广东老火汤 - 三色萝卜煲猪骨

Long hour soup is one of the must have in Cantonese's dining table. If not everyday, it will be every other day. Important characteristics to define a good quality long hour soup included clarity, flavour and softness of ingredients.
We spend tremendous patient in preparing the meat, in this case, the soup bone.

First by rubbing some coarse salt to soup bones, we rinse and drain away excess water. Next, blanch in boiling water and complete by running the blanched soup bone with cold water to bring soup bone back to room temperature.

Ingredient
1. Green carrot 青萝卜 250g (peeled)
2. White carrot 白萝卜 250g (peeled)
3. Carrot 胡萝卜 100g (peeled)
4. Red date 红枣 20g (seeded)
5. Ginger 老姜 10g (cleaned)
6. Dried squid 鱿鱼干/ 墨鱼干 30g
7. Salted vegetable 大头菜 100g
8. Soup bone 猪骨 500g
9. Water 水 2500g
10. Pink salt to taste 粉色岩盐

Preparation
1. Slice diagonally, rotate carrot during cutting.
2. Smashed the ginger.
3. Grill dried squid on direct heat source, let cool, clean before use.
4. Wash away salt on salted vegetable, soak for 10 minutes.
5. Rub the soup bone with salt, rinse. Blanch in boiling water, drain with cold water to bring soup bone back to room temperature.
Method
1. Put water into pot, bring to boil.
2. Add ingredient 1-7, bring to boil again, lower the heat to simmer for 1 hour.
3. Add soup bone, simmer for 30 minutes, filter away white foam if there is any.
4. Continue to boil at low heat for 1-1/2 hour.
5. Taste the soup prior to flavour with pink salt.
Note
1. We may consume soup ingredients by dipping in soy sauce.
2. Recipe timing based on Kinox pot on gas stove.

Q&A
1. Will it be harmful to consume carrot and white radish (white carrot) at the same time?
It does not harm.
Carrot consists of enzyme called ascorbinase that destroys the vitamin C in the white radish. The amount of ascorbinase are higher in raw carrot. Although cooking it can reduce the amount of ascorbinase in the carrot, the vitamin C will be long gone due to heat before ascorbinase.