Creamy Winter Melon and Carrot Soup

Quite a fun and easy way to serves creamy soup if you do not really like clear soup and want some texture in it. For a light orange color or more creamy colour soup, reduce the amount of carrot (few slices) used and increase the winter melon portion. Have fun, it is all based on individual preferences.

Preparation:     10 mins, Cooking time:  25 mins

           

Ingredients (serves 2)

°         350g winter melon (weight after peeling), cut into small chunks

°         75g carrot, cut into mall chunks

°         50g shiitake mushroom, sliced 

°         350ml water or vegetable stock

°         1 piece (25g) vegetarian ham, sliced thinly

°         salt and pepper to taste

°         granulated mushroom bouillon (optional), to taste

°         some coriander,  for garnish

Method

1.      Place the winter melon, carrot and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5-8 minutes or until winter melon and carrot are tender.  

2.      Transfer to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.

3.      Place the mushrooms, vegetarian ham and soup  puree in a pot and bring to a boil. Season to taste with salt, pepper and granulated mushroom bouillon.

4.      Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls, garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve.

Miso Soup with Mashed Tofu and Edamame

I really love what I read in Shojin Ryori Cuisine where the Chef would crush the tofu used for the miso soup. It is the unique aspect of Shojin cooking that is to emphasize the practice of equanimity.  Hence, I whip up this miso soup with crushed tofu and tell this to my kid.  What I cook miso soup now, I tend to remember this crushing tofu and the association with equanimity, so it is kind of a beautiful reminder ...  

Preparation:     5 mins, Cooking time:  15 mins  

           

Ingredients (serves 2-4)

°         8 dried kelps in knot

°         1  thin slice ginger (optional)

°         500ml water

°         100g silken tofu, mashed

°         ¾ -1 tablespoon miso paste

°         some edamame soybean, for garnish

°         finely chopped spring onion or coriander leaves, for garnish

Method

1.      Place the dried kelps, ginger and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the kelps and ginger, if desire. Stir in edamame soybean, miso paste, mashed tofu and bring to a boil

2.      Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls, garnish with spring onion or coriander leaves and serve immediately.

Watercress Miso Soup

Yes, it can be so simple and yet delicious. Add udon or rice vermicelli to this, you have a bowl of noodle soup.

Preparation:     8 mins, Cooking time:  8 mins  

           

Ingredients (serves 2)

°         100g watercress

°         500ml water

°         1 slice ginger

°         Miso to taste

°         Some sesame seeds or chilli flakes or wolfberries, for garnish

Method

1.      Place the ginger and water in a pot and bring to a boil.

2.      Add in watercresss and season to taste with miso.

3.      Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls and garnish with sesame seeds or chilli flakes or wolfberries.

4.      Serve immediately.

Easy Shark’s Fin Melon Soup

I had some shark’s fin melon left after whipping up the Mock Shark’s Fin with Shark’s Fin Melon recipe. What I did was cut the Shark’s Fin Melon into thin shreds, together with carrot shreds, enoki mushroom, ginger and water (enough to cover 1cm above the ingredients in a pot) and threw them into a claypot.  Bring to a boil and simmer till the ingredients tender. Season to taste with salt, pepper and granulated mushroom bouillon. Garnish with few drops of fragrant oil and spring onion shreds and 1-2 slices of chilli (optional).

And here, a bowl of piping hot  -  Easy Shark’s Fin Melon Soup … 

Another Winter Melon with Miso Soup

Having over 650 recipes, I really cannot remember what I had created and have long stop printing out a hardcopy (or tag the photo index to them). It was only I had whip up this soup and starting to type out the recipe that I discovered that I have something rather similar - winter-melon-miso-soup! Anyway, this is yummy too. Next round, maybe I should try to marry matcha with miso.

Sometimes, I am thinking, maybe this is more than enough, even if I re-cook one dish per day, it needs more than 1 year to complete them. However, this does not mean, there are no more veg*n dishes to be created, in fact, there are still a lots more even we doesn’t need to veg*nise those meat dishes. Even by glancing through non-vegetarian cookbooks, those beautiful photo of the dishes, the presentation, the colour can easily inspired one to come up with a new veg*n dish.

Living in a Food Paradise country, there is a saying if you love Asia Food and can only go to one place, make it Singapore. Over the years, by intermingling of ingredients and spices from nearby cultures and also internationally, lead to Singapore’s distinctive fusion cooking that might not be easily found in Asia at this level. And the surviving of diversified Veg*n culinary in Singapore where a nation past time is eating, is a BIG achievement. That tell something – Veg*n food here is excellent.

