Beijing Today
By Xiao Rong

Soup is loved around the world for its abilities to warm the body and restore energy, but the Chinese tend to put particular stock in soup's abilities to boostvital energy and improve health.

In different parts of this country, soup is made and treated differently, often as a result of climate and dining habits. In sub-tropical southern China, particularly Guangdong and Fujian Provinces, soups have become daily fare regarded as tonics for many parts of the body.

Many soups from this hot and humid area are made with meat, generally pork or poultry, and vegetables, including traditional Chinese herbal medicines. Such brews are usually simmered for hours, and hence are called laohuo liangtang, which translates to "delicious soup cooked on slow fire." As these kinds of soup contain botyin and yang ingredients, they are believed to remedy imbalances between cold and hot elements in the body.

Compared with the thick and nutritious southern-style soups, most soups of northern China are thin and watery. Leafy vegetables are a common main ingredient, requiring relatively short cooking time, normally over high heat for a rolling boil.

The difference in cooking times betrays a larger discrepancy in soup thinking between the North and South. Guangdong people focus more on soup broth, not its bitable ingredients, under the philosophy that in a properly cooked soup, all of the nutrients of given ingredients dissolve into the broth. Northerners are generally less picky and dig into the goodies inside a bowl a soup, not just its broth.

The methods and timing of serving soup also vary in China. In the North, a large bowl of soup or broth is often presented at the end of a meal to aid digestion. The people of Guangdong, on the other hand, normally serve soup at the start of a meal to "wet the mouth" and stimulate the appetite, or it can be served at the same time as the disheso be spooned over rice.

Tips for Cooking Soups:

When choosing Chinese traditional medicines to prepare soups, select items that have minimal or no side effects, such as ginseng, Chinese wolfberries (gouqi), lotus seed and dried lily.

Soups should start from a base of cold water to allow the protein of any meat inside to fully dissolve into the broth.

Before it goes in the broth, meat, such as chicken, duck or ribs, should first be plunged into boiling water for several minutes to cook off some fat and drain the blood. When cooking fish soup, a good idea is to first fry the fish on both sides, an extra step that will prevent it from breaking into small pieces while boiling and help remove any fishy odor.

Salt should not be added until just before serving because it can drain moisture from meat and solidify protein.

Recipe

Mustard Greens with Salt-cured Egg Soup

This easy and healthy family soup is made from readily available ingredients and is easy and fast to cook.

Ingredients:

2 salt-cured duck eggs (xianyadan); about 1.75 liters water; 4 slices peeled ginger; 3 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil; 800 g mustard greens, trimmed and cut into around 7.5-cm lengths

Procedure:

1. Crack the eggs into a bowl. Cut up each egg yolk (already solidified during the salting process) into around eight pieces. Lightly mix the egg yolk and egg white together so as to break the gel. Keep handy.

2. In a large pot, bring the water to a rolling boil. Add the ginger and oil. Add the mustard greens and return to a simmer, lowering the heat.

3. Pour in the eggs, stirring as the whites solidify. Continue to simmer, either covered or uncovered, for about three minutes until the egg yolk is thoroughly cooked. Transfer the soup mixture into a soup tureen or into individual bowls. Serve hot.