Cabbage Rice and Pork Rib Soup

Recipe and writing by Lisa Cheng Smith from our Taiwanese cooking series, Cooking with Steam, and her newsletter, Yun Hai Taiwan Stories.

Cooking with Steam 03: Cabbage Rice and Pork Rib Soup
好蒸氣 03 | 排骨湯高麗菜飯

Featured Recipes

Pork Rib Soup 排骨湯

Serves 4

Making this in the Tatung Electric Steamer will ensure the soup never comes to a rolling boil, which will keep the broth crystal clear. If making this on the stove, be sure to mind the heat. Don’t skip blanching the ribs, as this step will give you the cleanest, freshest flavor.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb pork spare ribs, blanched and rinsed
• 1 daikon radish (about 1:1 with pork rib)
• 4-6 slices ginger, to taste (peeling optional)
• 1 tsp salt (this recipe uses Frost Salt)
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• Water, as needed

For the garnish

• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• White sesame oil

Equipment

• Pot
• Strainer
• Tatung Electric Steamer (6-cup or 11-cup size; I use the 11-cup for this recipe)

Instructions

1. First, blanch the pork spare ribs. Place them in a pot with cold water, then bring to a boil. This could also be done in the Tatung: just place them in the inner pot, cover with cold water, and steam for about 10-15 minutes (1/2 rice cup of water). Then, strain them out and rinse them off, rubbing them clean to ensure a clear soup. Set aside.
2. Peel then cut the daikon. Cut it in half vertically, then slice perpendicularly into half-moon-shaped pieces, about 1/2” inch thick.
3. Add the pork spare ribs, daikon, and ginger slices into the inner pot of the Tatung. Sprinkle in the salt and the white pepper. Cover with water.
4. Place the inner pot into the Tatung, then pour 2 rice cups of water into the outer pot. Steam away.
5. When the switch pops, open the lid and taste for seasoning. If needed, add more salt and white pepper.
6. To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl, garnish with cilantro, and drizzle with white sesame oil.

Cabbage Rice 高麗菜飯

Serves 4

I intended to make this in the Tatung for the episode, but because of the power outage, I couldn’t demonstrate it. So, I improvised a “fake Tatung” on set with an inner pot, a wok, and a bamboo steamer. This is not necessary unless you find yourself in need of a mock-appliance for a Tatung-centered cooking show with no electricity and quickly depleting camera batteries.

But, if you do want to work on the stove, you could steam the rice in a similar way that I did, by putting a rack in the bottom of a deep pan and placing a ceramic or metal bowl on top of it with the rice, cabbage mixture, and water inside. Just make sure you are able to fully cover the pot with a lid.

Ingredients

• 1/2 head Taiwan flat cabbage
• 5 dried shiitake mushrooms, cold-soaked overnight or hot-soaked for 30 minutes
• 1 carrot
• 2 medium-sized shallots (or 5 small shallots)
• 1 tbsp dried paper shrimp, cold-soaked overnight and drained
• 1/2 lb pork belly, par-frozen for 30 minutes to make it easier to slice
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 1/2 tsp salt (I use Frost Salt)
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 3 tbsp Soy Paste with Glutinous Rice Grains
• 1/4 cup Taiwanese rice wine
• 2 rice cups short-grain rice (I use Taiwanese penglai rice)

For the garnish

• 1 handful cilantro, chopped

Equipment

• Wok
• Tatung Electric Steamer (6-cup or 11-cup size; I use the 11-cup for this recipe)

Instructions

1. Prep the vegetables. Squeeze the water out of the reconstituted shiitake mushrooms, then slice them.
2. Peel and julienne the carrot. I find that the easiest way to do this is to slice the carrot along the diagonal, stack the slices, then finely cut them into matchsticks.
3. Hand-tear half a head of Taiwan flat cabbage into half-palm sized pieces.
4. Halve, peel, then thinly slice the shallots.
5. Cut the pork belly into bite-sized pieces, about 1/2” thick.
6. In a heated wok over high heat, pour about 2 tbsp of peanut oil. Once the oil is hot, add the shallots and stir-fry until they start to release their water and smell fragrant.
7. Add the shrimp and the shiitake mushrooms. Toss and cook until the ingredients have caramelized just a touch.
8. Push the aromatics to the edges of the wok, then add the pork belly to the center. Stir-fry the pork until it begins to brown.
9. Deglaze the wok with about 1/4 cup Taiwanese rice wine.
10. Add the carrots then toss.
11. Sprinkle in the salt and pour in the Soy Paste with Glutinous Rice. Toss.
12. Sprinkle in the white pepper then toss.
13. Add the torn cabbage then toss. Cook until the cabbage just begins to wilt and release its water, about a minute. It’s important that the cabbage does not lose its crunch. It will continue to cook in the steamer later on in the recipe.
14. Taste for saltiness—you want the mixture to taste just a bit too salty, as we will mix it with rice. If you’re satisfied with the salinity, take the mixture off the heat and reserve 1/3 of it for later.
15. Wash and drain 2 rice cups of short-grain rice into the Tatung inner pot. Add 2/3 of the stir-fried cabbage mixture into the inner pot, on top of the rice. Add scant two rice cups of water into the inner pot.
16. Place the inner pot into the Tatung, then pour 1 rice cup of water into the outer pot. Steam away! On the stove, this would equate to about 25 minutes of cook time.
17. Once the switch pops, let rest for 15 minutes. Open, test for doneness, then stir in the reserved 1/3 cabbage mixture.
18. Add 1/2 rice cup of water to the outer pot and steam to heat everything up.
19. Scoop into a bowl and serve garnished with cilantro.