Black Bean Soup

I love soup! A bowl of steaming soup makes me feel at home, well taken care of. This is because when I was a kid, grandma would feed my siblings and I a simple meal of white rice with soup. I remember how she would prepare a huge bowl of rice and mix it with soup of the day (most often on the menu was lotus root or peanut), added a dash of soy sauce and lots and lots of crispy shallots. If it was lotus root, she would dice them into small cubes and shred the pork as well. We would run around the living room and she would patiently feed us spoonful by spoonful, until every single grain of rice was finished. Love you grandma!

Here's one of my all time favourite soup. A simple nourishing concoction yet very easy to put together. Here's what I used.

Well we all know that chinese herbs are good for us but how so? Here's how;

• Red dates -Nourishes blood, calms the mind, fights insomnia and restlessness, delays aging; it also prolongs, enhances and harmonizes the effect of other ingredients
  
• Yoke Chok - nourishes stomach and lungs, fights impotence
  
• Dong Sum -benefits spleen and lungs, boost immunity, nourishes blood, lowers blood pressure, restores appetite, promotes digestion
  
• Kei Chi - benefits eyes, liver & kidney, lowers blood pressure, sugar & cholesterol level
  

My, I feel enlightened! :)

Now here's what you need;

• Chinese herbs, as shown above. A little bit of each will do. Rinse before you dump them into the pot.
• A few pieces of pork (ribs, lean meat or bones)
• 1 cup of black beans (more if you love beans), pan fried without oil.
• 2 litres of water
• Salt to taste (or not, up to you)

fresh pork & pan fried black beans

And here's what you should do;

• Boil water in a large pot, let it come to a boil then add pork, pan fried black beans and herbs. Simmer for a few hours, till beans are tender. That's it baby!

boil away!

Simple no? Believe it or not, it could be even simpler. Use a pressure cooker to save time. The result is just as good.

And.....I forgot to take pictures of the end result! I think I'll need to add some other herb that aids memory in the future ;)