Cucumber soup is a refreshing dish that is very suitable for hot summer days. Let’s go to the kitchen with TasteVN to showcase your cooking skills with 3 extremely simple cucumber soup recipes.
1. Cucumber soup with pork bones
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Preparation
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Cucumber soup with pork bones Serves 3 people
Pork bones 200 gr Cucumber 5 pieces Green onions 10 gr Common spices A bit (sugar/seasoning salt/salt/pepper)
How to choose good pork bones
- Good pork bones usually have a fresh color, not pale and have no strange smell.
- The temperature of the bones when purchased also affects their quality; do not choose cold bones as they may have been refrigerated and are no longer fresh.
- Medium-sized bones about 2 – 3 finger joints are ideal, or larger if they are from sows which will be tastier.
- Do not choose small bones because they come from young pigs, which may have been sick and slaughtered early for sale. These small bones should not be purchased for safety reasons.
How to make Pork Bone and Cucumber Soup
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Preparing the pork bones
Wash the bones with diluted salt water and cut them into bite-sized pieces, bring water to a boil then blanch the bones for 3 minutes, then remove the bones and let them drain.
Tip: You should wash the pork bones thoroughly with diluted salt water before blanching to completely remove any impurities in the bones. If not cleaned, the impurities will stick to the bones during boiling, making the soup not tasty.
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Simmering the pork bones
Place a pot on the stove and add the pork bones along with 700ml of water and simmer for 20 minutes.
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Preparing the cucumber and other vegetables
Soak the cucumber in salt water for about 5 minutes, then wash it with cold water and cut it into pieces about 2cm long.
Chop the green onions finely after washing them clean.
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Cooking soup
Add cucumber to the bone broth that has been simmered for 20 minutes and cook for an additional 3 minutes until the cucumber is tender, seasoning with 1/2 tablespoon of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of seasoning powder to taste, and green onions.
Scoop it into a bowl and sprinkle a little ground pepper on top to complete the refreshing soup.
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Finished product
The soup is delicious with the refreshing taste of cucumber, sweet from the pork bones, creating a cool soup for the hot summer that everyone loves.
2. Cucumber soup stuffed with meat
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Preparation
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Cucumber soup stuffed with meat Serves 3
Cucumber 300 gr Carrot 100 gr Ground pork 130 gr Shallots 2 bulbs Wood ear mushrooms 5 gr Green onions 10 gr Cilantro 10 gr Glass noodles 5 gr (dried noodles) Common spices a little (sugar/salt/seasoning/pepper)
How to choose fresh and delicious pork
You can buy pre-ground pork or buy pork to chop or grind yourself using a meat grinder:
- You should choose pork that has a bright pink color, no strange smell, with translucent white fat. Avoid meat that is pale and has a foul smell.
- You can press the meat with your hand; if you observe that the meat is elastic right away, does not leave a dent, is dry, and does not stick to your hand, this indicates that it is good meat.
- Good pork should have even, firm fibers and should not ooze liquid or be slimy.
- When buying meat, you should ask the seller to cut the meat along the grain and avoid choosing meat with small white lumps mixed between the fibers, as this may indicate that the meat is infected with cysts, which can adversely affect your health when consumed.
How to make Stuffed Cucumber Soup
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Prepare the ingredients
After soaking the wood ear mushrooms in cold water until they expand, wash them clean. Soak the dry noodles in hot water for 14 minutes and drain. Use a knife to chop the mushrooms, shallots, and dry noodles finely.
Peel the carrot, wash it clean, carve into flower shapes, and slice thinly about 0.5cm thick. Chop the green onions and cilantro into 2cm pieces.
Tip for soaking wood ear mushrooms: Only soak dried wood ear mushrooms for about 3 – 4 hours, avoid soaking too long or leaving overnight, which can lead to the production of toxins in the mushrooms, harmful to health.
See more: How to choose and prepare common types of mushrooms used in dishes
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Marinate the meat
Add the mushrooms, dry noodles, and shallots to the bowl of ground pork along with 1/2 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, then mix well and let it sit for 10 minutes for the meat to absorb the seasoning.
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Prepare the cucumber
Wash the cucumber, cut it into 3 pieces or 2 depending on whether the cucumber is large or small. Use a spoon to scoop out the insides of the cucumber to prevent the soup from being sour when cooked.
