Jade: Bitemysoup

It's been so cold:( It's times like these that I wish I were home..no less because my mum makes the best traditional chinese soups. The kind you simmer and stew for hours and hours to coax all the flavour out of the ingredients and render meat so tender it practically falls off the bone. I needed a break from MTAS [...I know...I seem to need an awful lot of breaks....but I'm a girl, and I get cravings] and trying my hand at bringing the flavour of home to my kitchen seemed like the most logical thing to do ;)

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Slow-boiled foo-chook soup however you spell that

Half a pack spare ribs [ my mum uses chicken but the butcher didn't want to chop it up for me so..pfft]

3-4 stalks baby leeks, quartered

small handful goji berries [ my granny says it's good for the complexion and I'm vain]

small handful baby anchovies

Half a packet Foo-chook/ beancurd sticks

Enoki mushrooms [ I had some left in the fridge so why not]

3-4 cups water

* You don't really need the anchovies if you're using a whole chicken. I just figured the soup would need a little help in the flavour department since I wasn't using a lot of meat.

1. Put everything in the pot except the beancurd sticks.

2. Bring to a gentle simmer and leave covered for about 20 minutes.

* Don't try to rush it with high heat. It makes the soup murky. I could be wrong, but after years of getting yelled at for ruining my mum's beautiful clear soup, I'm telling you--DON'T RUSH IT.

3. Break the beancurd sticks into pieces and add to the simmering broth.

4. Cover and let simmer for another 20 minutes or so.

* It depends what brand of beancurd sticks you're using, some cook remarkably fast, some are tougher than my grandma, so ... keep experimenting

5. Season to taste.

6. Curl up in a comfy chair, wrap yourself with a nice thick duvet, and savour your steaming bowl of clear, sweet broth... I promise it tastes of home:)