339524 Fri Nov 03 01:47:02 -0800 2006 18 31 Home Cooking 0 1993291 It comes free w/dinner or lunch at certain restaurants. Melanie W had a term for it, like slow fire(?) soup. Does anyone know of a cookbook or other resource which may have recipes for these soups? I've been looking forever and may have even inquired here. Fri Nov 03 01:47:02 -0800 2006 10877 Sarah 1 1993317 Sarah, you got the meaning right, but the not the name. It is called in Cantonese "Old Fire Soup" meaning it is cooked for a long time. I have never seen a cookbook on this but maybe someone has (I would love to have one too). Normally the recipes are handed down from Mother/Father to the next generation. It is just whatever vegetables, bones, and herbs they have in the kitchen that day. The combinations are endless. If there is one you want I am sure someone on this board can help you out. Fri Nov 03 02:01:34 -0800 2006 1993291 10686 yimster 2 1993336 Yimster, someone said that packets of herbs can be purchased at the herbalists specifically for soups. I've always meant to look or ask but never have. Have you noticed anything like this? I'd want to get the one with the ovoid slices of that bark-like seasoning, whatever that is. It's kind of white or light tan and is soft enough after cooking that you can chew it. Fri Nov 03 02:10:55 -0800 2006 1993317 10039 Melanie Wong 3 2044935 I was in an herbalist's shop this week and found out the name of the white root. It's a tuber, like a potato or yam. In Mandarin, it's called shan yao 淮山, meaning mountain medicine. Here's more about it - http://www.foodsnherbs.com/new_page_49.htm Fri Nov 24 17:07:59 -0800 2006 1993336 10039 Melanie Wong 4 2094595 Glad you found out what it was, if I had to guess I wuuld of guessed Wai San also. Wed Dec 13 01:34:52 -0800 2006 2044935 10686 yimster 2 4389134 Since this thread got bumped up again, I'll add a photo of the herbs for making ching bo leung soup. I had an herbalist pull these together for me. http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniewong/321679852/ I cooked those for many hours with two pounds of meaty pork neck bones and one pig's foot. http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniewong/321967216 Wed Feb 04 23:34:18 -0800 2009 1993317 10039 Melanie Wong 3 4391967 For next time. I had my berbalist sell me pound packages of each item and I made my own packages for later use. about 10 bucks for at least six pot of soup. But this soup season. The same ingredients can be used for other soups. Two pot a week works for us. I pick my stuff before Lunar New Years. Hope to have it use up before it gets hot here. Thu Feb 05 20:25:05 -0800 2009 4389134 10686 yimster 1 1993355 Melanie, I have seen package of prepared soup mixes. I purchased any since I can select package of the herbs because the prepackage herbs do not always look fresh and/or good. The soup I think you are thinking of is Ching Po Leung. Mrs. Yimster once read me the instructions was just add water and a piece of pork and cook for a few hours. I think you are better off to pick up a package and ask the herbalist to make you a package to match the amount of soup you want to make. I also remember that the price was kind of high compare to buy packages of each ingredients. You can easily make you own combination. Fri Nov 03 02:18:50 -0800 2006 1993291 10686 yimster 1 1993743 I have a cook book called "The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen" by Grace Young. It has a chapter about foods for healing. There are a few excellent examples of chinese style soup. This book also tries to explain some of the mystery behind the dishes the author grew up with. Fri Nov 03 06:32:16 -0800 2006 1993291 34604 sweetie 2 1994320 Could you tell me the names of some of the soups? Thanks! Fri Nov 03 15:52:00 -0800 2006 1993743 10877 Sarah 3 1996787 Well there is the ever popular Ching Bo Leung (but the recipe tells you to buy the package herbs). Green turnip soup four flavor soup chayote carrot soup two different winter melon soups ginseng soup There are also an assortment of sweet soups. I hope this helps Sat Nov 04 16:09:04 -0800 2006 1994320 34604 sweetie 4 1997353 I agree with Grace in the herbs in the prepackage stuff does not look fresh and mostly of a lower grade. I also check my copy of the book and only a couple of the soup would the old fire soup. I have had great luck in pick up the herbs at the store for a better soup. Sat Nov 04 21:40:09 -0800 2006 1996787 10686 yimster 1 1996401 You don't need herbs necessarily unless you want to reproduce