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Stuff the filling
Take a sufficient amount of filling, use a spoon to gradually fill the cucumber pieces with the meat mixture, pressing firmly to keep the filling from falling out.
Tip: Stuff tightly so that the filling does not fall out during cooking
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Cook the soup
Place a pot on the stove, add water and carrots, cook for about 15 minutes then add the stuffed cucumbers, cooking on medium heat.
After 15 – 20 minutes, turn off the heat. Scoop the soup into a bowl, sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, and pepper to finish.
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Final Product
Stuffed cucumber soup with fragrant sweet broth, tender delicious pork, and crispy carrots is extremely appealing and will make your family eat endlessly without getting bored.
3. Shrimp cucumber soup
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Preparation
20 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for shrimp cucumber soup Serves 3 people
Cucumber 4 pieces Shrimp 200 grams Green onions 10 grams Salt 1 teaspoon Seasoning powder 1 teaspoon
How to choose fresh and delicious shrimp
- Choose shrimp with shiny shells, firm bodies, a stiff head firmly attached to the shrimp body, legs tightly attached to the body, and firm flesh.
- Avoid buying shrimp that are slimy or have legs that have turned black, as these are signs that they are no longer fresh.
- Do not buy shrimp with spread-out, loose tails, missing tail fins, and not neatly stacked together, as this may indicate that the shrimp were caught a long time ago and have been soaked in preservatives.
See more: How to choose fresh shrimp and how to store fresh shrimp in the refrigerator for a long time
How to make Shrimp Cucumber Soup
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Prepare the cucumber
Soak the cucumber in saltwater to clean, then cut into thick slices to taste.
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Prepare the shrimp
Remove the shrimp’s head, peel the shell, then use a small knife to make a cut along the back to remove the shrimp’s vein. Use your hand to gently squeeze the shrimp’s body to expose the vein a little, then pull it out with your hand. After that, wash the shrimp and make slashes on the back of the shrimp.
Quick tip to remove the black vein on the shrimp’s back:
- Count backwards from the shrimp’s tail to the second groove connecting the two segments of the shrimp shell, poke a toothpick through this spot and gently pull the black vein out.
- You don’t need to cut the back of the shrimp with a knife; you can also use a toothpick to dig out the head part of the shrimp’s body to see the black vein. Gently pull this black thread out with your hand, and the shrimp will be clean.
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Boiled shrimp
Place a pot on the stove, add 500ml of filtered water and 1 teaspoon of salt, then add the shrimp and boil for about 3 minutes, regularly skimming the foam to keep the broth clear.
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Cook the soup
When the shrimp broth boils, add the cucumber and cook until the cucumber is just tender, then turn off the heat. Season with 1 teaspoon of seasoning and 1 teaspoon of salt, then chop the green onions and add them in.
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Final product
Cucumber soup with shrimp is fragrant with tender, chewy shrimp meat and a sweet, clear broth, creating a dish that is both unique and delicious for the family.
How to choose fresh and delicious cucumbers
- Choose cucumbers that have a bright green color, fairly even color, without dark spots or yellowish discoloration, as this is a sign that the cucumber has been stored for a long time and is starting to spoil.
- Cucumbers should be straight, not or slightly curved. Cucumbers that are long and evenly sized are the type that has a crunchy texture, which tastes better than shorter and round cucumbers.
- It is better to choose heavier, soft cucumbers with a smooth skin, without bumps, and smaller cucumbers tend to be sweeter than larger ones.
- Avoid buying cucumbers that bulge out, are thick in the middle, or have a large head and a small tail (and vice versa) as these are old cucumbers with many seeds, hard, and not tasty.
- If you accidentally buy a bitter cucumber, you can peel it to remove the bitter taste.
Tips for preparing cucumbers to reduce sap and bitterness
- Cut off both ends of the cucumber and rub them vigorously in a circular motion until a layer of white foam appears. Remove this white foam, and the bitterness-causing substances in the cucumber will be eliminated.
- Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise. Sprinkle a little salt on the cut surface of the cucumber half and rub them together until white foam appears. Then rinse the cucumber with water and enjoy.
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The above are 3 ways to cook cucumber soup that are extremely delicious and appealing. What are you waiting for? Let’s make this dish for the whole family right away, and wish you success!
*Refer to images and recipes from the channels: What to eat? , Delicious dishes and Cooking Today
