Pictorial: Pork Butt Bone Soup with Kabocha

[hzrt8w]

Pork Butt Bone Soup with Kabocha (南瓜豬骨湯)

Kabocha is a very popular squash in Japan. It is very sweet and tasty. This soup recipe is to use traditional Cantonese soup-making technique and feature kabocha as the main ingredient. The chicken feet make this soup very rich.

Picture of the finished dish:

Serving Suggestion: 8 to 10

Preparations:

There are a few special ingredients used to make this Cantonese style soup. You may easily find them in Asian grocery markets.

This is a package of dried jujube dates. (紅棗)

This is a package of dried dates. (蜜棗) They bring a lot of sweetness to the soup.

This is a package of dried olive kerneis. (南北杏)

Main ingredients: (From top left, clockwise) Chicken feet, about 10 to a dozen. 1 kabocha, about 2 lb. Pork butt bones, about 2 lb. (On the round plate, from bottom left, clockwise) Dried black mushrooms, about 10. A handful of dried olive kerneis. 4 dried dates. About 15 dried red jujube dates. 3 medium size dried scallops. 5 to 6 dried oysters.

About 5 to 6 hours before (or the night before) cooking, soak the dried oysters and dried scallops with about 1 cup of water. Separately, soak the dried black mushrooms, dried dates and dried red jujube dates.

Cooking Instructions:

Cantonese soup making techniques call for "double boiling" the soup bones or meat. Here is an illustration on how this is done.

Use a large pot. Add water to about 1/4 full. Set stove at high. Boil the water. Add the pork butt bones. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes. (Do not boil for too long).

Drain the water with a strainer. Rinse the pork bone/meat under running cold water. Wash off any impurity and blood. The reason for this extra first boil step is to remove the "cloudiness" in the soup, which is caused by impurity and blood.

Boil another pot of water (use about 15 cups, or 1/3 of this pot). Return the pork butt bones. Add chicken feet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Soft-boil for about 15 minutes. Add soaked black mushrooms (trim stems and add the stems to the soup also), red dried jujube dates, dried dates, dried olive kerneis, dried scallops and dried oyster. Soft-boil with lid on for about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the kabocha. The skin is quite tough and hard to peel. I don't bother with peeling it. Wash the outside well. Scrape off any dirt or small hard lumps. Trim off the stem. Cut the kabocha in half. Remove the seeds inside. Cut into triangular pieces, about 2 inch wide.

After 1 hour of soft-boiling the bones/chicken feet mixture, add the kabocha. Continue to soft-boil for at least another hour. (Kabocha turns soft relatively quickly.) Add 2 tsp of salt (or to taste). Ready.

Finished. Scoop and serve.

Edited December 16, 2005 by hzrt8w (log)

[AzianBrewer]

Looks awesome with the exception of the chicken feet.

[I_call_the_duck]

What's wrong with chicken feet?

[Jinmyo]

Great post. Thanks for your work on it.

I like using chicken feet in stock but to eat, not so much really.

[AzianBrewer]

What's wrong with chicken feet?

←

Nothing wrong with chicken feet but just not my choice of ingredient.

[Chris Amirault]

Fantastic, Ah Leung, as always. Can you talk about the texture you're seeking with the kabocha? Does it get soft quickly but not take on a lot of water?

[hzrt8w]

Fantastic, Ah Leung, as always. Can you talk about the texture you're seeking with the kabocha? Does it get soft quickly but not take on a lot of water?

←

Thanks Chris. Kabocha is very sweet and its texture is very soft and smooth when cooked. A bit like mango. You are right: it turns soft fairly quickly, and does not take on much water as other melons do. This was the first time I cooked with kabocha. I did not know what texture it has but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was so tasty.

Chicken feet would make the soup thick and rich. If one doesn't like chicken feet, skip it. (Or use some duck feet. )

Edited December 17, 2005 by hzrt8w (log)

[hzrt8w]

Addendum: This recipe illustrated the general technique of making Cantonese soup.

