Slow-boiled dried octopus with dried vegetables soup

This is one soup I used to love when I was young. Almost forgotten about it until the other day at the market I saw someone selling all sorts of dried octopus. So I bought a couple and was wondering what to do with it until I found some dried vegetables (pak choy kon) at the Justlife organic shop at IPC.

Finally, it both clicked and the soup I used to love was born again. I remember my mom slow boiling this soup in a deep claypot for hours and when it was finally time for dinner, yours truly here would have more than 2 helpings at least. So satisfying. Just blogging about it already makes want to go into my kitchen now and scoop up a hearty bowl of this lovely soup.

This dried vegetable (pak choy kon) can be found in most Asian shops but majority are imported from China. I prefer the locally dried organic ones which is not so easy to find compared to those imported from China. Maybe, that’s why I have not made this soup for so long. Well, I’m glad to have remembered and made it today. For those who have not tried it, make it at least once then you’ll probably know what I am talking about.

Ingredient

1 small dried octopus
1 dried sole fish
1 old free range chicken (cut into 8 pieces)
5 red dates
1 honey dates
50 gm dried organic pak choy
3 litres of water
sea salt to taste

Method

1. Blanch the chicken pieces, strain and add them into the 3 litres of filtered water. Bring to boil.
2. Rinse the rest of the ingredient under running water. Cut the dried octopus into 2 pieces and soak for a little while in water.
3. Snip off the bottom portion of the dried pak choy and soak the vegetable in some water as well.
4. Add the dried sole fish, red dates, honey dates, dried octopus and dried pak choy into the boiling soup, let it boil for 20 minutes then lower the heat to slow boil for 2 hours.
5. Add sea salt to taste.