A Soup for All Seasons

Until I had my first transcendent sip of creamy clam chowder, I was under the impression that soup could only be a clear, lightly flavored broth to clear the palate after a meal. Growing up as the child of Chinese immigrants, I remember asking for my favorite — winter melon soup — for my 12th birthday. It was (and is) a fragrant amber liquid with translucent rectangles of winter melon and pork so soft and mild it melts off the bone.

As a vegetarian, I miss this soup a lot. Fortunately, I now have A Tradition of Soup to fall back on. More patient and maybe just a little more knowledgeable than my mother, this is a treasure trove of Chinese soups and wisdom, from the light tong I grew up with to heartier rice porridges and noodle soups. Author Teresa Chen delves into the philosophy behind Chinese soup, its many ingredients and healing properties within Chinese herbal medicine, techniques and equipment for both quick and slow soups, and just about everything you could think to ask about soup.

(An illustrated glossary with color photos and pronunciation guides empowers even the tyro Chinese soup maker to march boldly into an Asian supermarket and emerge with the right ingredients. Chinese is a difficult language to pronounce, but being able to point at a photo and gesticulate should land you that elusive dried bird’s nest or tree fungus.)

And of course there are the recipes: a huge variety of soups for every taste, function, and season. From a quick, colorful spinach and tofu soup to a medicinal ginseng chicken stew, there’s something for everyone — including vegetarians craving winter melon soup. In the vegetarian section, I was delighted to find:

Four Items Plus Winter Melon Soup

(A balancing, cooling soup)

• 1/4 cup lotus seeds
• 1 piece Mandarin orange peel (about 1/3 of a whole peel)
• 3 TBS foxnuts (1 oz), rinsed
• 1 cup raw pearl barley (2 oz), rinsed
• 3 honey dates, rinsed
• 2 lbs winter melon, scrubbed, seeded, and cut into 2″ cubes with rind on
• 3 carrots, peeled and roll-cut into 2″ pieces (optional)
• 3 thin slices peeled fresh ginger
• 4 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)
• 1/4 cup lily bulb scales (1 oz), rinsed

Rinse and soak lotus seeds in warm water for 1 hr, drain, and remove any green centers. Soak Mandarin peel, drain, and scrape off and discard the white pith.

In a large pot, combine lotus seeds, orange peel, foxnuts, barley, and dates with 2 1/2 quarts water and bring to boil over high heat. Continue to cook for 30 min. Add winter melon, carrots, and ginger, return to a boil, then reduce to medium and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Add fresh mushrooms and lily bulb scales and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Serve hot.

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Short of having a wise Chinese grandmother with the time and inclination to teach you, A Tradition of Soup is the next best thing. Impressively thorough and full of delicious and unusual recipes, this book may just open up your qi and tonify your blood. It will, at the very least, offer you a rich sampling of Chinese food culture, kitchen lore, and soups.

This post was written by our marketing intern Jennifer.

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