You may use pork neck bones, pork, beef bones or chicken to make soup. You may also use winter melon, hairy melon, bok choy or lotus roots instead of kabocha.

[rjwong]

Ah Leung,

I'll have to admit that this is the first time I have seen the "double boiling" method used. It sure looks easier than boiling the meat/bones, simmer for 1-2 hours and constantly skimming the impurities. Arguably, isn't the "double boiling" method sacrificing a little bit of the flavor for clearness of the broth?

Mind you, who am I that I should argue with you?

[hzrt8w]

[...] Arguably, isn't the "double boiling" method sacrificing a little bit of the flavor for clearness of the broth?

←

I was skeptical too when I first learned of this technique. I think the key is to do the first boil very quickly to minimize the loss of flavor, yet enough to solidify the blood so it can be rinsed off.

It does seem to work really well.

[helenjp]

Funnily enough, I've just finished watching a Japanese TV program featuring a Chinese chef demo-ing a veyr similar recipe as her personal recommendation for an ageing singer who needs to take good care of her throat! The idea is that the kabocha is particularly good for the mucus membranes (and chicken feet have long been recommended for coughs and colds).

The version given was a simple version with just Chinese dates and wolfberries, along with kabocha, yam, greens, and maitake mushrooms (the additional vegetables were to make it more of a one-dish dinner).

[BarbaraY]

I use the double boiling method for Shanghai braised chicken. The sauce ends up being very shiny and clear because there isn't any scum to cloud it.

This is a very interesting recipe but I don't have all the necessary ingredients so will have to wait to try it. Kabocha is a lovely vegetable and I much prefer it to most squashes or pumpkins. The only other I like as well is Butternut which might make a possible substitute if Kabocha isn't available.

[OnigiriFB]

One of my favorite soups is bitter melon soup. Somedays our cook would stuff it with minced pork seasoned with garlic, cilantro root, and white pepper. Other days she would simmer it with one inch pieces of pork ribs.

Would you use the same method? I'd think simmering the ribs that long would make the meat fall off the bone. The best part (to me at least) was always gnawing the meat off the bone.

[Dejah]

One of my favorite soups is bitter melon soup. Somedays our cook would stuff it with minced pork seasoned with garlic, cilantro root, and white pepper. Other days she would simmer it with one inch pieces of pork ribs.

Would you use the same method? I'd think simmering the ribs that long would make the meat fall off the bone. The best part (to me at least) was always gnawing the meat off the bone.

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I've never tried making soup with stuffed bitter melon. Would your cook add the melon shortly before serving?

I don't think you'd add the "sweet ingredients" to bitter melon soup. Large piece of ginger, chun pei, rehydrated dried oysters, and pork neck bones if you want gnawing, or pork shanks for the marrow.

[OnigiriFB]

One of my favorite soups is bitter melon soup. Somedays our cook would stuff it with minced pork seasoned with garlic, cilantro root, and white pepper. Other days she would simmer it with one inch pieces of pork ribs.

Would you use the same method? I'd think simmering the ribs that long would make the meat fall off the bone. The best part (to me at least) was always gnawing the meat off the bone.

←

I've never tried making soup with stuffed bitter melon. Would your cook add the melon shortly before serving?

I don't think you'd add the "sweet ingredients" to bitter melon soup. Large piece of ginger, chun pei, rehydrated dried oysters, and pork neck bones if you want gnawing, or pork shanks for the marrow.

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I'm not sure about the broth (for all I know she may have just used bullion cubes) but I know that the minced pork you take the garlic, cilantro root, and white pepper and smash it (she used a mortar and pestle) until you have a paste. Combine with the pork add a bit of salt or soy sauce. Stuff into bitter melon that has been hallowed out. I think the pieces were about 2-3 inches maybe. Stuff it and simmer in broth for however long it takes to soften melon and cook pork. It really didn't take long. Sorry wish I knew more. I just remember watching her make this but I never bothered to pay more attention. I love our family cook and miss her to this day. I had a rude awakening when I move to the States and had to cook Thai food for myself. She always made it seem effortless.