I’m not one to exaggerate about anything. To say that I’m in awe of this Cantonese Mustard Green Pork Bone soup is not an overstatement. It’s delicate yet flavorful, and it’s also incredibly simple, with just 8 ingredients!
A Recipe from Our Readers
The idea for this soup recipe came directly from The Woks of Life community of readers. I’m so happy that we’re not just able to teach our readers recipes, but that our readers are willing to share feedback with us as well. It’s such a nice way to keep these traditions alive.
When we posted Bill’s recipe for his grandmother’s Pickled Mustard Greens and our Ingredients Glossary article about Mustard Greens themselves, readers chimed in using the comments section to share that their mothers, fathers, or grandmothers had used mustard greens to make soup.
I did some research, and found out that this is indeed a common Cantonese soup. Many make it as a health tonic as well as a hearty soup, to clear out the lungs.
Although Bill’s family is Cantonese, his parents never made this particular soup, and we weren’t aware of it. But as more people wrote in telling us about their memories of mustard green soup, we knew we had to give it a try.
What This Soup Tastes Like
Though mustard greens are usually bitter, they aren’t bitter at all in this soup. That was the most shocking thing about it. It was nothing like I envisioned!
The soup is so delicious, and filled with umami from the simmered pork bones. There was also a slight sweetness from the dried dates and goji berries.
Two Versions
In my research, I saw a couple versions of this Mustard Green Soup recipe. One version had a clear broth. The other version had a milky broth.
For this recipe, I chose to make the milky version, because I thought it would be a good opportunity to teach our readers how to make milky soups.
There are 3 steps to getting a milky broth. This technique can be applied to all proteins, including fish.
- Pan-fry your protein until golden brown, on all sides if possible.
- Add boiling water to the hot wok, right after pan-frying. The water must be boiling!
- Boil the stock until the stock turns milky white.
I specify mustard green stems in this soup, because they’re usually sold with the leaves removed. Using the stems only also gives the soup a cleaner appearance.
That said, if you buy mustard greens with the leaves still on them, you can add them to this soup.
You can use either the large petiole mustard greens or head mustard in this recipe. Read more about mustard greens in our Chinese Ingredients Glossary article.
Mustard Green Soup: Recipe Instructions
Soak the pork bones in cold water for 1-2 hours to purge them of impurities, changing the water once in between.
Then add the pork bones to a deep pot with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, and let it boil for 1 minute.
Remove from heat, and rinse the pork bones clean. Drain in a colander and set aside.
Preheat your wok over medium high heat until it starts to smoke. Add the oil to coat the bottom of the wok, and add in the pork bones. Reduce the heat to medium, and brown the pork bones on all sides.
Turn off the heat, and transfer the pork bones to a thick bottomed soup pot. Meanwhile, bring 10 cups of water to a boil.
Carefully pour the boiling water in with the pork bones, and add the ginger. Turn on the heat to high, and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, medium, cover and boil over medium heat for 30 minutes, or until the soup turns milky white.
At this stage, the soup should be bubbling, but not so much that the soup boils over. This process will turn the soup creamy white without losing too much liquid.
Finally, reduce the heat to low, and simmer (covered) for another 1 hour, until the meat is tender. Skim off any fat on the surface of the soup.
Add the mustard greens, dried goji berries, and dried dates.
(If you like added sweetness in your soup, cut the dates in half to release more flavor.)
Bring the soup to a boil again, and reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add salt to taste, and serve piping hot.
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Recipe
Cantonese Mustard Green Soup with Pork Bones
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork neck bones (the meatier the better; can also substitute pork ribs)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 10 cups boiling water
- a big chunk of ginger
- 1 pound mustard green stems (or stems and leaves)
- 2 tablespoons dried goji berries
- 6 dried Chinese dates (also known as jujubes)
- salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Soak the pork bones in cold water for 1-2 hours to purge them of impurities, changing the water once in between.
- Then add the pork bones to a deep pot with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, and let it boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, and rinse the pork bones clean. Drain in a colander and set aside.
- Preheat your wok over medium high heat until it starts to smoke. Add the oil to coat the bottom of the wok, and add in the pork bones. Reduce the heat to medium, and brown the pork bones on all sides. Turn off the heat, and transfer the pork bones to a thick bottomed soup pot. Meanwhile, bring 10 cups of water to a boil.
- Carefully pour the boiling water in with the pork bones, and add the ginger. Turn on the heat to high, and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, medium, cover and boil over medium heat for 30 minutes, or until the soup turns milky white. At this stage, the soup should be bubbling, but not so much that the soup boils over. This process will turn the soup creamy white without losing too much liquid.
- Finally, reduce the heat to low, and simmer (covered) for another 1 hour, until the meat is tender. Skim off any fat on the surface of the soup.
- Add the mustard greens, dried goji berries, and dried dates. (If you like added sweetness in your soup, cut the dates in half to release more flavor.)
- Bring the soup to a boil again, and reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add salt to taste, and serve piping hot.
