Free Food Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 cakes bean curd
• vegetable oil for semi-deep-frying
• 1 breast of chicken
• 22 ml (1 1/2 tablespoons) corn flour (blended in 90 ml (6 tablespoons) water)
• 6 crisp lettuce leaves (or Chinese cabbage)
• 750 ml (1 1/2pints) stock
• 12 ml (2 1/2 teaspoons) salt
• 2.5 ml (1 teaspoon) freshly ground white pepper to taste
• 22 ml (1 1/2 tablespoons) vinegar (Chinese aromatic, if available)

Serve 6-8

** Free Food Recipes **

Method:

1. Put one cake of bean curd into boiling water to simmer for 5-6  minutes, drain and cut it into 10-12 pieces. Cut the other bean curd into 10-12 pieces. Deep-fry these for 3 1/2 minutes and then drain.

2. Place in cold water to rinse. Chop and finely mince the chicken and mix thoroughly with the blended corn flour. Cut each lettuce leaf slantwise into 4 pieces.

3. Heat the stock in a saucepan. Pour in the chicken and corn flour mixture and stir until it is well dispersed throughout the stock (if inclined, add a liter milk to whiten the soup). Now add the lettuce leaves and the boiled and fried bean curd pieces.

4. When the contents are simmering, add the salt. pepper and vinegar. Stir and simmer gently for 5-6 minutes. Serve in a large soup bowl or tureen.

Note: The hot peppery soup, contrasting with the blandness of the bean curd, and the fresh green vegetables makes an interesting ’semi-soup’ dish.