food

Instead of garnishing the soup with green onions, feel free to stir in fresh coriander leaves (cilantro) to taste, at the end of cooking if desired.

Serves 4 - 5

In a medium bowl, add the seasonings to the ground beef, adding the cornstarch last (use your fingers to mix in the cornstarch). Marinate the ground beef for 15 minutes.

While the beef is marinating, bring the chicken stock or broth to a boil. Stir in the marinated ground beef, using chopsticks to break up any lumps. Add the sugar and pepper. Bring the soup back to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer for a few minutes to allow the ground beef to cook. Taste and add extra salt if needed.

If desired, add the extra 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with water and stir to thicken.

Very slowly pour in the egg whites in a steady stream. Use a fork to gently stir the eggs in a clockwise direction until they form thin streams or ribbons.

Garnish with green onion and serve.

Red bean soup is both a popular snack and a sweet dessert soup. Azuki beans are a "yang" or warming food. Tangerine peel, used in many recipes, is thought to aid digestion.

Azuki beans, dried lotus seeds, and dried tangerine peel are sold in plastic bags in Chinese or Asian markets.

1. Soak the azuki beans in water overnight to soften. (While the beans won't have completely softened, they will have expanded considerably). Drain.
2. About 2 hours before making the soup, place the dried lotus seeds in a bowl with enough water to cover.
3. In a medium saucepan, bring the 6 cups of water with the tangerine peel to a boil. (The soup can be thicker or thinner as desired. I usually start with 6 cups of water, and then add more boiling water at the end with the brown sugar if I want to thin it a bit.)
4. Turn the heat down, add the adzuki beans and lotus seeds and simmer, partially covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the beans are softened to the point where they are just beginning to break apart.
5. Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Taste and add more sugar if desired. (I usually start with 1/3 cup and then add more, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed). Thin the soup by adding boiling water if desired.
Remove the dried tangerine peel before serving. Serve the red bean soup hot or cold. Serves 6 - 8.

Variations:
*Use white instead of brown sugar
*Other versions of this dish are made with longan seeds, lotus roots or lily bulbs.p] Another recipe for Sweet Red Bean Soup