Beancurd Sheet Pearl Barley and Ginko Nut Soup

Beancurd Sheet Pearl Barley and Ginko Nut Soup

I have been invited to lunch at MB's at noon so I won't be making myself lunch today. Devoted the morning to making a nourishing Cantonese tangshui par excellence instead : Beancurd Sheet Pearl Barley and Ginko Nut Soup. Bakgo yimai fuchok.

This is the kind of sweet soups that my mom and late aunt used to make - that I detested. But with age and distance, one looks at things differently and I actually had a craving for it. Having leftover dried beancurd sheets is also a contributing factor.

We drink this soup on hot days, but I found it just as nice on a sunny but very cold day. It brightened up my busy morning, yes, busy cooking dinner.

Beancurd Sheet Pearl Barley and Ginko Nut Soup :

Organic Pearl Barley

Dried Beancurd Sheets (cut into small strips)

Ginko Nuts

Pandan leaves

Rock Sugar

Egg/egg white

Soak the pearl barley and beancurd sheets in cold water. It will make it faster to cook the barley and remove the oil that comes with the dried beancurd sheets. Drain and set aside.

Put the pearl barley and pandan leaves in some water and bring it to a boil. Add the ginko nuts and beancurd sheets and simmer for 30 minutes or till the pearl barley is cooked. I do not like mushy food (unless it's mashed potatoes) so I eat my pearl barley al dente.

Add the rock sugar to taste. As I like it really sweet, for 500ml of soup I added 2 fistfulls of the rock sugar. Dissolve the sugar in the soup then bring it to a boil.

Turn off the heat and crack an egg into it. Usually we only use the egg white but I do not see any point in wasting the yolk so I used the whole egg. Stir gently with a pair of chopsticks to create an egg flower in the soup.

Eat this soup hot or chilled for dessert.