Spinach, Pork & Century Egg Soup
I was inspired to cook this Chinese-style spinach, pork & century egg soup after eating a similar dish from a popular spinach soup stall at Amoy market. My bowl contains Chinese spinach, minced pork, century egg & wolfberries. The cooking time on the stove is only about 10 minutes! If you prepare the ingredients the night before (e.g. pluck & wash the veggies, marinate the meat etc), you can whip this up effortlessly and quickly when you reach home after work.
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The Chinese spinach leaves need to be cooked in the boiling soup for only about a minute or two, so this soup cooks quickly. Avoid overcooking the spinach so that it returns its vibrant green hue when served.
The minced pork is marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, Chinese wine & corn flour. It is tender and flavourful after cooking. If you don’t consume pork, use minced chicken instead. Serve this homely spinach soup with a bowl of rice or add noodles pasta (bee hoon, tang hoon, macaroni) to make it a one-dish meal.
Spinach, Pork & Century Egg Soup Recipe
This spinach soup is comfort food at its best. Serve this with a bowl of rice. You can add noodles or macaroni to make this a one-dish meal.
For variations, you can use other ingredients such as prawns, mushrooms or salted eggs.
Serves: 2-3
Prep Time: 10 mins (excluding marinating time)
Cook Time: 10 mins
Ingredients:
- 200g minced pork (or chicken)
- 1 packet (200-250g) Chinese sharp/round spinach (苋菜)
- 1 litre water
- 1 chicken bouillon cube, preferably MSG-free
- 1 century egg cubed
- 1 tbsp wolfberries (枸杞子) soaked in water until puffy & drained just before use
- salt or light soy sauce to taste; only if needed
- a saucer of sliced chilli padi in light soy sauce
(A) Marinade
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tbsp Chinese wine (Hua Tiao/Shaoxing)
- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 5 dashes white pepper powder
- 1/2 tbsp corn flour (starch)
Directions:
- Marinade minced pork (or chicken) with seasonings (A) for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.
- Prepare Chinese spinach. Pluck the leaves (discard the stems), rinse in a colander, drain and set aside.
- Make the soup. In a large soup pot, boil water with bouillon cube. Reduce to a simmer. Using two spoons, flatten one spoonful of marinated pork before adding to the boiling soup. Do so until all the pork is used up. Add spinach leaves and century egg; boil for 1 minute. Season the soup to taste with salt or soy sauce, only if needed. Add wolfberries and turn off the stove. Serve with a saucer of chilli padi.