A nourishing Chinese old cucumber slow simmered soup which aids in “cooling” the body.
Cook it overnight in thermal pot for a richly flavored and thick soup.
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What is Old Cucumber?
Old cucumber is simply cucumber that has been aged, used as the main ingredient to make this simmered Chinese soup. As the old cucumber is believed to have “cooling” effects, we usually make this soup during hot weather to “cool” the body.
When using the old cucumber, do remember to scrub the skin well. I am quite lazy (lol) as I don’t really have a lot of time, so I usually just peel off the skin. If you peel off the skin too, then remember to cut the old cucumber in larger pcs so they do not disintegrate into the soup.
For the seeds, you can use a metal spoon to scrap them out, before cutting into pcs.
>> MORE CHINESE SOUP RECIPES:
What Other Ingredients Do We Also Use?
For Chinese soups, we frequently like to use red dates, dried scallops and ikan bilis for added flavor. Sometimes we may also add in dried cuttlefish.
- Dried Scallops: Use the M or L sized dried scallops. I like to use the M size Japanese dried scallops that can be bought from local Chinese medicinal hall.
- Dried Cuttlefish: Optional. If you’re adding this, consider adding a small pc of ginger to get rid of the “fishy” taste.
- Pork Ribs: You can get spare ribs if you would like to eat the ribs together with the soup. Otherwise pork soup bones would be fine. Do ensure you blanch the ribs or bones in a separate pot of boiling water.
- Carrot / Corn: These 2 ingredients can make the soup taste “sweeter” with added flavors, as the old cucumber is quite bland on itself. Don’t skip these 2 ingredients!
How Can We Make the Soup Taste Better?
You can simmer the soup over the stove (medium-low heat), for about 1.5 to 2 hours to bring out the rich flavors.
This time, I used my Thermos thermal pot (1.8L). I boiled the soup the night before, on the stove, for about 20 mins to a roaring boil. Then I transferred the inner pot to the thermal pot overnight. If you are using this method, do ensure that you reboil (to a roaring boil) every 6-8h for food safety reasons.
If you look at the picture above, you can see how thick the soup is! It tastes extra nourishing and warm for cool weather too!
Old Cucumber Soup
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 3 Adults 1x
Description
A nourishing Chinese slow simmered soup which aids in “cooling” the body. Cook it in thermal pot for a richly flavored and thick soup.
Ingredients
- 1 L water
- 1 small / medium sized old cucumber (cut)
- 1 sweet corn (cut)
- 1 medium sized carrots (peeled and cut)
- 150 g pork ribs
- 1/2 small rice bowl of ikan bilis
- 2 red dates
- 1–2 medium sized dried scallops
Instructions
- Prepare the pork ribs by blanching in a pot of boiling water (aside from the 1L water stated above), for about 5 mins. Off heat and drain. Rinse the ribs to get rid of scums.
- Prepare ikan bilis, red dates and dried scallop by rinsing. Set aside.
- Bring the 1L water in thermal inner pot to a boil. Add in pork ribs, corn, carrot, old cucumber, ikan bilis, red dates and dried scallop. Once reached a roaring boil, turn down the heat slightly and let the soup continue boiling for about 20 mins. Off heat and remove pot. Place inner pot into thermal pot to continue “cooking”. Reboil every 6-8h until serving time.
Notes
1. Ensure that you scrub the old cucumber well if you are cooking with skin. Also scrap out the seeds with a metal spoon.
2. If you do not have thermal pot, simply simmer the soup over low heat, on the stove, for about 1.5-2h for best taste.
3. Serves 3 adults or 2 adults 2 kids (1 bowl of soup each).
- Category: Dinner, Soup, Lunch
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Chinese
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