Hong Kong Style Russian Borscht Soup

I often have "Russian Borscht" soup along with my meal when I go to a Hong Kong style cafe. I am sure it is a far cry from the authentic Russian Borscht soup that is supposed to be a hearty beetroot vegetable soup. Nevertheless, it seems to be a staple in Hong Kong style cafes, and I have always wanted to try making it at home.

I thought the soup turned out very good, and everyone who tried this soup seemed to enjoy it. I had made a large pot and expected to have lots of leftovers, but it was actually all gone by the next day.

INGREDIENTS:

4 strips Beef Brisket, Beef Bones or Oxtail
3 stalks Celery (diced)
3 Potatoes (cut in chunks)
1 Onion (cut in chunks)
3 Tomatoes (cut in chunks)
1 Carrot (cut in chunks)
1/2 Cabbage (cut in chunks)
4 cloves Garlic
10 to 15 White Peppercorns
3 Bay Leaves
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 lemon
salt, sugar, white pepper to taste
2 cups Beef or Vegetable Stock
approximately 2.5 L Water

DIRECTIONS:

Blanch beef brisket (beef bones or oxtail) for 3 minutes to remove blood. Trim away any fat from the meat.

Add beef brisket (beef bones) into a large pot of boiling water, together with beef stock.

Heat up wok and add a teaspoon of oil Sauté 1 clove of garlic, then add carrots. Once they are browned, add to the pot along with the heart of the cabbage, white peppercorns and bay leaves. Cook for 90 minutes, or until the meat is tender. Remove heart of the cabbage from the pot.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté 1 clove of garlic until aromatic. Add onion, celery and cabbage, then sauté until softened. Add these three ingredients to the pot.

Repeat process with the tomatoes, allowing tomatoes to be softened. Repeat process again with the potatoes, allowing potatoes to be browned before adding to the pot.

Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour.

When all the ingredients become tender, season well with salt, sugar, white pepper and lemon juice to taste.

Serve hot in a bowl.

Watercress Soup

Watercress is my favourite leafy green, and if you know me, you know that there aren't too many leafy greens that I actually enjoy. I'm really not sure what it is about watercress that is appealing to me but it's been my favourite for as long as I can remember. Luckily, hubby's aunt is actually related to one of the most prominent watercress growers in town, so we will randomly get large amounts of it.

Once Jory will be old enough to eat solids, I'm hoping he will enjoy watercress as much as I do, and he won't mind that I make dishes with it all the time.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Bunches of Watercress
1 lb. Pork Bones
6 Dried Dates
2 tbsp. Chinese Almonds
1 piece Dried Orange Peel
2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a pot of water to a boil, then blanch pork bones and drain.

Refill pot with water and bring to a boil. Return pork bones to the pot, then add watercress (make sure water is boiling when you add the watercress). Add dried dates, chinese almonds, and dried orange peel.

Reduce to medium heat and allow to simmer for 2 to 3 hours.

Season with salt and sugar. Adjust as necessary, then serve.