Black Bean Soup With Pork Ribs

I've been boiling pots of Chinese soups for the last few days due to a couple of reasons: The bout of rain and chill that had overtaken LA in the past week, and a bad case of cold and throat infection that I have, unfortunately, just passed on to my husband!

So on to soups we go! A soup is not only packed with nutrients, it is easy to make, easy to chew on and warms up the body in a flash. When I am nursing a cold, all I want is a nice bowl of broth and a blanket to bury myself under!

love how the bones are totally blackened by the beans!

My mom used to make this soup for me when I was young, but she would use pig's tail instead of pork ribs. I wasn't able to get my hands on any pig's tail, so I used pork ribs instead. I'd like to think of that as a healthier alternative too! LOL To be honest, I am not a fan of beans, and black beans are one of the few that I actually enjoy eating!

Just a note, I didn't need to add any salt to the soup because the flavor of the pork, beans, dried scallops and red dates are so intense that there isn't any need to. But feel free to add them if you wish to!

Black Bean Soup With Pork Ribs

Ingredients
200g of pork ribs 
1 cup of black beans, soaked for at least an hour and rinsed.
7 red dates/jujube dates
4 small dried scallops
2.5 liters of water

Boil pork ribs vigorously in a pot of  water over high heat for 10 minutes. This is to remove scum and unpleasant smell from the pork. Pour the dirty water away and rinse the pork ribs.

In the same pot, combine the pork ribs, black beans, red dates and dried scallops in 2.5 liters of water. Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 2 hours. Add a cup of water gradually if the soup dries up too fast.

Taste and correct for salt. If the soup is too thick, dilute it with a bit of water. If it is too diluted for your liking, boil it further to thicken it. Enjoy!

Tweet