Chinese (Napa) Cabbage Soup, cooked with Pork Bones - 大白菜汤
My variations with Chinese cabbage, also known as Napa Cabbage, Wong Bok cabbage or 大白菜 (Da Bai Cai) include using them as a vegetable wrap (Note: Comparing to round cabbage, I prefer Napa cabbage as wraps as they take shorter time to cook), having them steamed, or stir-fried and using them in soups. Napa Cabbage can make a soup very tasty as it has tonnes of natural sweetness. It is also known as "king of vegetable" with its high vitamin and mineral contents. It has high dietary fiber, especially digestible fiber after being cooked. So take care - if you are having a diarrhea, please DO NOT take Napa cabbage, unless you want more bowel movements! :O
Note: We tend to braise these cabbages and cook them for a longer time than greens, since this cabbage becomes more flavorful (soft and tender) the longer you cook.
But I would advise not to overcook it. First of all, vitamins such as Vit. C that cannot withstand high heat will be gradually lost though you still get the fiber and other benefits of this vegetable.Second, if you cook it for too long e.g slow simmering for something like 2hrs, it may turn sourish. Nasty nasty!
This is one easy, tasty and nutritious soup that everyone can make at home. I am submitting this soup to Souper Sunday. I found out about this blog event by chance and since I am a fan of soups (Chinese, Indian, Western, Cream, Clear, Thick, Thin etc.), I should jolly well participate.
Chinese (Napa) Cabbage Soup (cooked with Pork Bones) 大白菜汤
Ingredients: 3-4 big pork bones, blanched (Note: substitute with chicken); about 1/2 bunch of Napa cabbage, rinsed and sliced into wedges; salt to taste; 2 gloves garlic, crushed (optional)
Directions: Place blanched pork bones and cabbage into deep pot and start boiling. When starting to boil, turn to low heat and simmer for 45minutes. Turn off heat. Pinch of salt to taste. (Note: Often, I like to add in crushed garlic at the end of everything and allow the raw garlic to infuse slowly in the soup. This does not over-degrade garlic under prolonged cooking; yet able to extract certain beneficial chemical compounds of garlic)
P.S. I have made a few minor changes to my blog, if you have noticed. (A) I have changed the categories to "cloud" (adding labels by specific ingredients instead of solely broad classifications) from the standard label listing. Hopefully, this will help you search for interest ingredients. (B) There is also a Blog Giveaway which updates you of happenings in my blog. Some events run for a few months while I will be also holding a few for specific months. Stay tuned.
Tag: napa cabbage, soup
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