Sea cucumber is considered the “ginseng of the sea” due to its high nutritional value. Sea cucumber soup is very nutritious and suitable for the elderly, helping to enhance health and combat diseases. Join TasteVN in the kitchen to immediately make 3 ways to cook sea cucumber soup for the whole family to enjoy!
1. Sea cucumber herbal soup
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Preparation
20 minutes
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Cooking
1 hour
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Sea cucumber herbal soup For 4 people
Sea cucumber 200 gr Abalone 100 gr Herbal medicine 100 gr (1 pack) Chicken broth 1 liter Common spices A little (Salt/ sugar/ seasoning powder)
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh abalone
- When buying, you should touch the abalone; if it feels elastic, then it is fresh abalone.
- Fresh and delicious abalone has a thick, round body, full flesh, and an even shape, with a red line in the middle.
- Besides, you should pay attention to the price; if the price is too low, you need to reconsider because it may be fake abalone.
How to choose quality medicinal herbs
- If you buy packaged medicinal herbs, pay attention to the packaging, expiration date, and clear origin to avoid mistakenly buying expired packages.
- For unpackaged medicinal herbs, they should have a characteristic aroma, feel dry to the touch, not wet, and show no signs of mold.
- You can buy one dose of medicinal herbs to cook this dish at traditional medicine shops to ensure quality. The price of one dose of medicinal herbs ranges from 50,000 – 100,000 VND/200gr (price updated in 03/2021).
How to prepare Sea Cucumber Soup with Medicinal Herbs
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Preparing the sea cucumber
After purchasing the sea cucumber, use scissors to cut open the belly, remove the intestines, then rinse thoroughly with water, drain, and cut the sea cucumber into bite-sized pieces.
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Preparing Abalone
Buy abalone, remove the shell, rinse thoroughly several times with water until clean, then let it drain.
How to properly and cleanly prepare abalone
If using fresh abalone, you can prepare it as follows:
- Use a knife to pry the abalone meat out from inside the shell.
- After removing the meat, rinse it again with water to eliminate impurities and the black membrane attached around the abalone.
- Use a small knife to cut off the edges around the abalone meat and the membrane surrounding the abalone.
- You can separate the abalone meat from the muscle according to your preference.
- Rinse all the prepared abalone meat one last time.
See details: How to prepare abalone properly quickly and simply
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Cooking Soup
Add 1 liter of chicken broth to a pot, place it on the stove over medium heat, bring to a boil, then add the medicinal herbs and stir well, cooking over medium heat for about 30 minutes to extract the essence from the herbs.
After 30 minutes, add the abalone to simmer together, season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder, adjusting to taste.
Gently stir, then add the sea cucumber and cook for another 15 minutes before turning off the heat and serving in a bowl to enjoy.
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Final product
So the sea cucumber soup with Chinese medicine is complete, very simple, right?
The dish has the characteristic aroma of Chinese medicine, the sea cucumber is soft and chewy, and the abalone is crispy and fragrant, absorbing the sweet and light flavor of the soup, which is very delicious and nutritious.
Wishing you success in making this dish!
2. Sea cucumber soup with mushrooms
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Preparation
20 minutes
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Cooking
1 hour
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Sea cucumber soup with mushrooms For 4 people
Sea cucumber 200 gr Carrot 200 gr Shiitake mushrooms 200 gr Garlic 5 cloves Shallots 2 bulbs Ginger 1 piece (20gr) Sesame oil 2 tablespoons Chicken broth 1 liter Seasoning/salt a little
How to choose fresh and delicious carrots
- Fresh and delicious carrots have a moderate size, a straight and elongated shape towards the tail, a smooth skin, feel firm in hand and slightly hard.
- Choose carrots that are bright, dark orange in color, with green leaves still fresh and tightly attached to the body of the carrot.
- Do not choose carrots with wilted and bruised tops, bruised body, slimy parts, signs of discoloration, and feel soft when pressed by hand.
- Avoid very large carrots that have thick, large leaves and shoulders, as these are old carrots, which will have more fiber and less nutrients.
How to make Sea cucumber soup with mushrooms
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Prepare the sea cucumber
After buying sea cucumbers, use scissors to cut a line under the belly, clean the inside and then rinse with water. Then cut the sea cucumber into bite-sized pieces.
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Prepare other ingredients
Peel the carrots, wash them clean, shape them into flowers, and then slice them. Peel the garlic, leaving the cloves whole.
Wash fresh shiitake mushrooms with water, then cut the mushrooms into 4 parts.
Peel the shallots and slice them thinly. Peel the ginger, wash it clean, slice it, and then julienne it.
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Sauté ingredients
Place a pan on the stove, turn on medium heat to warm the pan, add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, and then sauté the garlic, shallots, and ginger until fragrant.
Then add the sea cucumber, shiitake mushrooms, and carrots, and sauté together for about 3 minutes, adding 2 tablespoons of chicken broth, stirring well for the ingredients to absorb the seasoning evenly.
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Cooking the soup
Add the chicken broth to the pan with the ingredients, cover it and bring the broth to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 1 hour to extract the nutrients from the sea cucumber.
