KOT CHOY SOUP

Have you heard of anyone craving for soup? Well, I do, most of the time too. Reason being, I grew up in a typical Chinese family that put very high importance on soup, a source of nourishment to our body. Here, I am talking of the Chinese version that boiled for hours to ensure all the essence of the ingredients are released into the soup. I always make sure mine are boiled for a minimum of 4 hours. I learnt quite a fair bit from my mum. The ingredients you put into your soup is very important as some are cooling (veggie based) to our body while some are heaty (herbal-based). Using different types of meat makes a big difference too. I was told a mix of both would achieve a balance, e.g. watercress (cooling) with a few pieces of dried longans (heaty).

Anyway, to cut my auntie story short, today I wanna introduce a very nice soup called "Kot Choy Soup". I have no idea what it is called in English but I would appreciated if anyone have any idea, please do let me know. My grandma used to boil this soup for us during Chinese New Year and she grew it in her small veggie plot in front of her wooden house. She told us that it is not easy to grow. This is not something that we can easily find in the wet market too. I happened to find it at the Chinese herbal stall in SS2 wet market. Priced at RM5 a bunch, the lady seller told me that this veggie is selling like hot cakes. She said that this veggie is not easy to grow but highly nutritious. I cannot remember what it is good for (need to go back to check with the lady), but one thing for sure, it makes a very nice soup. Kot Choy has a very thin stem with small leaves and tiny yellow flowers at the tip. Using a scissor, cut it into half and rinse it with water. Drain and set aside.


Personally I prefer using old hen to boil soup as the end result is much sweeter whereas it is much clearer if you use pork ribs. But I find pork ribs is not sweet enough unless you use a lot of it. Old hen is cheaper and best of all, my two boys are more than happy to finish off the meat for me. Remember to trim off the fats and skin.


Using a deep pot, bring about 4-5 liter of water to boil. Add in a handful of red dates (wash and remove the seed).


Once the water is boiled, put in the chicken and kot choy. Brings to a boil before reducing to slow fire and let it simmer for at least 3 - 4 hours.


Using a strainer, remove the chicken and kot choy. Remove access oil and season with salt. Here you are, a perfect bowl of Kot Choy soup. Aromatic and comforting to your stomach! Ahh...i wish I can have a bowl right now.