Soupy Days - Apples

I am a soup lady, I love soups :)  I find soups very comforting, a bowl of soup with some steamed rice would make a meal for me.  I remember as a kid, I love pouring my entire bowl of soup over my rice making it soft and soggy but very flavorful when the soup is absorbed.  Naturally, my family is also a soup family after being fed with soup every so often ;)

Chinese style soups are known to be nourishing and remedial in nature.     Vegetables and herbs are combined  according to their health benefits and boiled/double-boiled with some protein like pork ribs/lean meats to produce a rich and tasty soup.

Of late, I am in the mood to try out new soup recipes, 'new' in my home that is...compared to the ones commonly made like lotus root, old cucumber, arrow root, watercress, winter melon etc.  

Sweet soups are uncommon during meals, they are mostly savoury. So, I was glad that this Apple Soup was acceptable to loved ones.  Phew!

The natural sweetness from this fruit based soup coming from the apples and dates (red and honey) is refreshing.  I love the sweet and delicate scent too.  Snow fungus besides its health benefit provided some bites.   I did not add any salt to maintain the original sweetness of the soup.

Ingredients

• 300g pork ribs
• 7 dried red dates
• 3 dried honey dates
• 4 apples 
• 1500 ml water
• 10g snow fungus

Steps

1. Boil water in a small pot.  Blanch pork ribs by putting it in boiling water for 1-2 minutes to remove scums.  Rinse after removing from boiling water.
2. Peel and core the apples.  Cut apples into quarters.
3. Wash red and honey dates.
4. Wash snow fungus and soak in water until it blooms.
5. Put apples, red dates, honey dates, snow fungus and water to boil in a pot.  
6. Add ribs to pot of boiling soup.
7. Reduce heat and let soup simmer for 1-2 hours.