Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1.2 litres/2 pints/5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 garlic clove, lightly crushed
2.5cm/1 in piece fresh root ginger, peeled
and cut into fine matchsticks 30ml/2 tbsp soy sauce 15ml/l tbsp cider vinegar 75g/3oz fresh shiitake or button
mushrooms, stalks removed and
thinly sliced
2 large spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
40g/1/1/20Z vermicelli or other fine noodles 175g/6oz Chinese leaves, shredded a few fresh coriander leaves

Chinese-style Vegetable and Noodle Soup

Pour the stock into a saucepan. Add the garlic, root ginger, soy sauce and vinegar. Bring to the boil, then cover the pan and reduce the

heat to very low. Leave to simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove the garlic clove from the pan and discard.

Add the sliced mushrooms and spring onions and bring the soup back to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.

Add the noodles and shredded Chinese leaves. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until the noodles and vegetables are just tender. Stir in the

coriander leaves. Simmer for a final 1 minute. Serve the soup hot.

Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
225g/8oz fresh straw mushrooms or 1 350g/12oz can straw mushrooms, drained
4 tbsp vegetable oil
400g/14oz Chinese leaves, cut in strips
1 tsp salt
1 tsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch) paste
100ml/4fl oz/1/2 cup milk

Cut the mushrooms in half lengthways. Heat half the oil, stir-fry the Chinese leaves for 2 minutes, then add half the salt and half the sugar.

Stir for 1 minute, then place on a dish.

Stir-fry the mushrooms for 1 minute. Add salt and sugar, cook for 1 minute, then thicken with the cornflour (cornstarch) paste and milk.

Serve with the greens.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

600ml/1 pint/2/1/2 cups fish or chicken stock
2.5cm/1in fresh root ginger, very thinly sliced
400g/14oz can creamed corn
150g/5oz cooked white crab meat
15ml/1 tbsp arrowroot or cornflour (cornstarch)
15ml/1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
15-30ml/1-2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 egg white
salt and ground white pepper
shredded spring onions (scallions), to garnish

Chinese Crab and Corn Soup

Put the stock and ginger in a large, heavy pan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Stir in the creamed corn and bring back to the boil.

Turn off the heat and add the crab meat. Put the arrowroot or cornflour in a cup and stir in the rice wine or sherry to make a smooth paste,

then stir this into the soup. Cook over a low heat for about 3 minutes, until the soup has thickened and is slightly glutinous in consistency. Add

light soy sauce, salt and white pepper to taste.

In a bowl, whisk the egg white to a stiff foam. Gradually fold it into the soup. Ladle the soup into heated bowls, garnish each portion with spring onions and serve immediately.

Cook’s Tip

This soup is sometimes made with whole kernel corn, but creamed corn gives a better texture. If you can’t find it in a can, use thawed frozen creamed corn instead; the result will be just as good.

Variation

To make prawn (shrimp) and corn soup, substitute 150g/5oz cooked peeled and deveined prawns for the crab meat. Chop the peeled

prawns coarsely and add to the soup where you would usually add the crab meat.