one thing for sure, you don’t have to boil chicken or vegetable soup for hours, wasting the gas and electricity bills.

• One of the easiest and most versatile ingredient to add into a delicious soup is the chicken or ikan bilis (anchovies) stock cube, depending on which type of soup you need.
• Each of the cube is made from the finest ingredients to form the original taste of chicken or ikan bilis (anchovies) without any MSG or artificial coloring.
• Alternatively, you could use canned soups such as chicken or beef stock sold at supermarket.

After a week of consuming spicy food and due to the hot scorching weather, I decided to cool down our appetite with a vegetable soup; Pak Choy with Tofu Soup, to ease off the heat in our bodies and absorb more natural nutrients from the vegetable and tofu too.

• Fill in a basin with tap water.
• Separate the pak choy for easy washing
• Dip the pak choy into the basin filled with water.
• Use your fingers to scrub off dirt and mud from the pak choy leaves and the stems.
• Use the kitchen knife to cut off the stems from the pak choy leaves.
• Smash the fat stems slightly flat with the side of your kitchen knife.
• This is to reduce the boiling time as fat stems require a much longer time to soften them.
• Cut the pak choy leaves into halves so that it will be easier for you to chew up the leaves.

• As I had mentioned earlier, you don’t have to boil chicken bones for hours in order to achieve the chicken broth.
• Just use the convenient and easiest way; buy a chicken stock cube which comes in 6 little cubes per pack.
• Sometimes, you could get FREE 2 cubes when there is an offer.
• Do not add in the chicken stock cube into the soup. The chicken taste will turn sour if boil too long.
• Make sure that the vegetable, onion and garlic are semi-soft cooked before you add in ½ of the chicken stock cube.
• If it tastes too bland, add another the balance ½ stock cube.
• Do not add any other seasoning because this chicken stock cube has all the required seasoning.

• Wash a handful of ikan bilis ( anchovies )under running tap water.
• Do not soak them into a bowl as the natural taste of ikan bilis will disperse into the water. Hence. the ikan bilis would be tasteless.
• Throw in the handful of ikan bilis into 1/2 pot of boiling water.
• Let it simmer for 10 minutes until the ikan bilis turn soft.
• Do not add in the seasoning ( salt, pepper, soy sauce ) until the vegetables, onion and garlic are almost cooked.
• Do not add too much salt as the ikan bilis taste a little salty. Add in 1/2 teaspoon of salt and stir well.
• Try out the taste of the broth before adding soy sauce and pepper.
• If the ikan bilis (anchovies) broth taste just right, don't add in the soy sauce.

Selection 1

• slice 4-5 pieces of small shallots into rings.
• Deep fry the shallots with sufficient oil.
• Keep stir fry until they turn brownish and crispy.
• Do not let them burnt.
• If the oil is insufficient, these shallots will turn limp and soft.
• Sprinkle crispy shallots over the soup in different bowls before serving.

Selection 2

• Wash the spring onions or chinese celery.
• Chop them into small pieces or quarters depending on which size you prefer.
• Sprinkle them over the soup in different bowls.
• Add in a dash of sesame oil before serving.