After 1 hour, uncover, season the soup with 1 tablespoon of seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, adjust the taste, stir well, and cook for another 5 minutes, then turn off the heat.
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Final product
Sea cucumber soup with mushrooms has a characteristic aroma of shiitake mushrooms combined with the warm spiciness of ginger, the sweet taste of mushrooms, and the delicious and nutritious chicken broth.
Make this soup to nourish and enhance the health of family members!
3. Chicken sea cucumber soup
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Preparation
20 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Chicken sea cucumber soup Serves 4 people
Sea cucumber 100 gr Shiitake mushrooms 50 gr Chicken thighs 300 gr Garlic 3 cloves Ginger 1/2 root Salt a little
How to choose fresh, delicious chicken
- You should choose a chicken that has a compact, firm body as this indicates it is young and the meat will be tender and delicious when cooked.
- Fresh chicken will have a rosy, bright color, and when you lightly touch the meat, you will feel a high elasticity.
- Good chicken has thin, smooth skin that is light yellow; certain parts like the breast, wings, and back will have a darker yellow color.
- When buying, you should press your finger into the part of the meat suspected to be injected with water (thigh, breast,…). If the meat is mushy, soft, or lacks elasticity, you should not buy it.
How to prepare Sea Cucumber Chicken Soup
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Prepare the sea cucumber
After purchasing the sea cucumber, use a knife to cut it in half lengthwise, scrape the inside clean with a knife, and then rinse the sea cucumber under running water to clean it.
Use a knife to cut the sea cucumber into bite-sized pieces.
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Prepare the chicken
For chicken thighs, use salt to rub all around to eliminate the fishy smell, then rinse with clean water and use a knife to cut the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces.
How to eliminate the fishy smell of chickenBefore cooking, mix vinegar and salt in the ratio: 2 salt 1 vinegar, then apply it all over the chicken thighs, rub several times, and rinse thoroughly with clean water, this way the chicken will not smell when cooked.
See details: How to clean chicken, no smell
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Prepare other ingredients
Peel and slice the garlic. Scrape the ginger skin and slice it into small pieces.
Soak shiitake mushrooms in a bowl for about 2 hours to soften them, then remove and rinse the mushrooms with water and cut them in half.
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Cooking the soup
Add 700ml of water to the pot, place the pot on the stove over medium heat to bring it to a boil, then gradually add the chicken, garlic, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, and sea cucumber, cover the lid, and simmer for 30 minutes.
After that, you uncover the lid and season the soup with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, adjust the seasoning to taste, stir gently, and turn off the heat.
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Finished product
Scoop the sea cucumber soup into a bowl and enjoy.
The sea cucumber soup simmered with chicken has the natural sweetness from the chicken, the warm flavor of ginger, along with the tender and chewy sea cucumber, and the soft and sweet chicken, making it very delicious and nutritious.
This dish is very good for nourishing the health of the elderly, let’s make it together!
How to choose fresh and delicious sea cucumbers
- You should choose live, plump sea cucumbers. Avoid selecting sea cucumbers that have been dead for a long time, are slimy, or have an odor.
- In addition, to buy good quality sea cucumbers with a clear origin, you need to look for reputable suppliers, as this is an expensive food item and there are many places that counterfeit sea cucumbers as well as inflate product prices.
How to clean sea cucumbers properly, without odor
To remove the fishy smell from fresh sea cucumbers, you can apply one of the following methods:
Method 1: You peel off the intestines of the sea cucumber, wash it thoroughly with water, then pound ginger mixed with alcohol and soak the sea cucumber in the ginger alcohol mixture for about 15 minutes to eliminate the fishy smell, then rinse with clean water to prepare for cooking.
Method 2: You can grill the sea cucumber briefly, then scrape off the slime and soak it in cold water for about 30 minutes to reduce its saltiness. Wait until the sea cucumber is completely soft, then peel off the outer layer, briefly boil it, and soak it again in cold water to create a crunchy texture.
How to choose fresh and delicious shiitake mushrooms
- You should choose mushrooms that have intact caps, not bruised or flawed.
- At the same time, you should select those with a moderate and balanced size to make the dish more visually appealing and ensure its deliciousness when enjoyed.
- You should prioritize mushrooms with short stems, caps firmly attached to the stems, and a color of yellow-brown or dark brown.
How to soak shiitake mushrooms properly
- Soak the mushrooms in cold water for about 1 hour, gently squeezing them to remove any musty smell and dirt. After that, you take them out, rinse with clean water, squeeze out the water from the mushroom stems, and let them drain.
- You can also soak the mushrooms in hot water to save time. When the mushrooms have expanded, take them out into a bowl of cold water, gently squeeze out the water from the stems, rinse again with water, and let them drain.
Where to buy chicken broth
- For convenience, you can buy canned or boxed chicken broth at grocery stores or online shopping sites.
- When purchasing, remember to check the can or box for details, production date, and expiration date.
- Additionally, you can also make chicken broth at home to ensure quality!