Today, the veg*n food here is moving up another level, it is not just limited to hawker’s food or street food , it is now going into a new trend - wholesome organic food, fine food, tonic food and in future, we might find more and more good up-scale Veg*n Cuisine restaurants as the world is moving towards a more healthier lifestyle and going meatless more often.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 4)
° 150g winter melon, thinly sliced
° 75g king oyster mushroom, thinly sliced
° 25g carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
° 1 tablespoon wolfberries, soaked
° 1 slice ginger
° 750ml water
° 1 tablespoon miso paste or to taste
° freshly chopped spring onion or coriander leaves, for garnish
° 2 slices fresh red chilli (optional), finely chopped for garnish

Method
1. Place the winter melon, mushroom, carrot, ginger and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes or until the ingredients are soften.
2. Add in the wolfberries and season to taste with miso paste.
3. Ladle into individual serving bowls, garnish with spring onion or coriander leaves and chilli.
4. Serve immediately.

Quick Pumpkin Clear Soup

Simple and easy, because I am lazy and does not have much time lately! Have to come back to spend more time on recipes ... For a different twist, use miso paste to replace all the seasoning … I accidentally put a little more oil in the soup for the picture taking, oil can be omited.

Preparation: 10 mins Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 125g pumpkin (weight after peeling), small chunks
° 10 kelps in knots
° 6 seedless red dates
° 1 slice ginger
° 375ml water or vegetable stock
° salt and pepper to taste
° granulated mushroom bouillon (optional), to taste
° sesame oil or fragrant oil (optional), for garnish

Method
1. Place the pumpkin, kelps, red dates, ginger and water in a pot. Bring soup to a boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft.
2. Season to taste with salt, pepper, granulated mushroom bouillon and sesame or fragrant oil.
3. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls, garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve.

White Fermented Beancurd Soup

There was a post on Zen in Moonpointer and it led to the talk of Shojin Ryori Cuisine! After viewing the beautiful photos of this cuisine at Moonpointer, I was real hungry! I wanted Shojin Ryori Cuisine!

So I decide to make something like what was in the Photo – White Miso Soup with Tofu (I think). Well, I don’t have white miso at that moment, so what I did was to replace it with white fermented beancurd and added wakame seaweed instead of using kelps, for a real quick one.

Ok, you may ask what is Shojin Ryori Cuisine? Well, Shojin Ryori Cuisine is a Japanese Vegetarian Cuisine (Vegan, in fact) which originated in Zen Temples around 13th century in Japan. Now, it is rarely found even in Japan but if you want to have to experience what Zen Food is like , there is one and only one place in Singapore that serves this cuisine - Enso Kitchen, which isn’t a restaurant nor temple but a mobile food ‘experience’. They make use of the premises of a resident restaurant which is closed on Sunday to serve lunch. I guess you need reservation and check their website for more info.

Preparation: 3 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 1 teaspoon wakame seaweed
° 1 slice ginger
° 3 cubes preserved tofu or white fermented beancurd, mashed
° 500ml water
° few roasted sesame seeds
° ¼ teaspoon freshly chopped spring onion or fresh coriander leave(optional)

Method
1. Place the ginger, wakame seaweed, water in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Stir in the mashed preserved tofu and add it. Mix well.
3. Transfer to a bowl. Garnish with sesame seeds and spring onions or coriander leave.
4. Serve hot.

Marrow Green Soup

Marrow Green Soup with Crab Mushroom

This is a simple, light and easy to cook soup. Crab mushroom or buna shimeji mushroom can be added if desired. To make it more interesting, serve this soup differently. Adding red dates are to make the soup sweet and balance the "coolness" of the "Yin" vegetable soup. Omit red dates, if desired. Ginger warmths is able to balance off the "coolness" of the vegetables.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 125g marrow green (weighs after cutting), peeled and cut into small chunks
° 50g carrot, peeled and cut into small chunks
° 9 button mushrooms
° 3 seedless red dates
° 2 slices ginger
° 750ml water
° ½ teaspoon olive oil
° salt and pepper, to taste
° granulated mushroom bouillon (optional), to taste
° 1 teaspoon chopped spring onion or coriander, for garnish

Method
1. Place the marrow green, carrot, mushrooms, red dates, ginger and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until the marrow green is soft.
2. Season to taste with olive oil, salt, pepper and granulated mushroom bouillon.
3. Garnish with spring onion or coriander and serve hot.

Watercress and Soy Milk Soup with Button Mushroom

Basically this recipe is almost the same as the previous recipe on watercress and soy milk soup with tofu added. For this, white button mushroom is used. As the mushroom requires slightly longer time to cook, it is been boiled in water or stock prior to adding soy milk. The unsweetened soy milk used is those from the supermarket which is much thicker than those from the wet market, therefore when water or stock is added to this soup, it will not be too diluted and tasteless.

