watercress soup

this is suppose to be a neutral and "balancing" soup according to the principals of tcm. one of my favorite soups. when i was little, i would use the hollow stalks as a straw to drink the soup!


Ingredients

watercress

300 gms  watercress vegetable
1 pc       sun-dried tangerine (medium sized)
2 pcs      dried fig fruit 
5 pcs      red dates (pitted)
2 pcs      dried oysters (medium sized)
1 tbsp     sweet & bitter almond mix
1 pc        lean pork medallion 
              (cut into large strips of cubes)
2.5 ltr     filtered water

              coarse salt (for soaking watercress)
              sea salt to taste

sweet & bitter almonds,
sun-dried tangerine, dried figs,
red dates & dried oysters

• boil 2 ltr of water in a medium sized pot and 500 ml of water in a small pot
• soak watercress for a few minutes and discard the water. re-soak watercress in water with a heaped tablespoon of coarse salt, leave for 5 - 10 minutes. clean watercress and drain residual water
• when the small pot of water boils, add pork and boil for a minute or so. drain & leave aside
• wash figs, red dates, dried oysters and almond mix, and leave aside
• when the large pot of water boils, add the pork first then the rest of the prepared ingredients. close lid. boil for about 20 minutes on medium heat.
• then turn heat to minimum and boil for 4 - 5 hours. depending on the type of pot you use, you many need to add some water in between
• add sea salt just before you serve the soup & turn up the heat for 5 minutes. do not stir soup vigorously after adding salt
• makes about 4 - 5 bowls of soup ... enjoy =)

sun-dried tangerine

Notes

for a vegetarian version, omit the pork and oyster. add in a cup of washed soy beans to add to the "sweetness" of the soup.

you may also use a slow cooker to boil the soup. you do not need to add any more water in between. just make sure you add boiling water to slow cooker before adding the ingredients. will need to boil for about 5 - 6 hours.

for a no frills version, all you need is some watercress, red dates, oyster and some meat (or soy beans for vegetarians)