Lotus Root Soup with Pork Ribs and Peanuts 莲藕汤
Lotus Root Soup with Pork Ribs and Peanuts 莲藕汤
To me, a bowl of home-simmered Chinese soup is the essence of home cooking, and it’s welcome especially after eating out or having take away for a prolonged period of time. Lotus root with peanuts is like a marriage made in heaven, and I won’t cook this soup if I ran out of peanuts. I love munching on the cooked peanuts which is still quite crunchy after all the simmering. A simple bowl of soup like this reminds me of the wholesome goodness of home-cooked fare.
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Some of the ingredients for lotus root soup. On the right is dried octopus.
Ingredients
(Serves 3)- 2 sections lotus root, about 400g
- 250g pork ribs
- 1 carrot, peeled and cut to small chunks
- 6 dried scallops (optional)
- 1 dried cuttlefish (optional)
- 10 dried pitted red dates
- 1.5 litres water
- 100g de-shelled raw peanuts
- saltDirections
1. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the skin from the lotus root and cut to slices.
2. Blanch pork ribs in boiling water for about 5 minutes, to remove the dirty bits so that you have clear soup later. Rinse blanched pork pieces and set aside.
3. In a pot, add water, lotus root slices, carrots, blanched pork ribs, peanuts, dried scallops, dried cuttlefish and red dates.
4. When soup comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the pork is tender. Discard dried octopus. Season with salt.
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{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
I like the crunchiness of lotus root
Your 莲藕汤 has more ingredients than the usual. Nice.
I got some 莲藕 recently too!
I know what you mean! i ran out of peanuts once and it just was not the same!!
Pork ribs – yummy!
Mmm, lotus root soup is always a winner in my books! wish I could have a big bowl right now!
I am into healthy eating and I find soup like yours very nutritious and good!
Yummy, my kind of soup!
I was looking for those “cups” like yours for steamed soups while in Penang but couldn’t find them. Soups taste the best that way.
It looks very refreshing. I think dried cuttle fish is the finishing touch. Makes the soup more robust.
This is my kind of soup that I love to make at home..very healthy and delicious :)
I love pork rib lotus soup. Yummy yummy……
especially added with octopus and dried scallops!
You may also use sweet corn
My mom makes this soup a lot and she says it’s good for health! I grew up having this a lot ;)
My household’s monthly staple!
Love your addition of the dried scallops. ;)
makes me crave for some homemade soup..so badly
One of my favourtie soups!
I’ve tried lotus root soup using chicken instead of pork ribs and it’s simply not the same. Your version – much closer to the authentic one – looks and (I bet) fares much better. What a perfect soup for a cold, rainy afternoon meal. :)
Wiffy, there is nothing like home-made cantonese soup! I bet this must have been very ‘sweet’ as there is so much liao. I can probably just have this with a bowl of rice and I do love eating the lotus root.
I just purchased my first lotus root…now I can make something with it. Thanks so much for this recipe…
Hello, Wiffy ^^
I was back in Singapore with my husband for a few days, and oh my, the trip was a total local dish galore LOL! XD
We enjoyed lots lots lots of Singapore dishes like chili crab, drunken prawns, hong kong noodle and more!
But we completely forgot about this lotus root soup!!! *cries*
I will try to cook this here in Porto. Wish me luck!
wow, sounds like you had a foodful trip. Don’t worry, I think you ate the more famous Singaporean dishes… sounds like a feast. Have fun cooking the lotus root soup ^^
where to get the dried cuttlefish? if from medicinal halls, nowhere convenient..
and how to handle the cuttlefish? need to clean ?
You can get from supermarket or market or dried provision stores. Just need to rinse before using.
supermarket? under dried goods? i didn’t really see it before. put the whole piece in?
thank you
ya … usually the place where they sell barley, seaweed etc…. Yes I put one piece.
i went to check, is it “bian yu”?
rehi, i looked through your recipes for a ‘vegetarian’ soup but did not see any. do you know any that i can use? i do not know if omitting those meats in your recipes will result a bland taste as most times meat / ribs / dried scallops are those that make the soup flavorful.
please advise. thanks
hi, please confirm is it “bian yu” as on the shelves so that i can go ahead and buy? thanks
Hi jur, I’m not sure the Chinese name. But I have just added a photo of the dried Octopus (see second photo). You can see if it looks like it.
thank you for your effort.
hi, jur,
it is NOT ‘bian yu’. this is a small dried fish.
dried squid is smaller , cantonese is called ‘ yu yi’
Octopus is different from a squid !
I have always wondered about this lotus root vegetable. it is not something that I see in my country. Is it starchy like a potato?
It’s a little starchy but not like potato. Try it one day… it’s healthy vegetable :)
I like the pork ribs dip with soy sauce :)
I made this soup for dinner, and loved it! However, my husband commented that it was a little bland… How can I improve it?
Ps: I omitted the cuttlefish, was that the problem?
Did you use too much water? the cuttlefish adds a lot of flavour and depth to the soup, try it next time :)
I bought my first lotus root this morning and now trying out this soup. but when do I add the carrots??
add them in step 3. sorry, I have corrected the recipe.
I love this soup! But my husband thinks that mine 不够味, compared to my mil’s, despite the fact that my version has more ingredients than hers (my mil’s version only have lotus root, peanut and pork ribs). My mil told me she simmer for a few hours whereas I used the thermal pot. Could that be the problem? I noticed my peanuts are still crunchy whereas hers is soft.
if you used a thermal pot, did u bring the soup to a boil periodically? That will keep the soup warm and “slow cook” it inside the pot. Yes cooking longer certainly brings out the flavour!
Hi Wiffy
I tried this Lotus Root Soup with Pork Ribs and Peanuts yesterday and it was very well received by my girls who don’t really like Chinese soup. I would say it is a break through for them to finish up their bowl of soup. Thanks so much for your recipe.
Together with this soup, I used your Luncheon Meat Fried Rice Recipe and also did my own version of coffee pork ribs, which turned out awful ;o(. If you have pork ribs recipes coming up soon, I will be very happy to try them out.
Nevertheless, your soup made our dinner sumptuous!
Felicia
Love your blogs & recipes!
Thanks so much for sharing!
May I know whats the reason to discard the cuttlefish after soup is ready? Any particular reason why?
Hi Irene, it’s because the cuttlefish is used to flavour the soup, not really for eating as it is very hard. After simmering, most of the flavour should have gone into the soup already.
Thanks so much wiffy!
Tried your recipe! Awesome! Super yummy!
My family love it!
Hello. Can I ask if we don’t de-shell the peanut is it ok? Also, do we need to soak the peanut?
Can I ask wat kind of ribs do u use? There is a few kind in supermarket that I got confused. There is soup bone(汤骨），spare ribs(五花排骨）and prime ribs and and also big bone. Normally which kind is more suitable for soup? It’s the same for bak kut teh? I bought the soup bone since there is the word soup on it, lol. Pls advise, thanks.