Pork Bone Soup with Bean Curd Skin and Meatball

I almost forgot about the dry bean curd skin or tofu skin that I got about two weeks ago. Good thing(s) always come after doing bunch of cleaning, or organizing, hahaha… literally, you can find some items that were misplaced, hidden by your kids or just completely forgotten. You know what I mean.

Think of the dry bean curd skin as a ‘preserved’ tofu. Why? It contains the same nutrients as tofu, but it can be stored in your pantry for a long time. Prior to using it, the dry bean curd skin needs to be soaked in water. There is also the fresh one version that you can buy at the market. You can pretty much cook tofu skin, as you are to cook tofu.

For this time, I am sharing one of my go-to-comfort meal recipes, Pork Bone Soup with Bean Curd Skin and Meatball. It is very easy to prepare, light, yet rich in flavor. The broth that is coming from the pork bone complements well with tofu skin and meatball. To make the meal more hearty and filling, you can always add noodle to this soup. The best one to add is rice noodle. Or, you can just eat it with a bowl of warm fluffy rice, your choice.

Tip: The longer you cook the pork bone, the better the soup will taste as the heat brings out the flavor from the bone.

Ingredient:

• ½ lb pork bone – cut into medium piece (about 3 x 3 inches)
• 2 sheets of dried tofu skin
• 1 pack of meatball
• 2 stalk green onion – chopped
• 1 teaspoon of preserved chinese cabbage
• 4 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon of pepper

Direction:

• Submerge the tofu skin in water in a deep-dish plate or a bowl until it is soft – about 10-15 minutes. Cut into small pieces – bite-sized.
• Heat the water in a pot. Add in the pork bone and cook in a low heat for an hour at least. Remove and scoop out the layer of fat to enhance the flavor of the broth.
• Add the tofu skin, meatball, preserved chinese cabbage, salt and pepper.
• Cook for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.
• Serve in a bowl, garnish with chopped green onion and enjoy while it’s hot!