Sweet Corn And Pork Soup (Slow-Cooker)

We're going through a heat wave. Water rationing has started in several places. The haze is also back.

In the news! Haze hits KL, Selangor as heatwave continues to grip Malaysia: As Malaysia continues to be in the grip of the hottest weather it has ever experienced, parts of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur have now been hit by the haze.

Things are looking pretty gloomy down here but as they say, 'life goes on!' ; it's better to stay focused on drinking more water and at the same time do our best not to waste any, than on moping around.

In this household at least, there is always soup to look forward to. It's one way of staying hydrated and to me, it's pick-me-up food. You don't need a whole lot of ingredients to make a delicious pot of clear soup. Sweet corn, red dates and onions is my favourite way of going about it along with either chicken or pork. With a slow-cooker, this is an effortless meal. 

Sweet Corn And Pork Soup (Slow-Cooker)

I add a dash of soy and sliced chilli onto the meat, spoon it up with rice and be like, "Gosh, this is soooo satisfying.."

Sweet Corn and Pork Soup
Ingredients:
- 380g pork ribs
- 1 sweet corn (slice into 4)
- 1 yellow onion (cut into large slices)
- 10 dried red dates (make a small cut in the middle)
- 1.4L water
- 1/8 tsp salt as a start, and then to taste
- Ground white pepper
- Spring onion to garnish (chopped)

How-to:
1) Place all the ingredients into the slow-cooker. Add water. Season with some salt and pepper.
2) Cook on high for 5 hours. Taste (the soup should be sweetish at this point). Season with more salt (optional) to get a savory flavour.
3) Serve garnished with spring onions.

Place all the ingredients into the slow-cooker.
Add water, season and voila!

Sweet Corn And Pork Soup (Slow-Cooker)

 Best eaten on its own or with plain white rice.

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Sweet Mung Bean Barley Soup (Slow-Cooker)

Soft-spoken and modest, Chan doesn't know it but she was a key figure on my foray into sweet soups during my younger days. She's a friend whom you can share every imperfect bit about yourself; that friend who accepts you as you are. I was reminded of her when I made this. We lost touch when I moved to the city.

Sweet Mung Bean Barley Soup (Slow-Cooker)

It started with my first attempt at making mung bean soup. I told Chan about my upcoming kitchen adventure. Her enthusiasm soared and she started sharing with me various sweet soups she had tried before, from wheat porridge to red bean. I called her a couple of times about the ingredients I would need and the hows. Once I got the basics down to a pat, I began working with various ingredients and flavours to suit my moods and palate. After that, I was well on my way. Many different sweet soups have been made since!

This mung bean soup is sweetened with candied winter melon. Brown sugar, jaggery, honey rock sugar or just plain sugar is a great alternative. That's the magic of homecooking. It's about being free and easy, tossing this and that into the pot with a happy song in the heart. 

This sweet soup is an effortless dessert that I love making because it's basically about gathering the ingredients and leaving it to cook for a long time.  

Sweet Mung Bean Barley Soup (Slow-Cooker)
Ingredients:
- 150g sweet potatoes (cut into medium cubes)
- 100g mung beans (wash thoroughly)
- 100g barley (wash thoroughly)
- 100g candied winter melon strips (or to taste)
- 1 knotted pandan leaf
- 6 cups hot water

How-to:
1) Place all the ingredients into a slow-cooker. Add the water. Stir the ingredients.
2) Cook on high until the beans are tender. It took 3 hours for me.
Add more water if a soupier version is preferred.

Optional: Serve with a splash of coconut milk.

4 main ingredients: Candied winter melon, mung bean, barley, sweet potatoes!
Cook until tender.

Sweet Mung Bean Barley Soup

Best eaten warm!

It's good as a chilled dessert too. For this, I would usually add more water as the soup turns out thicker when chilled and I would add more candied winter melon too, not just to match the additional water, but because I find the sweetness a little flat.

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