the stuff from restaurants (quite difficult to do since restaurants have industrial BTU quality output from the kitchen) or make soup for a particular ailment. You can actually make a nice home cooked soup, starting with lots of meat (pork for example) and bones. You can even use a smoked ham hock to enhance the flavor, then add some ginger and veg, mushroom as appropriate. The meat and/or bones could be substituted with an entire chicken if you wish, but the smoked ham hock is a technique my parents use at home. You could use "virginia ham" which is a subtitute for the Gum Wah (Jing Hua) Chinese ham. The cooking for the first 2 hours is vital especially if you are using a huge soup pot. The key is getting the water to a boil quickly and for quite a while, then lowering the heat at some point (this takes practice). "Old fire" home soups achieve better results with a gas stove vs electric. Some combos that are nice include watercress and/or Cantonese short stem bok choy + pork bones/smoked pork neck bones + smoked ham hock + a good chunk of pork meat (ask the butcher at the Chinese market what cut would be optimal for soup) + ginger + anything else. whole chicken + smoked ham hock/smoke pork neck bones + pork meat + "snow ear" funghi + mushrooms (optional) and good ol' sea salt (or kosher salt). This is a family favorite. Add corn starch if you want a thicker texture. Or a variation of this w/o snow ear, you can add carrots, lotus root, burdock, shitake (be creative). Carrots make the soup sweeter. With an electric stove, a pot of soup will take 4 to 6 hours. You'll have to keep adding water, since boiling a whole pot will reduce the levels down quite a bit. Add too much and you dilute the flavors. Definitely takes a lot of practice (time, prep, and monitoring). Sat Nov 04 05:51:32 -0800 2006 1993291 12872 K K 1 1996501 For watercress I use northern almonds, southern almonds, juju bees or white figs, pork butt (with less bone). Optional are shitake mushrooms. I always save my shitake stems and sometimes throw them in or just the mushrooms. You have to bring the water to a boil. Make sure you flash the raw pork in other boiling water. Throw all the ingredients in. After it boils you lower the head and cook for about 2 hours. I usually make at least 4 servings. You don't get these ingredients in packages. I think that is for medicine. Sat Nov 04 08:18:43 -0800 2006 1993291 20765 designerboy01 1 2085133 I usually have a craving for those "old fire" soups whenever it gets cold and I feel my bones shivering. Unfortunately, you can't really find such recipes in cookbooks as they are normally passed down as with other traditional family recipes. After searching high and low on the internet, I resorted to asking my mom for a soup recipe just as she was coming up to visit me (great timing). She suggested a Chicken and Shiitake "Old Fire" soup that is great during the winter. She's uses boneless-skinless chicken breasts in place of whole chicken (less greasy and fatty), pork bones (in place of chicken bones), pork meat (for sweetness?), shiitake mushrooms and dried bean curd strips ("foo juk", both soaked till soft and pliable), peanuts, ginger, and dried oysters. Now this is what I call the "Chinese penicillin". Sat Dec 09 20:07:27 -0800 2006 1993291 58774 tarragonoxide 2 2094594 A very good recipe, very close to one I make. But here a few things you may want to try. I normally use just chicken bones and pork bones in making the soup stock. The bones lend more body to the stock. Also recently I have not soaked the dry shitake ahead of time. I just wash the mushrooms and add them directly to the soup. The mushrooms are not as soft but I think there is more mushroom flavor in the soup. Happy cooking on your soups. Since the weather turned cool I have made a lot of soups and stews. Wed Dec 13 01:33:47 -0800 2006 2085133 10686 yimster 2 2097697 Thank you for sharing your mom's recipe. I may get adventurous and throw in some sliced carrots and lotus root too -- saw them in one of the restaurant soups! Wed Dec 13 22:57:01 -0800 2006 2085133 10877 Sarah 1 4389102 Here's an interesting site that can help with those soup cravings: http://www.thechinesesouplady.com We've tried to put on paper those passed down traditional soups - most of them "Old Fire Soups" for people like us who haven't the faintest idea but have a craving! Wed Feb 04 22:59:50 -0800 2009 1993291 263457 LadyTong 2 4392042 What a great site -- thank you -- now to find the ingredients! Thu Feb 05 21:04:06 -0800 2009 4389102 10877 Sarah