To Cook
In a sauce pan, bring water to the boil over medium heat.
Boil the prawns’ heads and peels for 2 mins and remove. Use only the stock.
Bring the stock to the boil, adding lemongrass for half a minute, then add mushroom, prawns, kaffir lime, fish sauce, lime juice and chilli.
Remove from heat and serve in soup bowls. Garnish with fresh coriander.
Soup
Korean Soybean Paste Hotpot (Doenjang Jjigae)
To Cook
Add water and dried anchovies to a Korean clay pot or a sauce pan. Bring this to a boil, skim off impurities that float to the top. Reduce heat and simmer the stock for about 10-12 mins. Discard the anchovies and add more water if stock has reduced considerably during cooking.
Add the potatoes and cook at a simmer until the potatoes have softened. Add onions,garlic and soy bean paste into the pot and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 mins and add in the rest of the ingredients except chilli powder. Simmer the soup until the zucchini have slightly softened.
Sprinkle in chilli powder (if using) at the end of cooking. Jjigae should be served bubbling hot in the clay pot.
Your Doenjang jjigae is ready!
You can add mushrooms, seafood and other vegetables into jjigae. Also substitute dried anchovies with beef if preferred. Quickly sauté beef with garlic in the clay pot before adding water if using beef.
Kimchi Stew (Kimchi Jjigae)
To Cook
Heat saucepan, add pork and sauté gently for a few minutes or until light in colour. Do not brown meat. Add kimchi and cook for about 1 min, stirring. Add kimchi juice and water to the pork and kimchi mix and bring it to a boil. Skim off any impurities and simmer gently for at least 20-25 mins, lid covered.
Add onions and continue simmering jjigae for another 10 mins. Jjigae is ready when kimchi is well softened.
Prior to serving add tofu and butter. Serve hot and bubbling in dookbaegi or saucepan.
Your Kimchi Jjigae is ready!
N.B: Serve jjigae in a dookbaegi for more authentic Korean presentation.
Chinese Black Bean Soup
To Cook
Blanch pork ribs pieces in a pot of boiling water for about 5 mins. Remove the pork ribs and set aside. Discard the water.
Fill a soup pot with 1.5L of water, along with all ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat. Allow the pot to boil for approximately 10 mins, then turn heat down to the lowest, and allow to simmer for at least 2 hrs, or until the black beans are soft.
Add salt to taste and serve hot.
Thai Hot and Sour Prawn Soup (Tom Yum Goong)
To Prep
Devein prawns, rinse and pat dry with paper towel.
To Cook
Heat oil in pot and quickly stir-fry pounded dried shrimp, chillies, lime leaves, galangal and lemongrass for 1 min. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 10 min.
Adjust seasoning to taste, garnish and serve hot.
Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai)
To Cook
Combine coconut milk and water in a saucepan and place over high heat until boiling.
Add galangal, chicken, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar.
Allow to boil for a few minutes before adding lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves.
While boiling, add mushrooms and boil until just cooked before removing from heat.
Garnish with red chilli and coriander before serving.
Watercress Soup (Sai Yong Choi Tong)
To Cook
Prepare the watercress by separating the leaves from the stalks.
Blanch the chicken carcasses in vigorously boiling water for 2-3 mins. Discard water and remove any impurities on the bones.
Blanch the pork in vigorously boiling water for about 10 mins, then discard water. Remove any impurities on the pork.
In a large pot, add the chicken carcasses, pork ribs, Chinese almonds, blacked eye peas and watercress stalks to 2l of water.
Turn on the heat to medium high and allow to boil for an hour.
After an hour, add the watercress leaves, red dates, and goji berries to the soup. Allow the soup to boil for at least another hour on medium heat.
Season with salt to taste. Serve hot.
Tomato Tofu Egg Drop Soup
To Cook
Pour the water and stock into a large pot and boil over medium-high heat.
Add the tomatoes to the soup and cook until they are tender.
Carefully add the tofu to the soup so as not to break them.
Once the soup comes to a boil again, quickly turn off the heat and slowly pour in the eggs into the soup. Make sure you continually stir the soup when adding the eggs.
Season with salt and serve while hot.