Name: Lotus Root and Pork Rib Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 800 g pork ribs, chopped into pieces; 800 g starchy lotus root, peeled and in large chunks; 2 ½ litres water; 40 g ginger, sliced; 4 spring onions, whole; 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine; 1 tbsp white peppercorns, lightly crushed; 2 strips dried tangerine peel, optional; 2 tsp fine sea salt; 3 spring onions, sliced; ½ tsp white pepper

Lotus Root and Pork Rib Soup

Lotus root and pork ribs simmered for two hours until the root goes floury and pulls into starchy threads when you lift a piece. Wuhan's household soup.

2 hr 20 min total Serves 6 servings Easy

Lotus Root and Pork Rib Soup, in preparation
Photograph credit: Lotus Root Soup by chooyutshing · Public Domain Mark 1.0 · Flickr

Making Lotus Root and Pork Rib Soup

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Put the ribs in cold water, bring to the boil and blanch 5 minutes. Drain, rinse them and wash the pot.
Return the ribs to the clean pot with the water, ginger, whole spring onions, wine, peppercorns and tangerine peel.
Bring to a bare simmer and skim, then cook gently, half covered, 60 minutes.
Add the lotus root chunks and simmer a further 60 minutes, until the root is soft enough to break with a spoon.
The broth should have thickened slightly and the lotus root should pull into fine threads when a piece is lifted.
Add the salt and simmer 5 minutes more.
Serve in deep bowls with white pepper and spring onion over.

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Small Things That Help

The starchy variety of lotus root, not the crisp one.
A bare simmer for two hours. Boiling clouds it.
The threads when you lift a piece are how you know it is done.

Changing the Recipe

Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.

What to Serve with Lotus Root and Pork Rib Soup

Steamed rice
A stir-fried vegetable
Chilli oil on the side

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Di San Xian, Garlic Noodles, Green Bean Stir Fry.

Keeping and Reheating

Refrigerated for 3 days and better on the second. Freezes 2 months.