Simple home-cooked soups

Soups are normally served as a dish in most meals of a Chinese family.  The important ingredients which forms the base of a soup is either pork ribs, chicken bones, chicken meat and or chicken feet.  These ingredients enhance the flavours of the soup and also provides the natural sweetness to it.  A soup dish need not always have to comprise of many ingredients, a simple soup can also taste yummy! 

The first soup which I would like to share is one which I believe is "Simple Yet Yummylicious" and is the favourite of many.

ABC soup

What you need: serves 3
8 chicken feet
3 chicken thigh
1 fresh corn (cut into pieces)
1 red carrot (peel, cut into chunks)
2 potato (peel, cut into chunks)
3 bowls of water (add more if needed during cooking)

Seasoning:
1/2 tbsp chicken stock granules 
Salt (to taste)

Few simple steps to cook the soup:

1. Clean the chicken feet and thigh, blanch in boiling water and drain.
2. Boil water in a pot, when it starts to simmer put in the chicken feet, corn, red carrot and potato and when it comes to a big boil turn the heat to medium-low for about 10 minutes.
3. Add in the chicken thigh and continue to boil till the chicken feet is soft and the meat is cooked.
4. Add in seasoning, taste and when the soup comes to another boil, off the heat and serve hot.

Bitter gourd soup

Few simple ingredients: serves 1 only
1 small or 1/2 big bitter gourd (cut into big chunk)
1 whole chicken thigh
1/2 tbsp of kei chi (wash and put aside)
1 1/2 bowls of water (add more if needed during cooking)

Seasoning:
1 tsp of chicken stock granules
Salt (to taste)

Few simple steps:

1. Blanch the chicken thigh with boiling water and drain.
2. Heat the water in a pot and when near boiling put in the chicken thigh and bitter gourd.
3. When it comes to a boil turn the heat to low and let it boil till the chicken is cooked and the bitter gourd is soft.
4. Add in kei chi, seasoning and taste.
5. When the soup comes to another boil, off the heat and serve hot.

Chicken with salted mustard soup

Ingredients: serves 3
some chicken bones
3 chicken thigh
1/2 portion of salted mustard
2 tomato (halved)
4 dried mushrooms (wash and soaked)
4 slices  ginger (peeled)
2 salted plum with 1 tbsp of the sauce
3 bowls of water (add more if needed when cooking)

Seasoning:
Salt and msg (to taste)

Methods:

1. Blanch chicken bones and thigh with boiling water, drain and put aside.
2. Wash the salted mustard, cut into pieces and soak in water for an hour to get rid of the saltiness, and drain.
3. Heat water in a pot and put the chicken bones to boil in medium heat for about 20 minutes, then discard bones.
4. Add in salted mustard, sliced ginger and dried mushrooms and simmer in medium heat for about fifteen minutes, then add in chicken thigh and salted plum with the sauce and continue to simmer till chicken thigh is cooked.
5. Add in tomato, seasoning, give it a taste and let it boil for another 1 minute.
6. Off the heat and serve hot.

Note:  I prefer using chicken bones, feet and chicken meat to boil soup because I am only cooking for three.  If you prefer pork ribs, just replace it with the chicken.  For the bitter gourd soup, as I am the only person in the house that eat this vege, so I am only cooking one portion or serving for myself.