STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
My mother is Cantonese, so like all good Cantonese households, it is a must to have soup for dinner. On weekdays, we would have ‘quick boiling soups’ which are faster to cook, such as Potato, Carrot and Onion (or ABC) soup, or Tofu with Fishball Soup, just to name a few.
During weekends, we would have 煲汤 (Po Tong in Cantonese), which are more elaborate, slow cooking soups, like Salted Vegetable Duck Soup, Old Cucumber Soup, and Lotus Root Soup. Sweet corn pork rib soup is my youngest daughter’s favourite, and this soup can be a meal on its own that you can eat with plain rice.
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TRICK OF THE TRADE
Instead of pork ribs, you can also use pork bones as a more economical alternative. Two good choices of pork bones from the wet market are known colloquially as “bing bang ban” (1st picture) and “suo shi gu” (2nd picture).
Bing Bang Ban 乒乓板 (literally translated as ‘Ping Pong Bat’ due to its rounded shape)
Suo Shi Gu 锁匙骨 (literally translated as ‘key bone’ due to the keyhole shaped bone)
The great thing about these two cuts is that there is just enough fat marbling to keep the meat tender after boiling, yet not too much that the soup becomes oily. Some cuts of pork will end up hard and dehydrated after boiling, but the meat from these two cuts are still nice and tender after boiling for 3 hours!
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS DISH
- It’s easy and fuss free to make. Just prepare it during the afternoon, and you can leave it to simmer and do other things. It will be ready by dinner!
- Because of the ingredients used, this soup is healthy for kids! And best of all, children will love drinking this because of its beautiful colours and natural sweetness.
HOW TO MAKE SWEET CORN PORK RIB SOUP?
Wash the spare ribs, then blanche it with the boiling water, then wash and drain.
Wash the mushrooms, then soak in hot water for 15 minutes. Don’t discard the mushroom water. Next, wash, peel and chop the carrot and onion into small chunks, then cut the sweet corn into 3 or 4 pieces.
In a large pot, bring water to boil. Then add in pork ribs, mushroom and the mushroom water.
Boil for half an hour. Next add in the sweet corn, carrots, onions, and continue to boil for another 1.5 hours at medium heat. Cover the pot with the lid, leaving a small gap so the water will not overflow.
Lastly, add in the red dates and wolf berries, then boil for another 15 minutes. Add salt to taste and it’s done!
MARKETING TIPS
- You can use pork bones as an alternative. Two good choices are ping pang ban (乒乓板) and suo shi gu (锁匙骨), which you can get at the wet market.The meat on these two cuts still taste good after boiling because of the fats that keep the meat tender, yet not make the soup oily.
- Indonesian pork tends to be leaner and sweeter than Australian pork, so the soup will not be oily.
- Try to buy red dates with seeds. They are sweeter, and pitted red dates, if stored too long at the shops, may have tiny insects and spider webs forming inside the centre hollow of the dates.
COOKING TIPS
- Add just enough water to cover 1 inch above the mushrooms when soaking them. Otherwise, the mushrooms will end up tasteless. For tips on how to select shiitake mushrooms of good quality, check out my article How to Choose Shiitake Mushrooms here.
- Blanch the pork ribs beforehand to remove blood and blood clots, so there will not be a strong pork smell after cooking.
- Add chicken bones (2 carcasses) to the soup together with the pork ribs to enhance the soup’s taste. You will need to blanche the chicken beforehand as well.
- Don’t soak the wolfberries. Rinse them just before adding them into the soup otherwise they will become mushy.
- Do not boil the red dates and wolf berries for too long, or the soup will become sour. Add them in only during the last 15 minutes.
DIETARY MODIFICATIONS
- Egg-Free:no modifications needed
- Fish-Free: No modifications needed.
- Gluten-Free: No modifications needed.
- Nut-Free: No modifications needed.
- Shellfish-Free: No modifications needed.
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Sweet corn pork rib soup
Ingredients
- 2 Sweet Corn
- 1 Kg Pork Spare Ribs
- 5-6 Chinese Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
- 6 red dates
- 1 carrot large
- 1 TBsp wolfberries
- 1 yellow onion
- 3.5 litres water
Instructions
PREPARATION METHOD
- Wash the spare ribs, then blanche it with the boiling water, then wash and drain.
- Wash the mushrooms, then soak in hot water for 15 minutes. Don’t discard the mushroom water.
- Wash, peel and chop the carrot and onion into small chunks. Cut the sweet corn into 3 or 4 pieces.
COOKING METHOD
- In a large pot, bring water to boil. Then add in pork ribs, mushroom and the mushroom water and boil for half an hour.
- Next, add in the sweet corn, carrots, onions and continue to boil for another 1.5 hours at medium heat. Tip: Cover the pot with the lid, leaving a small gap so the water will not overflow.
- Lastly, add in the red dates and wolf berries, then boil for another 15 minutes. Add salt to taste, and soup is ready to be served!
Notes
MARKETING TIPS
- You can use pork bones as an alternative. Two good choices are bing bang ban (乒乓板) and suo shi gu (锁匙骨), which you can get at the wet market.The meat on these two cuts still taste good after boiling because there is just the right amount of fats to keep the meat tender, yet not make the soup oily.
- Indonesian pork tends to be leaner and sweeter than Australian pork, so the soup will not be oily.
- Try to buy red dates with seeds. They are sweeter, and pitted red dates, if stored too long at the shops, may have tiny insects and spider webs forming inside the centre hollow of the dates.
COOKING TIPS
- Add just enough water to cover 1 inch above the mushrooms when soaking them. Otherwise, the mushrooms will end up tasteless. For tips on how to select shiitake mushrooms of good quality, check out my article How to Choose Shiitake Mushrooms here.
- Blanch the pork ribs beforehand to remove blood and blood clots, so there will not be a strong pork smell after cooking.
- Add chicken bones (2 carcasses) to the soup together with the pork ribs to enhance the soup's taste. You will need to blanche the chicken beforehand as well.
- Don't soak the wolfberries. Rinse them just before adding them into the soup otherwise they will become mushy.
- Do not boil the red dates and wolf berries for too long, or the soup will become sour. Add them in only during the last 15 minutes.
I am one of Satoru’s ex-colleagues. He introduced your recipe. I love it very very much !!! Yuka
Hi Yuka, thank you so much for your kind comment, and thanks to Satoru for introducing the recipe! Hope you can try out this recipe and let me know how it goes. Next time you are in Singapore, I will invite you and Satoru over for a meal, and I will cook this dish specially for you!
Ooh this looks so delicious! My mom used to make something pretty similar, but since I’ve gone off to college, I haven’t had the chance to eat such foods…
Thank you! Why not try cooking it yourself with the this recipe?
Definitely! Once I get access to a kitchen, I’ll have to try this recipe ????
Can this be made in a slow cooker or crock pot? Any adjustments needed?
Bernie, certainly you can. No modification needed
Can this be made using a slow cooker? If so, any adjustments needed?