Several tips for making soup

Thread Content

1. When making soup with meats such as chicken, duck, or pork ribs, first blanch the meat in boiling water; this process is called \"removing blood\" or \"blanching\". It not only helps to remove blood but also a portion of the fat, thereby preventing the soup from being too greasy. 1. When making fish soup, you shouldn’t use the method of draining water; instead, you should first fry the fish on both sides in oil. This helps to firm up the fish skin, preventing it from breaking apart, and also eliminates any fishy smell. It’s better to add the ingredients in cold water; boiling water will cause the proteins to coagulate rapidly, making it difficult for the flavors to come through. 　　 2. For making soups, it is advisable to use a clay pot with a fine texture; however, inferior clay pots contain a small amount of lead in their glaze, which can dissolve easily when cooking acidic foods, posing a risk to health. Ceramic pots with white inner walls are very useful. 3. After cooking lean meat in soup, the texture of the meat becomes coarser. You can choose meat that is half fat and half lean; the lean meat from the pig’s front legs remains tender and edible even after being cooked for several hours. 　　 4. To obtain broth with creaminess when cooking soup, oil and water need to be thoroughly mixed to achieve this effect. When making broth, first bring it to a boil over high heat, then simmer it over low heat, and finally increase the heat again. When making fish soup, first fry it thoroughly in oil, then add boiling water and use high heat. Be sure to add enough water at once; adding more water later will cause the broth to dilute. 　　 5. It is best not to add spices when making soup. Most people in the north believe that spices such as scallions, ginger, Sichuan pepper, star anise, monosodium glutamate, and cooking wine should be included in soups. In fact, based on the experience of people from Guangdong in making soup, the focus is on maintaining the natural flavor of the soup, so these spices are not necessary at all. If necessary, one piece of ginger is enough. Salt should be added last, as it can cause proteins to coagulate and hinder the dispersion of flavor compounds. 　　 6. Do not cook the soup for too long; the nutrients in the soup are mainly amino acids. Prolonged heating will result in the formation of new substances, thereby destroying the nutrients. Generally, it is sufficient to cook fish soup for about 1 hour, while chicken soup and pork rib soup can be cooked for around 3 hours. 7. To prevent the soup from becoming greasy, turn off the heat after it has been cooked. Once it cools down, the oil will float on the surface or solidify there; use a spoon to remove it before bringing the soup to a boil again. 　 8. Drinking some soup before meals can promote the secretion of gastric juice and aid digestion and absorption; however, those with superficial gastritis should drink it after meals to avoid worsening their symptoms. 　　 9. Many people believe that the nutrients in soup are concentrated in the liquid itself, so they only drink the soup and discard the meat contained within it. In fact, no matter how long the soup is simmered, the nutrients from the meat do not completely dissolve into the soup. Therefore, it is necessary to eat an appropriate amount of meat as well after drinking the soup. Take out the meat used for cooking the soup, tear it apart, and prepare a dipping sauce using soy sauce, sliced green onions and ginger, and sliced chili peppers – it tastes delicious when eaten this way.