This is a classic Chinese style bone broth that is great for when the weather is hot, due to the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) properties of the ingredients used. You may raise an eyebrow at that, but Chinese believe that food have various intrinsic properties and in this case, watercress has heat-relieving properties due to its highly yin nature and is also good for moistening the lungs.
My mother would make this soup whenever my brothers/ I complained of scratchy sore throats, coughs and felt ‘heaty’ back in Singapore. I’m no TCM expert, but that usually meant that our bodies had probably excessive yang and were hence imbalanced. Drinking such a soup would somehow quench our thirst and soothe the body more than a glass of cold water could, even in hot weather.
When I first started AIP, my throat felt almost constantly awkward, like as thought there was an obstruction in there. Then I also felt the telltale ‘heatiness’ and realised that I had been consuming more foods with yang properties, especially since just about all AIP-based recipes were western in nature. A lot of dry heat cooking (such as oven baking/ broiling/ grilling/ frying) was involved and my body was definitely suffering from too much yang. As I got more comfortable working around the permitted foods on the AIP, I branched out and cooked more Chinese foods such as nourishing soups like this one. The awkward sensation in the throat disappeared and I felt so much better, along with the gut healing that was taking place by eliminating aggravating foods.
There’s no fixed recipe for many Chinese style bone broths, but I have provided measurements for easy reference. My mother would probably decrease the quantity of meats used, but as I serve this as a complete meal rather than a course, I have chosen to increase the amount of ingredients. The addition of Asian pear which has cooling properties compliments the watercress and the dried figs, red dates/ jujubes and scallops help contribute to the tastiness of the soup. These ingredients can be easily found in Asian grocery stores catering to Chinese populations in western countries. If you are unable to find the dried red dates, you may wish to substitute with snacking dates. Dried scallops/ conpoy are not substitutable with fresh scallops and may be omitted if unavailable.
Blanching of the pork ribs is ideal, to get rid of excessive blood and impurities which contribute to scum appearing in the bone broth. It also removes the strong ‘porky’ flavour from the bone broth that some people may find objectionable. However, if you are short on time or feeling lazy, it is perfectly acceptable to omit the blanching step. You just have to skim the bone broth more once it’s completed. In this case I was short on time, but I would normally prefer to blanch the meat before proceeding with cooking the bone broth. I chose to cook it in my Instant Pot pressure cooker as well, to hasten the cooking process. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, I have included stove top and slow cooker methods as well.
One important thing to take note when making this soup is to add the watercress to the soup when it is hot and simmering. A quick pressure cooking at the end cooks the watercress and dampens the strong yin nature of the vegetable. It is perfectly acceptable for the watercress to take on a dark green colour. The soup will be unpalatable and bitter if the watercress is added to cold liquid. I’ve made that mistake once and won’t repeat it again!
This bone broth has a subtle hint of sweetness and savouriness plus the mellow taste of simmered watercress. The meat is almost falling off the ribs and very tender, due to the pressure cooking. If you’re used to eating watercress raw in salads, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the more delicate taste in this bone broth. Have you tried watercress before, either raw or cooked?
Ingredients (Serves 4-6)
- 2lbs/ 1kg pork ribs, sectioned into individual ribs
- 1 Asian pear, peeled, cored and cut into 4 wedges
- 1 heaped tbsp dried figs, rinsed
- 1 heaped tbsp dried red dates/ jujubes, pitted & rinsed
- 1 heaped tbsp dried scallops/ conpoy, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes
- 8 cups/ 2L filtered water
- 1 bunch watercress (approximately 4 cups)
- Sea salt to taste
Method (Using Instant Pot Pressure Cooker without blanching)
Note: If you wish to blanch the pork ribs, put the ribs in the inner container, top up with enough water to cover the ribs and use ‘Sauté’ function. Allow it to boil for 3 minutes uncovered before cancelling the function and straining the meats and discarding the water. Then clean out any additional scum on the sides of the pot and proceed with the method below.
- Place all ingredients except watercress and sea salt into the Instant Pot inner container
- Cover the pot with the pressure cooker lid and set the valve to ‘sealing’. Cook for 30 minutes under ‘Soup’ setting
- Once the cooking time is completed, press ‘keep warm/cancel’ and allow the cooker to cool naturally until the pressure is released. You may speed up the pressure release duration by placing damp cool towels on the lid
- Remove lid and skim off oil and scum with a ladle
- Select the ‘Sauté’ function and once the bone broth begins to boil, add in the watercress and stir to mix
- Press ‘keep warm/cancel’ to cancel the sauté function and select ‘Soup’ setting, then press the ‘-‘ button to adjust the cooking time to 3 minutes (ensure valve is at ‘sealing’)
- Once the cooking time is completed, press ‘keep warm/cancel’ and allow the cooker to cool naturally until the pressure is released. You may speed up the pressure release duration by placing damp cool towels on the lid
- Add sea salt to taste and serve hot
Method (Using stove top + blanching)
- Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the meats. Bring to boil. Add meats and allow to boil for 3 minutes. Strain meats and discard water, cleaning out any additional scum on the sides of the pot
- Return the meats to the pot and add in the rest of the ingredients except watercress and sea salt
- Bring to boil, lower heat to a bare simmer and allow to simmer covered for about 2 – 3 hours.
- About 45 minutes before cooking time is up, strain liquid fat and any remaining scum, then add in the watercress
- Add sea salt to the soup to taste and serve hot
Method (Slow cooker + blanching)
- Fill a large pot with enough water to cover the meats. Bring to boil. Add meats and allow to boil for 3 minutes. Strain meats and discard water, cleaning out any additional scum on the sides of the pot.
- Return the meats to the pot and add in the rest of the ingredients except watercress and sea salt
- Bring to boil, then turn off heat
- Transfer everything to slow cooker pot and cook on low setting for 8 hours or high setting for 4 hours.
- About 1 hour before cooking time is up, strain liquid fat and any remaining scum, then add in the watercress
- Add sea salt to the soup to taste and serve hot
