Dried Oyster, Hair Vegetable, Mushroom and Soybean Pork Rib Soup

Why people make this soup

The week of Chinese New Year is a wonderful, delicious problem: sea cucumber, fish maw, abalone, pork knuckle, rich chicken, glutinous dumplings stuffed with red bean or sesame — it is nearly impossible to eat lightly. By the third day, many people feel heavy, bloated, and sluggish. This is the soup Nourilo recommends for precisely that moment. Dried oysters and hair vegetable (fa cai) are traditional New Year ingredients — “fa cai” sounds like “get rich” in Cantonese, making them auspicious — but they also happen to be a genuinely useful pairing for the digestive system. Combined with shiitake mushrooms, soybeans, and tangerine peel, this soup is known in Cantonese cooking as being “gui you” (very effective at cutting through grease). It is warming, satisfying, and works in the background to help restore the digestive energy that a week of feasting can drain.

Method

1. Soak the dried oysters, shiitake mushrooms, soybeans, and tangerine peel separately until softened. Drain.
2. Pan-fry the rehydrated oysters in a lightly oiled pan over medium heat until lightly golden and fragrant.
3. Blanch the pork ribs in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water.
4. Place all ingredients except the hair vegetable into a large pot with 2.4 L of water.
5. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low-medium heat for 1.5 hours.
6. Add the hair vegetable (rinsed) in the final 10 minutes and simmer until it softens and the strands are silky.
7. Serve hot, eating both the soup and the solid ingredients.

Nourilo’s Tips

If you prefer a meat-free version, replace the pork ribs with about 500 g of winter melon or fuzzy melon. This vegetarian version is lighter in flavour and adds extra cooling and diuretic properties, making it even more effective for clearing digestive heat after heavy holiday eating.