Not long ago my mom gave me a brand new pressure cooker that she’s kept with her for the last 10 years or so after knowing that I’ve started cooking a bit. It was a godsend, suddenly cooking soup become way faster and easier, and I think everyone who loves any sort of Chinese style soup should invest in one.
Today I’m going to share with you a very simple peanut soup with pork ribs recipe. A dish that I always love as a kid but never did get to have them very often due to the time it takes to cook using a conventional pot.
chinese peanut soup with pork ribs
With a conventional pot, you’ll have to boil the soup for at least 3-4 hours to make the peanut soft, but with the pressure cooker, 30-45 minutes is all you need for the same results. This is possible because with the increase in pressure (usually at around15 psi), the water will boil in much higher temperature at 122 Celsius compared to the usual 100 Celsius, and this make a world of difference.
Ingredients:
- raw peanuts (a small bowl is enough)
- some pork ribs or pork bones (chicken carcass if you prefer it to be pork free)
- 5-6 dried red dates
- 5-6 small dried scallops for added sweetness
ingredients for peanut soup – raw peanuts, red dates, dried scallops, pork ribs
Instructions:
- boil the pork separately for a few minutes to remove impurities
- put all ingredients in the pressure cooker (including the pork after removing from pervious pot)
- add just enough water for amount of soup you want (eg: 3 bowls for 3 bowls, this is because with pressure cooker very little water is evaporated, they are kept as steam within the system instead)
- boil in pressure cooker for 30-45 minutes
pressure cooker working, check out the little bronze stem
Pressure cooker consume quite a lot less cooking gas compared to a conventional pot too. After bringing the water to boil and the cooker to working pressure (indicated by the bronze valve being “erected”), usually achieve within a few minutes, the fire can be turned down low to keep the same pressure. I believe with this you’ll save at least 3-4 times the amount of cooking gas needed.
The result is old fashion peanut soup that is good for the soul. The peanut is soft, and the pork ribs even more tender, you should really try this for yourself.
p/s: it is also said that boiling the soup with a clay soup spoon will speed up the “softening” process of meat/peanuts too as clay will serve as a catalyst of sort. I haven’t try that yet, but if you do, let me know how it works out.
Happy cooking!
Wow, nice peanut soup… yummy… 😛
Coce: thanks 😀
i love my pressure cooker too!
eiling: didn’t know you have one too, awesome! 😀
Nice! I’ve actually never had pork soup with peanuts.
Would that be a Hokkien recipe? Or a Cantonese one?
It sounds really good, I just never had it before. 🙂
Huai Bin: It’s just a chinese recipe I guess, span across different clans.
The pressure cooker is an antiq. My house got one too.. But the old-age one is still the best cook helper..
nike: yea, this one’s from the 90s I think.
Interesting that a pressure cooker can do all that! Awesomeness, but must have skills also la! 🙂
Isaac: haha very easy to master “skills” la.
I find soup cooked with a pressure cooker taste slightly off the mark, that “loh foh tong” (aged flame soup) taste. Cooking longer under pressure did not help to improve either. The taste will improve dramatically when the soup is boiled for another 30 minutes under normal pressure, after the pressure subsides naturally. Steamed rice or dishes can be cooked simultaneously too during this 2nd stage of boiling with a steamer tray.
DC: ooO didn’t know that’ll make a difference, thanks for the tips, will check it out. 🙂
ahhh a real classic soup, eh! one of my absolute favorites too! real comfort food 😀
Sean: yea, comfort food for sure. 😀
ahhh you finally found the pressure cooker. looking forward to more such heart warming dishes!
babe_kl: will sure do. 😀
Peanut soup for the soul!
suertes: oh definitely!
so like have you turned into a cooking blog as well ar..? 😀
ciki: food blog doesn’t mean only eat out bahh 😛
What’s the difference between pressure cooker and slow cooker?
ronin: pressure cooker cooks fast and in high temperature, slow cooker cooks, well, slowly, and just below boiling temperature, you get almost the double boil type of soup.
i tot this kind of pressure cooker is very dangerous? can “pao zhar” de right?
sotong: no la got safety valve wan.
i love cooking soup in those large claypot … really really tasty!
connie: and really really fast!
Is that goji berry or red dates?
Dan Tsan: goji!
I made this soup for my family. I added mushroom into the soup since I had leftover. The soup is great. Thank you for sharing your recipe 🙂
yvonne: great, good to hear!