Home Cook-Spare Ribs with Corn and Mushrooms

So on one of those days, my hubby asked me if there is any recipe that I made on my own. I told him there is one so far and that's about it. 

Suffice to say, I decided to take up the challenge and try and do some original recipes of my own. This is one of my own recipe that I did on my own from all my past soup experiences.

My instructions will be based on the assumption that you use a gas stove or induction. If you are using a thermopot, like me, once it's boil and the pork ribs are cooked, I will place it back inside the thermopot and let the flavour sits in for about 4-6 hours, knowing thats how my in-laws and hubby like it. I will reheat it again before serving. 

I love putting in red dates and goji berries as it will bring sweet flavour to the soup other than adding salt for its saltiness.

Ingredients

• 1 small cup of goji berries
• 6 pieces of red dates
• 500gm of pork ribs, cut into smaller pieces
• 1 packet of Shiitake mushrooms
• 2 medium sized carrots, sliced 
• 2 firm Chinese tofu
• 1 packet of small corn
• Salt for tasting

Instructions

1. Boil about 1 litre of soup in a big pot.
2. Put all the ingredients except pork ribs.
3. When the water has boiled, throw in the pork ribs and stir it.
4. Add salt according to your liking, while tasting it.
5. Boil for another half hour and it's ready to serve.

Home Cook-Tom Yum Goong Recipe

If there is one thing I like is to do my favourite clear tom yum soup recipe. I had cook it once before about 3 months back. Family loves it except the first time, it was too spicy (yep, I put too much Thai green chilli ;-)) ) and second time, it was too sour. 

Now that I am doing this for the third time, I think it will come out better than before. It will be left to my family to judge later tonight.

Here is my recipe, taken courtesy from www.thaitable.com and I followed most of it except one or two things.

Ingredients

• 6 green or red chilli peppers *
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 3 stalks of lemongrass
• 2 limes
• 200gm Grey Oyster Mushrooms
• 200gm peeled shrimp
• Quart pot of water
• 2 tablespoon of Tom Yum Paste or Powder*
• Thai fish sauce* 
• Option to include some meat; chicken or pork

*Note: For chilli peppers, if it's green chilli padi or thai green chilli, I suggest you cut and put about 3 pieces first and add more later on as you taste the soup when it's boiled. Cilli Padi, especially Thai ones tend to be spicier.

For the fish sauce, I will use a tablespoon and pour it in to the soup few tablespoon at a time and then taste it first. Different people have different requirement for their tom yum soup to be sour. So, pour and taste at your own liking, yeah. 

It is up to you if you wish to include the tom yum paste/ powder. My earlier two tom yum soup recipe, there wasn't any paste/ powder at all. This time, I am trying it since I bought this from Singapore. The place I found is a haven for Thai people to congregate and shop there by bringing in their local products and fresh vegetables from Thailand.

It's too bad that I can't find one Thai supermarket here at all.

Instructions

1. Fill up quarter pot of water in the pot and bring it to boil.
2. Prep the lime by cutting it into halves.
3. Peel off the lemongrass leaves stalk and then take the little crab hammer and beat the end of the stalk to release the flavour and smell.
4. Cut the green chilli into halves.
5. Add the chilli, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves into the pot and wait for it to boil.
6. Once boil, pour in the meat, squeeze the lime juice into the pot and add in the paste/powder and stir it well until it dissolve.
7. Wait for few minutes and stir the pot and then pour in the shrimps and mushrooms.
8. Include the fish sauce by pouring it few tablespoon first and taste until you feel that it is sour enough for you.
9. Optional to add in the cilantro before you serve.