Turtle soup with angelica and dried longans

There is actually an area in Singapore that serves this soup all year round. That the shops selling this are in a rather naughty district probably testifies to its reputedly aphrodisiacal properties.

Ingredients (serves 4 to 6):

1 whole Chinese soft-shell turtle (abt 1 kg)

50g dried longan meat

50g wolfberries

30g sliced Chinese angelica root

3-4 slices ginger

Salt to taste

Thinly sliced ginger julienne

Method:

1. You can buy the turtle ready dressed from the seafood shops. All you have to do is to chop it into bite-sized pieces. Then blanch the turtle meat with boiling water. Set aside.

2. Heat up a large pot of water, about 3 liters, and add meat, ginger and herbs, reserving half the wolfberries.

3. Skim off any froth or scum as the pot comes to a boil. Turn the heat down to low.

4. Allow the soup to simmer for an hour and 15 minutes. Add the reserved wolfberries just before turning off the fire.

6. Season to taste. Garnish with plenty of very thinly sliced ginger julienne.

Conch and matsutake soup

This recipe comes from Ku Chi-fai, the executive Chinese chef of the Ritz Carlton Beijing. This fellow Cantonese is a maestro when it comes to making a winter soup, and this is one of his current best sellers.

Ingredients (serves 4 to 6):

500g frozen conch meat, thinly sliced

1 old mother hen, abt 1.5kg, chopped

50g dried Matsutake slices

4-6 dried Chinese dates or jujubes

4-6 slices of old ginger

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Rinse the blood off the chicken pieces and blanch with boiling water.

2. Divide the ingredients among 4 to 6 individual containers and cover with water up to the three-quarters mark. Tightly cover.

3. Steam the soup in a double-boiler for four to six hours or until the ingredients have given up all their flavor.

4. Cool slightly and serve in the original container, leaving the individual diners to salt to taste.

Bak kut the (Fujianese pork ribs soup)

This is a restorative for the hard-working coolies who used to work the docks of Singapore and Malaysia in the early days. The pork ribs were considered an off-cut then and cheap, and white pepper and garlic cloves could be had for a song. These days, of course, the soup has fallen victim to its own success.

Ingredients (serves 4 to 6):

1 kg pork ribs

40g white peppercorns, crushed

1 stick cinnamon

1 black cardamom pod

1 teaspoon salt

4 to 5 whole garlic bulbs

1 tbsp dark soya sauce

1 tbsp light soya sauce

Method:

1. Wash, rinse and dry the pork ribs. Blanch with boiling water.

2. Place the white peppercorns, cinnamon and black cardamom pod in a small muslin bag and tied tightly around the neck.

3. Scrub off the loose outer skin of the whole garlic and trim off the tops so a little of the cloves is exposed.

4. Heat up a large pot of water, about 3 liters, and add the pork ribs, garlic and the bag of seasoning.

5. As the pot comes to a boil, skim off the froth and turn the heat down to low.

6. Allow the soup to simmer for another 45 minutes to an hour.

7. Add the light and dark soya sauce and taste to adjust seasoning. Turn off the heat and serve hot with rice or youtiao, the Chinese dough fritters.

8. You may also prepare a pot of fragrant oolong tea to go with the meal, because that was what was done traditionally, as the Chinese believe tea cuts the grease on fatty meat.