Last night I checked the weather news and we could hear that a very bad winter storm was hitting Manitoba. So we could expected colder temperatures and bad driving issues for next day. So at the same time I felt like fighting a cold and my stomach was upset. There is nothing better than TCM Soup bone for that. Specially because I had no intention to leave my clinic building on lunch break next day to adventure for a fast food during a crazy winter blizzard. So the plan was made and I decided for something tastier than regular chicken that would kill my fatigue. Beef ribs , they are my favorite ! The problem is that it is not easy to find in all the supermarkets.
But I had hope because they just opened a #Saveonfoods in my neighborhood and because the majority of my neighbors are Chinese people I could probably find very different cuts of meat that you don’t find in others supermarket…and I was right!
So I got the last 2 packages of back beef ribs costing 5.4 dol each. What means 4 big bones for my soup.
I also got Celery root or” celeriac” what it is an edible root vegetable in the celery family. Celery roots and others parts are used to treat mild anxiety and agitation, fatigue & cough. I added a photo so you can search for it at the supermarket!
Because I’m feeling fighting something I decided to get a special ingredient:-Elephant garlic, that is a perennial plant belonging to the onion genus. It is not a true garlic but a variant of the garden leek and exhibits antibacterial property and in a research from Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2013 Oct; 16(10): 1088–1094 showed “that has an inhibitory effect on osteosarcoma cells (U2OS) proliferation and cell activity, they also found that the antimicrobial activity of elephant garlic was stronger than ampicillin when used against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus thuringiensis, Staphylococcus actinomycetes, and gray actinomycetes.” So If works for all that into my soup it goes!
Elephant garlic looks like a super big garlic, 4 x the size, you will not forget once you see it, you can find easily anywhere!
Ingredients :
4 back beef ribs units
1/2 celery root peeled and cut in small pieces
1 clove of Elephant garlic chopped small
1 table spoon of chopped fresh rosemary
2 celery chopped
2 shallots chopped
15 cm ginger root peeled and sliced thin
2 cups of chopped baby carrots
salt and pepper
1 tea spoon of oregano
1 cinnamon stick
1 unit of Star anise
5 Cloves
fresh parsley for the end
one cup and 1/2 of Conchiglie known as “shells” pasta
2 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil
4 liters of boiled water
1 OIL cup separator
How to prepare it:
I cooked my soup on a pressure cooker for 30 minutes but most of Canadians don’t feel very comfortable using one, so get a regular pan that can fit 5 liters of water.
Add kosher salt and pepper in your beef ribs, separate them into 4, in the package they come 2 together. No need to cut the bone, just separate them to fit better into your pan. In medium heat add the olive oil and fry the shallots for one minute than add the 4 ribs, one side first, than turn so both side gets some color. Add the garlic, stir fry all together for 2-3 minutes. Add the rosemary and fry for few seconds and add the 4 liters of boiled water.
Add all the others ingredients. I add in total 2 table spoons of kosher salt but you can adjust in the end.
Cook for 1 hour and 45 min in medium heat.
Once is done, remove the ribs and on a separate tray use some aluminum foil and put the ribs there and broil for 10-15 min so all the fat will burn and will get crispy. Take time to remove all the meat from the bone and add to the soup.
Make sure you have a oil separator cup and scoop the most you can from the oil and separate in a container and leave in the fridge , it will provide a great “schmaltz” it means “rendered animal fat”.
Now the soup is ready in a separate pan get 3 liters of boiled water , add 1 tables spoon of salt and 1 table spoon of oil and cook your pasta to be al dente and put back into your soup pan, serve with chopped parsley on top!
health and good!