Preparation: 8 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g watercress
° 4 white button mushrooms, sliced
° 300ml water or vegetable stock
° 250ml unsweetened soy milk
° 8-10 slices ginger, peeled
° salt, to taste
° pepper, to taste

Method
1. Place the button mushrooms, ginger slices and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes.
2. Add in soy milk and bring to a boil. Throw in the watercress and let it boils. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls and serve immediately.

Watercress and Soy Milk Soup

This is a simple yet nutritious soup which can be cooked in minutes. It is healthy and quick to make. Lots of ginger is added which is same as those sweetened soymilk drink with ginger juice added to it. Reduce the amount of ginger, if desired. If you are using those unsweetened soy milk from the supermarket, dilute the soymilk with water or vegetable stock for a “light” soup, if desired.

Preparation: 8 mins, Cooking time: 8 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 100g watercress
° 500ml unsweetened soy milk
° 150g silken tofu (optional), diced
° 8-10 slices ginger, peeled
° salt, to taste
° pepper, to taste

Method
1. Place the ginger, soymilk in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Add in watercress, tofu and turn off the heat when it boils. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls and serve immediately.

Red Vegetable Soup

What is the real name for this vegetable? I don’t know. It is labeled as red vegetable and you can get it from the wet market and FairPrice Supermarket in Singapore. I remember my mom used to boil this quick soup with a salted egg. For this vegan recipe, I added some kelp to impart some flavour to the soup as I was not using any vegetable stock.

Preparation: 10 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
° 220g red vegetable, stem discarded
° 6 dried kelps in knot
° 1-2 thin slices ginger
° 750ml water
° salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Place the dried kelps, ginger and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
2. Add in the red vegetable and bring to a boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls. Serve hot.

Amaranth and Wolfberries Soup

Besides stir-frying amaranth, here is another way to cook this vegetable – use it to make a quick and simple soup. You may use carrot and corn to lend its sweetness to the soup. Remove the carrot and corn, if desired. The corn can be used to make corn with margarine and sprinkle with some salt and pepper.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins
Total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 150g-200g amaranth/Chinese spinach
° 1 slice ginger
° 1 tablespoon wolfberries (boxthorn berries), soaked
° 3 seedless red dates
° 750ml water
° salt, to taste

Method
1. Place the ginger, red dates and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
2. Add in the amaranth, wolfberries and bring to a boil. Season to taste with salt.
3. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls and serve hot.

Quick Cream Corn Soup

This is the fastest cream corn soup that can be whipped up within 8 minutes.

Preparation: 3 mins, Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 1 pack (380g) cream style sweet corn
° 2 fresh shiitake mushrooms, chopped
° 250ml water
° 1 tablespoon corn flour or tapioca flour, mix with 2 tablespoons water
° salt and pepper, to taste

Method
1. Place the sweet corn, mushroom and water in a pot. Bring soup to a boil and stir in the corn flour mixture and simmer for half a minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls and serve hot.

Creamy Corn and Potato Chowder Soup

A quick cream corn soup with potato and cardoncello mushroom added.

Preparation: 5 mins, Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 2-3)
° 75g potato, peeled and cut into small dices
° 25g cardoncello mushroom/king oyster mushroom, cut into small dices
° 250ml water
° 1 pack (380g) cream style sweet corn
° 1 teaspoon tapioca flour or corn starch, mix with 1 tablespoon water
° salt and pepper, to taste

Method
1. Place all the potato and mushroom and water in a pot. Bring soup to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender.
2. Stir in the sweet corn, corn flour mixture and bring to a boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and light soy sauce.
3. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls and serve.

Simple Peppermint Soup

This is a very simple soup! It is real light and refreshing. My mom used to boil this quick soup with beaten egg. For this vegan version, egg is been omitted. Add one or two stalks of fresh corianders (with root) to boil the soup, if desired.

Ingredients (serves 2)
- 1-2 slices ginger
- 1 small bundle (50g) mint leaves
- 500ml water
- salt to taste

Method
1. Add the ginger to water and bring to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes and add in mint leaves.
2. Turn off when it starts boiling and season with salt.
3. Serve hot.

Quick Watercress Soup

This is a quick and simple soup which can be make in minutes, using watercress which is low in fat and yet a powerful source of nutrients.

Preparation: 10 mins Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients (serves 4-6)
° 200g watercress
° 5-6 dried kelps in knot or 1 ear corn, cut into 4-6 pieces

° 1 carrot, peeled and diced
° 1 slice ginger
° 4-6 seedless red dates (optional)
° 1.5 litres water
° salt, to taste
° pepper, to taste

Method
1. Place the kelps/corn, carrot, ginger, red dates and water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Add in watercress and turn off the heat when it boils. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Ladle the soup into individual serving bowls and serve immediately.