Yen Can Cook ~ Melon and Corn Silk Soup
Today I’m going to use these melons or gourds to boil a soup, together with some others ingredients and Chinese herbs that make the broth delicious yet nutritious.
Others chayote soup – Chayote & Black Eyed Peas Soup & Chayote Chicken Soup.
There’s a special ingredient in the recipe that might surprise you – corn silk, which is normally being discarded after you shuck the corn. But do you know the corn silk and corn husk that most of the people treat it as kitchen waste has many potential health benefits, including provides antioxidant, help with bladder and urinary tract inflammation, relieves edema, lowers blood sugar, improves cholesterol levels and many more.
I usually will save the corn silk and husk and store in freezer in a ziplock bag. The easiest and common way to consume the corn silk is making into tea or you may find many corn silk tea (bags) in the markets.
If you don’t have corn silk for this recipe, fret not, you can buy it from Chinese herbal shops or I also saw it being sold on online shopping platforms.
Ingredients (Serve: 3-4)
400g pork ribs/pork soup bones/chicken
1 small size green papaya (about 200-300g), peeled, seeds removed and cut into big chunks
1 small size bottle gourd (Hu Lu), peeled, cut into big chunks
1 small size chayote, peeled, halved (or cut into big chunks) and seed removed.
3-5 dried scallop
5g corn silk (fresh or dried), rinsed, drain and set aside
30g dried lily bulbs
2 dry candied dates
2500ml water
salt to taste
To blanch the pork ribs (optional)
1 tablespoon cooking wine
A few slices of ginger
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Step 1: Put pork ribs/pork soup bones/chicken into a pot, add in cooking wine and ginger, bring to a boil to remove blood and impurities. Remove, drain and set aside.
Step 2: Rinse dried lily bulbs, dry candied dates and dried scallop then set aside.
Step 3: Put all the ingredients (except salt) into a pot and add in water until enough to immerse all the ingredients. Bring to a boil and lower the heat and let the soup simmer for 2-3 hours.
Step 4: Season with salt and serve.
HAPPY COOKING! #stayhealthy #staysafe
Wow, 3 types of gourd…I can imagine how tasty the soup will be (with additional dried scallops & red dates)! Ya, the corn husk I would save after I’ve shave the corn kernels off as they’re very tasty and sweet when used to make soup or stock…but I’ve never used the silk left behind though (too much of a hassle to keep it…lol).