Recipes for Self Isolation
Lo Bak Tong
A nostalgic and hearty soup, great for supporting the immune system and reducing stress and anxiety! There was always a pot of this at my po po's apartment ready for our weekend lunch. I can still smell it from the hallway.
What you'll need:
- about 2 lbs. of pork bones (with some meat and tendon )
- 3-4 large slices of fresh ginger
- salt
- 1 large lo bak (daikon)
- 1 star anise
- 1-2 carrots
optional if you have a Chinese pantry:
- dried orange peel
- dried shan yao (chinese yam)
- 1 red date
* if you want to make a veggie/vegan recipe, make your broth out of 5-8 dried shiitake mushrooms.
Directions
- If your meat is fatty, trim off some of the fat, and salt your pork bones overnight.
- The next morning, bring a large pot of water to a boil and blanch the bones for a minute or so. My Po Po would say this was necessary to "clean the bones", but by this I think she meant that it will ensure you'll get a clear, clean broth.
- Drain the water, and throw your bones into a large soup pot or slow cooker.
- Peel your carrots and lo bak and cut into thick 3 inch pieces. Slice ginger into 1/2 inch pieces.
- Add ginger slices, star anise, lo bak, carrots, and any other additional dried ingredients.
- In a large soup pot or slow cooker, add just enough water to cover your bones. For a slow cooker add about 6-7 cups, and for your pot add 8 cups. Depending on how many people you're cooking for, and how concentrated you'd like your soup to taste, you can play around with these measurements!
- Bring your broth to a LOW SIMMER, making sure that it never reaches a boil, this will cause your soup to become cloudy.
- If your carrots and lo bak begin to get too soft after a couple hours, you can take them out and set aside.
- Cook for at least 2-3 hours and check your soup every once in a while, the longer it cooks the better!
- Serve with salt to taste and a side of rice and dumplings <3