Chinese Lotus Root Soup using rice cooker

Lotus Root Soup (Pork Ribs, Peanuts) using rice cooker

Chinese Lotus Root Soup (排骨莲藕汤)

Pork and lotus root soup (莲藕汤) is a healthy soup which helps to improve our immune system. The main ingredient lotus root is rich in dietary fiber, vitamin C, copper, iron, potassium, thiamin, manganese and has very low in saturated fat. This nutritious soup is simple yet is rich in flavourful with the addition of dried scallops, dried dates and dried squid.

Serves: 4-5 Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 2-3 hours using rice cooker

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium size lotus root or 300g of frozen slices
• 1-2 carrots - peeled and cut into chunks
• 300g pork ribs
• 100g peanuts - soaked in hot water for 10 mins
• 8 red dates
• 3 dried scallops
• 1/2 dried squid - cut into wide strips  
• Boiling water (preferred) or room temperature water
• A pinch of salt for tasting (put in a few mins before cooking time is up)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Boil water if you do not have enough water to cook soup.
• Soak peanuts in hot water for 10 mins to soften the peanuts. Discard the soaking water.
• Wash, peel and cut the lotus root (if in a whole) and carrots.
• Cut the squid using scissors into wide strips.
• Quick rinse of the red dates and dried scallops.
• Pour everything (except pork ribs, water and salt) into your rice cooker pot.
• Blanch the meat by pouring hot water into the bowl of meat and use tongs to rinse the meat.
• Put the blanched pork ribs inside the pot.
• Pour hot water into the pot until it “just” covers the ingredients
• Start the rice cooker by pressing the necessary soup settings.
• Enjoy your flavourful healthy soup!

Deariebear Mommie Tips

• You can pour hot water into the frozen lotus root slices to give them a quick rinse if you wish to wash them but I believe this optional as they should be cleaned before packaged and froze.
• Do not blanch the meat for too long especially small pork ribs as it will lose its flavour. Please do not wash the any meat with tap water to prevent contamination.
• Keep any left-over soup for the next day and cook with noodles. 

Full video on how to cook soup using rice cooker

 

Reviews of Philips HD3087/62

Features that I particular love:

Keep food warm for 24 hours after cooked

6.0mm 5-layer pot (the usual pot is 2.0mm). Give you the big pot taste

Longer cooking time for more flavourful soup

Durability. Used for 5 years and is still going strong

I Love this pot so much that I actually bought 2 of them :) Been using it to cook soup, rice and steam food. 

I tried cooking soup like the night before like 10pm and the soup will be ready for me to pack to work in the morning or last till we come back home for dinner since it is able to keep warm for 24 hrs. You can also prepare the ingredients the night before and cook it in the morning too. This shows the the durability of the 6.0mm pot. Thick enough to withstand the heat and duration.

Some may say that it is wasting electricity but convenience and time-saving is most important to me while still serving my family warm healthy meals. 

Imagine you do not need to watch over the fire for your soup. Most importantly, you are able to serve hot flavourful soup to your children when you reach home after work.

This Philips HD3087 is considered an old version but it has been the most durable and useful one. Currently it is not commonly sold online. Previously, I also bought them in Big Box 2 years ago (yes. I bought another 2 new ones and used them in Mumbai).

The only cons that I can think about it is;

The pot is heavier than a normal rice pit because of its thickness. Other than that, it is great!

You can consider the latest Philips HD2137 which is also a multi-purpose cooker which can do pressure cooking too. I used that when I need a larger pot of soup of 6 litres as compared to this current pot of 5 litres. It can be used to stew meat, make yogurt and bake. It is currently having a promotional discount at Qoo10. 

Happy soup cooking :)