I rarely cook Chinese yam soup as it can be pretty expensive (1kg cost RM13/ kg) and it also does not count to my 5 a day. However, it is used as a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
There are also many type of cordyceps, a type of mushroom. The one I used is Cordyceps Militaris which is more reasonable than Cordyceps Sinensis. It’s also used in TCM. But I’m eating it because I like the texture and mushroom counts as part of a 5 a day, right?
This was not a planned soup as it was more of a misunderstanding and mistake when writing up a shopping list for Piglet during the lockdown (Covid 19). Usually we do the grocery shop together but during lockdown only 1 representative from the household is allowed to go out for the grocery shop.
I wrote ‘yam’ and told Piglet ‘keladi’ but I should have written taro. When Malaysians mention yam cake or yam rice, the ‘yam’ is supposely ‘taro’. So I made the typical mistake…. so absent minded!
Nevermind! All is good. We had yummy soup.
Chinese Yam (Wai San) & Cordyceps Flower Soup
Ingredients
400g Wai San/ Chinese Yam
200g Carrot
9 Chinese Red Dates
10g Goji Berry
30g Cordyceps Militaris
7-8 pieces Solomen’s Seal/ Yu Zhu
400g Pork Bones
1.5-2L water
Salt to taste
Several Dried Shiitake Mushroom Stalks (Optional)
Method
- Blanch pork bones or boil it for 10 minutes in water that can cover it and pour away boiling fluid to remove gamey taste
- Boil pork bones in water then simmer for half an hour
- Add the remaining ingredients above and simmer for 3-6 hours
- Add salt to taste before serving