Nov 282011
 

[photo-longan dried fig chinese yam pork soup]

For those who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you had a warm and wonderful holiday weekend! I enjoyed my time off with my husband eating and relaxing.  We also took a day hike at Mountain Diablo.  From the top of the summit there, at about 3,900 ft above sea level, we can see all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.  The panoramic views from Mount Diablo’s observation deck was so amazing.  We also hiked to the Rock City and climbed inside some of the cozy and intriguing sandstone caves.  It was a very fun day.

I am also very excited to share that I was recently visited by the Fairy Hobmother and received a very nice treat from her! If you are a blogger, you might have heard of the Fairy Hobmother from Appliances Online.  This online store sells cool chimney cooker hoods.  And the Fairy Hobmother spreads joy and happiness to the world’s bloggers by providing treats for great, hard work in the blogosphere.  And one day, I received an email from her because she stumbled upon my blog and decided to reward me with an Amazon gift card!  I was so thrilled and surprised at the same time!

The Fairy Hobmother also told me that if you (blogger) leave a comment on this post and make a wish for her to visit your blog, that you could be selected and rewarded by her.  So if you are a blogger, be sure to leave a comment on this post for a chance to be rewarded for your hard work in the blogosphere!

[photo-bowl of longan dried fig chinese yam pork soup]

Longan and Dried Fig Pork Soup with Chinese Yam

On to my soup recipe now.  This fresh longan and dried fig soup with Chinese Yam has a delicious light sweet flavor.  It is a neutral, wonderful light soup for Fall after the greasy heavy holiday meals. It is also very easy to make.  If you are unfamiliar with Longan and Chinese Yam, or would like to learn more about their health benefits and preparation methods, click on my Common Ingredients section and look for my Longan ingredient post, and Chinese Yam ingredient page.  And if you are a vegetarian looking for a comforting sweet soup, you can make a vegan version of this soup by skipping the pork ingredient in this recipe (and optionally add one more dried fig for a sweeter taste).  Kids and adults will love this soup, either with or without the pork.  This recipe is also gluten-free.  Enjoy!

Don’t forget to leave a comment on this post. The Fairy Hobmother may very well select you for a wonderful treat to spread joy and happiness!

5.0 from 1 reviews
Recipe: Longan and Dried Figs Pork Soup with Chinese Yam
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup, Dessert Soup
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8
 
This is a light and sweet comforting soup that is perfect for the Autumn season. This recipe is gluten free. A vegetarian version of this soup can be made by skipping the pork ingredient in this recipe.
Ingredients
  • 10 oz of fresh longan (about 28 pieces)
  • 2 dried white figs (about 0.8 oz)
  • 4 slices of dried Chinese Yam (about 0.5 oz)
  • 1.5 lbs of lean pork, marinated with salt
  • 2 tsp of sweet almonds (about 4 grams)
  • 2 tsp of bitter almonds (about 4 grams)
  • 10 cups of water
  • some salt for seasoning
Instructions
  1. Prepare a small pot of hot water to blanch the pork. While water is boiling, cut the marinated pork to ¼" thin slices. Blanch the meat and set aside.
  2. Boil 10 cups of water in a large soup pot. Meanwhile, rinse all ingredients. Peel and pit the fresh longan by pinching the top of each longan to crack open. Tear the longan flesh in half with your fingers and pull out the inner black pit. See the Longan ingredients page for details.
  3. When the soup water boils, add all ingredients and cook on high heat for about 15 minutes or until it boils. Reduce the heat to Low and simmer for 1.5 hours.
  4. Taste and season the salt as necessary. Serve.

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  8 Responses to “Longan and Dried Figs Pork Soup”

  1. Oh Dear Fairy Hobmother,
    Please save my aching arms and my overly pregnant body from hours upon hours of mixing by hand this holiday season. We have oodles and oodles of holiday goodies to bake and share with all of our family and friends.
    Thank you,
    The Megalomaniac Mommy

  2. I love longans but never thought to make an herbal soup …with figs, no less! Sounds great for a chilly day like today.

  3. Happy Holiday,
    I love all your soup, especially good with this cold weather!

    I nominated you for a Versital award. Please take a look at award rules in my Award blog.

  4. What an interesting soup – never seen a combo quite like that before =)

  5. it looks good. longans really make wonders here.

  6. Hi Sharon,

    What a simple but beautiful soup. It is perfect for this weather that is getting colder by the day. I also want to thank you for visiting my site yesterday.

    ~ ray ~

  7. These are exotic ingredients in my neck of the woods, but I’d sure like to sample a bowlful…looks lovely~

  8. this is one of my fav! my mum loves cooking this for my whole family

    -FiSh
    ohFISHiee.blogspot.com

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